The rise of ad-tech in Germany
14 Oct, 20195 minsGermany is fast becoming the go-to place for ad-tech in Europe.That was highlighted by the s...
Germany is fast becoming the go-to place for ad-tech in Europe.
That was highlighted by the seventh annual Dmexco conference in Cologne this September, where 40,000 professionals from brands, agencies and ad-tech vendors all around the world descended on the city.
Given its success over the years, Dmexco is well on its way to rivalling the more staple European events on the circuit such as Cannes Lions.
Statistically, Germany has lagged behind other international markets in terms of its programmatic spend as it didn’t take up programmatic advertising as quickly as its US or UK counterparts. In 2018, programmatic advertising accounted for 70% of digital display ad spend in Germany, compared to 88.9% in the UK.
However, while it falls behind in terms of spend, the potential for growth in the German market is evident.
With a growing population of more than 80 million people, Germany is Europe’s largest market by some margin and one of the most attractive for advertisers. However, it is notoriously known as one of the hardest markets to enter due to the traditional methods of selling in the German speaking regions.
The programmatic landscape in Germany is dissimilar to the UK where it's widely known that the large media agencies and enterprise digital publishers all have a presence in London.
In Germany however, media agencies are almost regionally split throughout the cities of Munich, Düsseldorf and Hamburg.
While a lot of the main publishers are based in Berlin, the larger media agencies have little to no presence in the capital - much to some UK companies’ surprise when they launch in Berlin to find themselves scarcely searching for relevant talent.
This means that if you are looking to launch in the German market it's good to stay away from opening an office in the capital. The professionals in Germany who have a great network within agencies and can open doors for an ad-tech vendor to develop would be travelling around 90% of the time if the company are based in Berlin.
With that said, over the years Sphere have leveraged our great network within the ad-tech ecosystem in London to make Germany our biggest market outside of the UK. We have fantastic contacts throughout the whole of Germany which is growing exponentially with every day that goes by.
Whether you are an ad-tech vendor looking to launch in Germany, or just looking to grow your presence there, then the team would be more than happy to chat to you to discuss how we can aid your expansion.
On the other hand, if you are looking for a new opportunity in the German market then please don’t hesitate to get in touch so we can talk you though one of the many fantastic companies we already represent.
James Ramsay
jamesr@spherelondon.co.uk
(+44) 203 869 2071
