SMX Munich 2025: Rethinking performance - what brands need to know now
Our team of Marieta, Zuzana, Dominik, Mark and Thomas were on the road for us at SMX in Munich. Our goal: no buzzword bingo, but real learnings for real results. What did we bring back with us? A new perspective on performance marketing - one that no longer just looks at clicks, but at impact, attitude and the courage to break old rules.
Thesis 1: Influence instead of traffic - performance must be rethought
"Google remains the last link in the chain - but we need to start earlier to make an impact." – Mark, Senior Strategic Team Lead Paid Search
The days when organic traffic was the goal of all endeavours are over. 0-click searches and AI Mode and AI Overviews are radically changing visibility. Rand Fishkin calls this "The End of Traffic as We Know It" - we call it: Beginning of the relevance economy.
Takeaways:
- Performance ≠ Click rate. But rather: Influence, attention, trust.
- Brands must be present where decisions are prepared - not just where they are finalised.
Simply measuring traffic is no longer enough. We need new KPIs - and more courage to measure impact, not just output.
Thesis 2: AI is not a trend - but a game changer (if you understand it)
"AI alone does not deliver performance. But with AI, you can multiply the performance of your marketing strategy." – Thomas, Director Business Innovations
The AI wave is rolling - and many are trying to keep up. What is often missing: a clear goal and an understanding of what AI can and cannot do. SMX has shown: Those who only produce mass instead of class with AI will be worse off than before. Those who use it for relevance, emotionality and real user needs will win. We are already using AI successfully in daily business in areas such as research, content assistants and creative.
SMX learnings that we go along with:
- 75% of advertising success depends on the creative - and today it has to be AI-proof and emotional.
- Intent beats keywords - and tools such as Perplexity, Claude and Copilot show how search behaviour is changing.
- Micro conversions are not a gimmick, but AI fodder - the clearer the signals, the better the algorithm.
Thesis 3: The new distribution of roles - specialists instead of silos
"A channel is just one piece of the mosaic - if you don't know the whole picture, you lose sight of the bigger picture." – Marieta, Senior SEA Accountant
Performance marketing is no longer just a kit that anyone can put together. Specialists are needed for each channel - like press spokespersons for politics. Why is that? Because every touchpoint counts, but none of them work in isolation.
SMX confirms our course:
- Teams need to think, act and communicate in an interdisciplinary way - focussing on impact, not channels.
- The "unit thinking" approach is mandatory: no SEA without SEO, no creative without a performance goal.
Customer journeys are not linear - those who follow them must be flexible, data-driven and empathetic.
Bonus thesis: Performance needs attitude - and brands with backbone
In a world full of data, ads and bots, brands need to stand out, show attitude and not appear interchangeable. Performance without a brand is like a Ferrari without a petrol tank - it looks good but doesn't move.
"In a world full of data, you need a USP. And you not only need to have it, you also need to show it."– Thomas Nething
Our key speakers from SMX 2025
- Rand Fishkin: The End of Traffic as We Know It
- Dale Bertrand: The Rebirth of Inbound Marketing
- Larry Kim: Data-Driven Remarketing Hacks
Fazit: Wer Performance will, braucht Haltung, Tools – und uns.
At Hurra™, we stand for a new performance DNA: creative, data-driven, cross-channel. If you're ready to stop just making campaigns and start creating impact - let's talk.
