The digital advertising world is moving fast. For one digital media measurement firm, evolution means expanding its scope beyond simply ensuring media quality. That’s why it is moving into the realm of campaign performance.
Fueled by strategic acquisitions and a focus on new performance metrics like attention, the brand safety tool vendor is betting that advertisers want more than just verification, that they want optimization and a clear understanding of what’s working, and what’s not.
“It’s been a busy time,” said Mark Zagorski, CEO, DoubleVerify, in this video interview with Beet.TV. He added that DoubleVerify has “started to play out this vision of expanding DoubleVerify from protection into performance”.
In February 2025, DoubleVerify announced its agreement to acquire Rockerbox, a leader in marketing attribution and media mix modeling, for $85 million. This acquisition aims to enhance DoubleVerify’s capabilities in performance measurement.
Performance matters now
DoubleVerify’s traditional product set has focused on media measurement and analytics. Founded in 2008, it provides software and services aimed at ensuring online media transparency and effectiveness, including verifying ad viewability, fraud prevention, advertising performance, and compliance with brand safety regulations.
Advertisers have always cared about performance, but in today’s environment, it’s more critical than ever, according to Zagorski.
“As the business continues to grow and as advertiser focus continues to shift into hardcore performance metrics, particularly in times when budgets start getting tight, we’ve evolved along with them.”
“Now, more than ever, quality and performance go hand in hand,” Zagorski added. “Having both of those assets for us is a is a really cool place to be.”
According to eMarketer’s “Worldwide Ad Spending Forecast 2025,” global ad spending is projected to surpass $1 trillion for the first time in 2025, with digital advertising accounting for 75% of this total. This report highlights the increasing importance of digital ad performance measurement and optimization solutions.
Navigating the current ecosystem
Zagorski added said the media environment has become “a little bit more hyperactive” with the rise of made-for-advertising content and AI-generated material, or “AI slop.”
Zagorski noted that much of the content generated by AI isn’t necessarily harmful, but it may not be high quality. “The ecosystem is as safe or unsafe as it always has been,” he said. “But I think the suitability aspect of the ecosystem has gotten a bit trickier because just because something’s safe doesn’t mean it’s suitable.”
Brands are now navigating this landscape, where AI-generated content might be safe but lack the quality suitable for their brand, according to Zagorski.
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