DoubleVerify to support in-game ads to win over brands’ budgets for the channel

Today marks DoubleVerify’s formal entry into gaming, although none of the company’s measurement tools required a significant update to work for in-game ads, according to DoubleVerify director of product strategy John Ross. After all, most video games that support ads tend to use the same industry standard tech as any other digital advertising business.

“These things are widely supported across basically all of advertising,” Ross said.

Although some measurement tools have already been available for in-game advertisers over the past year, some observers believe DoubleVerify’s entry into the market could help win over brands that have been wary about using in-game ads to reach the gaming audience.

“The reason I’m happy about this is not because we can track viewability; it’s more so that the industry is taking it more seriously as a viable product,” said Ronen Benatar, a portfolio investment lead and group director at Wavemaker U.S. “In my opinion — because I’m personally very bullish on in-game — I think people are highly under-invested.”

Some media buyers believe DoubleVerify’s support for in-game ad measurement — and the KPIs it has the potential to provide — could move brands’ investment in in-game advertising out of experimental or innovation-based budgets and into larger buckets such as digital advertising or out-of-home.

“I’m not sure if it’s the announcement — it’s more building the confidence for clients that there are measures in place, that there is verification technology that actually brings them data and insights to inform their decisions to actually choose gaming as part of their media mix,” said Julia Rast, senior director of global solutions and innovation at Xaxis.

DoubleVerify has plans for larger investments in gaming, including developing updated attention guidelines for in-game ads in partnership with the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and Media Rating Council (MRC).

“Basically, it’s a microcosm of the industry. Supply- and demand-side partners, platforms and verification companies are one of the two executive sponsors of the initiative,” said DoubleVerify CMO Dan Slivjanovski. “And the whole idea is to move down the path and talk about the various solutions out there. If the IAB, in concert with the MRC, can put a stake in the ground for attention like they did for viewability, attention might have the potential to be a brave new currency for transacting.”