Nielsen's planned purchase of Mark Zagorski's DoubleVerify is a move to deepen its advertiser-direct customer base.
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CMOs: Get ready to field more sales pitches from Nielsen.The TV ratings giant surprised the ad industry by announcing plans to buy DoubleVerify for $2.15 billion — and sent chins wagging with hot takes about the implications.At stake: trustworthy data.CMOs depend on data to craft their strategies, but it's often patchy and unreliable. That's why they need credible auditors to double-check — or double-verify, if you will — those numbers. For CMOs, this deal could simplify audience measurement and ad verification, but consolidation would mean greater concentration of power under Nielsen and one fewer independent player.Eric Salama, former CEO of data firm Kantar, told me the deal signals Nielsen's intent to move further into helping CMOs plan and allocate their media budgets. That, in turn, would mean building more direct relationships with advertisers rather than primarily serving media owners and agencies."As an advertiser, when you think about attribution and planning, you don't think of Nielsen, really," Salama said.Building a single measurement currencyDoubleVerify made its name helping advertisers ensure their digital ads are viewable, free of fraud, and served alongside suitable content. It has since expanded into the ad performance space, in areas like campaign optimization and outcomes measurement.
