The attention market is heating up, leading to an arms race as platforms build attention measurement offerings to meet growing advertiser demand.
Ad verification platform DoubleVerify (DV) has been riding the trend for years. It launched its Attention Lab in 2022 and named a dedicated SVP to head up the initiative last year.
It also rolled out attention-based optimization features alongside custom algorithm company Scibids – a partnership that led DV to acquire Scibids last year.
Now it looks like DV may be exploring another potential acquisition: Lumen Research, one of the most high-profile independent vendors in the attention space and a leader in eye-tracking.
Over the past month, AdExchanger has heard rumors from three separate sources who requested anonymity that DV is looking to acquire Lumen. These sources include an ad agency executive, a person familiar with DoubleVerify’s business and an executive at an ad tech company that has received inquiries from bankers about potential acquisitions in the attention space.
DoubleVerify declined to comment.
But Lumen CEO Mike Follett denied the rumors, saying he believes people are jumping to conclusions about an as-yet unreported partnership between the two companies.
“We do have a partnership with DoubleVerify, as we do with other leading players in the advertising ecosystem,” Follett told AdExchanger. “We’re excited to deepen our partnership with DV further, but have no plans of being acquired at this time.”
Follet declined to disclose any further details about Lumen’s partnership with DV.
Still, the rumors are swirling.
According to the person familiar with DV’s business, it would make sense for the company to acquire Lumen, as DV’s attention-based offering currently lacks eye-tracking, which is a highly sought-after feature of attention measurement solutions.
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Such an acquisition could also have implications for DV’s chief rival, Integral Ad Science (IAS), the source said. IAS announced a partnership with Lumen last year, and Lumen’s eye-tracking data is a component of IAS’s own attention measurement solution, which was released in January.
Of course, no acquisition is a done deal until it closes, and even if these rumors are true, a planned acquisition could still fall through. But a potential deal could be in the works.
Watch this space for more updates as they become available.
