DoubleVerify launches pre-bid video controls for brand safety on TikTok

Yesterday, on April 14, 2025, DoubleVerify (DV) announced the launch of pre-bid video exclusion lists for TikTok, expanding its brand safety and suitability tools on the platform. This development arrives at a crucial time when advertisers increasingly seek greater control over their digital ad placements in social media environments.

The new offering, which builds upon DV's existing post-bid measurement capabilities on TikTok, allows advertisers to proactively block their ads from appearing alongside content they deem unsuitable before the ad is served. According to DoubleVerify, the solution aims to maximize media quality, campaign performance, and advertising return on investment.

Mark Zagorski, CEO of DoubleVerify, emphasized the importance of this development. "We're excited to launch DV's pre-bid video controls on TikTok, empowering advertisers to enhance both the impact and quality of their campaigns," he stated. The technology behind this solution relies on DV's AI-driven classification methods, which Zagorski notes "helps advertisers ensure that ads appear in environments that align with their brand settings—driving stronger engagement, maximizing ad performance, and instilling greater confidence in their digital investments."

How the technology works

The pre-bid video controls are powered by DoubleVerify's proprietary Universal Content Intelligence classification engine, which employs artificial intelligence to analyze multiple content elements including video, image, audio, and text. This comprehensive approach enables more accurate content classification at scale.

A notable technical advancement in DV's solution is its key frame extraction methodology. Rather than analyzing every frame of a video—a process that would be computationally intensive and time-consuming—the system identifies and examines only the most significant frames where content changes occur. This selective approach reduces computational requirements while maintaining accuracy.

According to DoubleVerify, this streamlined methodology not only enhances efficiency but also reduces environmental impact by utilizing less computing power. The company claims this allows for quicker, more accurate campaign analysis without compromising quality or precision.

Benefits for advertisers

The pre-bid video controls offer advertisers three key advantages, according to the announcement:

First, comprehensive coverage combines pre-bid controls with post-bid reporting to provide end-to-end campaign measurement and optimization capabilities. This full-funnel approach allows marketers to both prevent unwanted placements and measure effectiveness throughout the campaign lifecycle.

Second, the solution delivers operational efficiency through automation. The pre-bid activation requires no manual maintenance, as it automatically refreshes in near real-time. This always-on protection eliminates the need for constant human monitoring and adjustment of exclusion lists.

Third, enhanced performance metrics can be achieved by ensuring ads do not appear next to objectionable content. By reducing wasted impressions on unsuitable content, advertisers can maximize their return on investment.

Implementation through DV Pinnacle

Advertisers will access these new capabilities through DV Pinnacle, DoubleVerify's unified service and analytics reporting platform. The integration allows marketers to monitor and optimize their TikTok ad campaigns through a single interface, streamlining workflow and data analysis.

In addition to the immediate release of pre-bid video controls, DoubleVerify announced forthcoming enhancements to its TikTok dashboard within DV Pinnacle. These updates, scheduled for release in the coming months, will introduce more granular filtering options. Specifically, brands will be able to analyze reporting data specifically for campaigns with pre-bid controls activated.

Another significant enhancement will be the addition of content previews for flagged incidents. This feature will provide advertisers with visual context for content that has been identified as potentially problematic, enabling more informed decision-making about future placements and exclusions.

Significance for the marketing community

This development holds particular significance for the marketing community as social media platforms continue to present both opportunities and challenges for brand safety. TikTok, with its rapidly growing user base and unique content ecosystem, has become an essential channel for many advertisers, yet the platform's user-generated content model introduces inherent risks.

The introduction of pre-bid controls addresses several critical concerns for marketers. First, it shifts brand safety from a reactive to a proactive approach. Traditional brand safety measures often identify problematic placements after ads have already appeared, potentially causing reputation damage. Pre-bid controls mitigate this risk by preventing unwanted associations before they occur.

Second, the advancement promotes media efficiency at a time when advertising budgets face increased scrutiny. By reducing wasted impressions on unsuitable content, marketers can demonstrate improved return on investment to organizational stakeholders.

Third, the technology addresses the scale and speed challenges inherent in modern digital advertising. The automated, AI-powered approach enables protection across vast amounts of constantly changing content without requiring substantial human resources.

For media buyers and planners, this development offers additional tools for campaign optimization beyond basic targeting parameters. The ability to exclude specific types of content before bidding allows for more precise audience targeting while maintaining brand safety guardrails.

Broader industry context

DoubleVerify's expansion of brand safety tools on TikTok reflects a broader industry movement toward greater control and transparency in digital advertising. As platforms proliferate and content volumes grow exponentially, advertisers increasingly demand sophisticated verification and brand safety capabilities across their media investments.

The company's approach also highlights the growing role of artificial intelligence in addressing advertising quality challenges. By leveraging AI for content analysis, DoubleVerify aims to deliver protection at scale without sacrificing accuracy or efficiency. This application demonstrates how machine learning technologies can be applied to solve specific industry problems.

While pre-bid controls have existed for some time in display and video advertising across the open web, their application to social platforms—particularly for video content—represents an evolution in brand safety technology. The closed nature of social platforms has historically limited third-party verification and control options, making this development a significant step toward unified cross-platform protection.

Technical challenges and limitations

Despite the advances represented by this release, several technical challenges remain in the brand safety ecosystem. Video content analysis is inherently more complex than text or static image analysis due to the multiple data types involved and the temporal nature of the medium. The key frame extraction method addresses some of these challenges, but video context and meaning can still be difficult to accurately interpret programmatically.

Additionally, cultural nuances and subjective interpretations of appropriateness continue to complicate automated content classification. What one brand considers unsuitable may be perfectly acceptable to another, requiring sophisticated customization capabilities to meet diverse advertiser needs.

DoubleVerify has not disclosed specific details about detection accuracy rates or false positive percentages, metrics that would provide further insight into the solution's effectiveness. The company also has not specified whether the pre-bid controls can be customized based on different levels of risk tolerance or brand-specific concerns.

Market position and competitive landscape

As a publicly traded company (NYSE: DV), DoubleVerify operates in a competitive verification and measurement space alongside firms like Integral Ad Science and Oracle Moat. The expansion of its TikTok capabilities represents both a technological advancement and a strategic market positioning move.

DoubleVerify describes itself as "the industry's leading media effectiveness platform that leverages AI to drive superior outcomes for global brands." The company's focus on artificial intelligence as a differentiator is evident throughout its announcement, positioning its technology as both more advanced and more efficient than alternative approaches.

While DoubleVerify has expanded its TikTok capabilities, it remains to be seen how quickly competitors will introduce similar pre-bid video controls for the platform. This period of exclusivity could provide a competitive advantage in attracting advertisers particularly concerned about brand safety on TikTok.

Timeline

• April 14, 2025: DoubleVerify announces launch of pre-bid video exclusion lists for TikTok
• April 15, 2025: Official announcement released to the public
• Current availability: Pre-bid video controls accessible through DV Pinnacle platform
• "Coming months": Enhanced TikTok dashboard in DV Pinnacle scheduled for release, including top-level pre-bid filtering and content previews for flagged incidents