DoubleVerify has published its 2025 Global Insights Report, offering a detailed look at how consumers and marketers around the world engage with today’s most dominant walled garden platforms. The findings highlight the growing influence of social environments on entertainment, news, shopping and advertising, while underscoring the mounting pressure on platforms to provide transparency and measurable performance as ad investment rises.
Mark Zagorski, CEO of DoubleVerify, said the continued appeal of social media stems from the way these platforms blend entertainment with community and personalization across both user generated content and advertising. “The appeal of advertising across social media platforms lies in their ability to blend entertainment, community and personalized experiences across both user-generated content and ads,” he said. Zagorski noted that as brands accelerate spending, they are also demanding accountability. He pointed to innovations such as DV Authentic AdVantage as part of the company’s commitment to improving media quality and performance in video driven walled gardens. “Ultimately, the takeaway from our Global Insights Report is clear: while walled gardens promise scale and performance, sustainable value ultimately depends on transparency and trust,” he added.
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To assemble the report, DV surveyed twenty two thousand consumers across twenty one countries and nearly two thousand marketing and advertising decision makers worldwide. The research explores how different age groups discover news, how social content influences shopping and how marketers are adapting to the changing dynamics of tightly controlled platforms.
The data shows that social media is set to dominate how people spend their time in the coming year. Twenty eight percent of respondents expect to increase the time they devote to social platforms, while a further twenty two percent plan to watch more streaming user generated content. In contrast, only fifteen percent anticipate watching more traditional broadcast TV, reflecting the continued shift away from scheduled programming.
There are also stark generational differences in where people turn for news. Younger consumers aged eighteen to forty four favor digital video outlets and social platforms over traditional channels, while people forty five and older continue to trust TV news and legacy news websites. These divides show how news consumption is becoming increasingly platform specific, with implications for publishers and advertisers alike.
Social media’s influence on shopping behavior also continues to grow. Twenty seven percent of consumers ranked social platforms among their top three tools for pre purchase research, and more than half said influencers affect their buying decisions. Thirty percent have completed a purchase directly through a social platform in the past year, emphasizing how discovery and transaction are merging in these environments.
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The rise of AI generated content is reshaping what users encounter online. Fifty seven percent of consumers said they have seen AI created material on social media, more than twice the share who reported encountering it in search results. This increase raises new questions for marketers attempting to verify authenticity and maintain suitable environments for their brands.
Marketers themselves reported challenges tied to reach. As platform algorithms deliver increasingly personalized feeds, forty six percent of advertisers said it is becoming harder to capture the attention of their intended audiences. This difficulty has increased demand for independent measurement partners capable of providing clarity, transparency and assurance amid the tightly controlled nature of walled gardens.
DoubleVerify’s report paints a picture of a global media environment where social platforms exert powerful influence over what people watch, read and buy. At the same time, it highlights the need for greater accountability and clearer measurement for advertisers navigating these highly curated ecosystems.
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