Ad.com Interactive Media, a leader in performance marketing and digital media, has acquired Underdog Media, an ad monetization platform known for delivering 100% viewable ad units across trusted publisher networks. The acquisition strengthens Ad.com’s ability to provide exclusive, premium inventory directly to advertisers and demand-side platforms (DSPs).
Integration Under Advertising.com
Underdog Media will operate within the Advertising.com portfolio, enabling DSPs to access unique, one-hop supply chain inventory with superior viewability metrics. The integration also opens a direct path to premium third-party publisher experiences while leveraging Advertising.com’s demand capabilities to boost publisher revenues and advertiser performance.
“By bringing together Underdog Media’s publisher relationships, viewable ad products, and direct DSP access with Advertising.com’s tech and advertisers, we’re building a stronger marketplace,” said Matt Leardini, President of Advertising.com. “Advertisers get more reach and performance, publishers see stronger revenue, and everyone benefits from a clearer, more transparent process.”
Aligning Expertise and Innovation
Underdog Media’s focus on high-quality publisher inventory aligns seamlessly with Advertising.com’s mission to help companies maximize digital assets and revenue streams in an increasingly complex online ecosystem.
“Since 2007, we’ve built proprietary ad formats that deliver measurable results for advertisers and reliable revenue for publishers,” said Shayne Mihalka, CEO & Founder of Underdog Media. “Teaming up with Advertising.com gives us the firepower to scale our approach—more premium publishers, better tools for advertisers, and the same results-driven methodology our clients trust.”
Industry Implications
The acquisition signals growing consolidation in the performance marketing space, where programmatic efficiency and viewable inventory are increasingly valuable. For advertisers, this deal promises broader reach and measurable performance; for publishers, it offers more predictable revenue streams. As programmatic ecosystems become more complex, combining supply-side expertise with direct DSP integration positions Ad.com as a stronger competitor against rivals like Magnite, PubMatic, and OpenX.
