Marketers across Southeast Asia are spending the equivalent of an entire workday every week on manual campaign adjustments—a strain that continues to limit their ability to focus on strategy, creative development, and brand growth. This was the key finding highlighted by DoubleVerify during DMAP DigiCon 2025, where the company underscored how automation and AI are reshaping the future of marketing.
In its 2025 Global Insights report, DoubleVerify found that teams in the region devote nearly 12 hours per week to repetitive, manual optimization tasks as digital campaigns expand across multiple platforms and formats. This operational burden, the report noted, restricts marketers from dedicating more time to higher-value work such as strategic planning and conceptual innovation.
“The marketer’s challenge isn’t access to data, but the ability to act on it efficiently,” said Tinee Cruz, Senior Business Director at DoubleVerify Philippines. “Automation isn’t about replacing human creativity; it’s about clearing room for it. By freeing up teams from repetitive work, marketers can concentrate on strategy, storytelling, and innovation—three core elements that support brand growth.”
At DMAP DigiCon 2025, the country’s biggest digital marketing gathering, Cruz discussed how AI-enabled tools are transforming campaign performance amid an increasingly fragmented digital ecosystem. Marketers in the Asia-Pacific region now spend roughly 27.5 percent of their working hours on manual optimizations, she added—equivalent to nearly ₱850,000 in opportunity cost per employee annually.
This challenge is prompting advertisers to adopt AI-driven automation solutions, including DoubleVerify’s DV Scibids AI™, which uses real-time signals to automatically adjust campaign levers for improved efficiency and results. By merging automation with verification data, brands can increase accountability, optimize their media spend, and boost performance without sacrificing transparency or quality.
“As marketing teams continue to evolve, automation is no longer a future concept; it’s a practical solution to reclaim time and focus,” Cruz said. “In a landscape defined by constant complexity, automation has become the foundation that enables creativity—not the force that replaces it. Smart, data-led tools will help marketers stay agile, authentic, and results-driven.”
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