Dysrupt is a performance-driven digital marketing agency based in Los Angeles that specializes in paid social media, creative optimization, and advanced measurement solutions. At its core, the firm operates as a social-first performance partner for brands seeking profitable, trackable growth in a digital ecosystem that has grown more complex, fragmented, and privacy-constrained. Its proprietary Impact Advertising System was designed to solve a central challenge of modern marketing: how to connect creative, media buying, and measurement into a unified engine that delivers business outcomes rather than vanity metrics.
In early 2025, Dysrupt’s trajectory reached a pivotal moment when Publicis Media U.S. acquired the agency to enhance its performance marketing capabilities across industries including e-commerce, entertainment, fintech, health, and subscription services. The acquisition signaled more than a corporate milestone; it reflected how deeply performance marketing has evolved from a niche practice into a central pillar of modern advertising strategy.
Founded by Nate Lorenzen, a veteran with experience at Facebook’s eCommerce team, Dysrupt grew by assembling experts from major digital platforms and by focusing on measurable impact over traditional agency deliverables. With a growing reputation, a recognizable methodology, and a social-first mindset, Dysrupt positioned itself at the intersection of creativity, analytics, and profitability — a place where many brands increasingly want their marketing to live.
The Rise of a Social-First Performance Agency
When Dysrupt launched in Los Angeles, the digital marketing world was crowded with agencies promising reach, engagement, and awareness. Few, however, were built from the ground up to prioritize paid social as the primary engine of customer acquisition.
Dysrupt approached social media platforms not as supplementary advertising channels but as foundational growth tools. This perspective influenced every part of its operating model: creative was designed specifically for social feeds; media buying was optimized for social algorithms; and measurement frameworks were built to understand how social interactions translated into revenue.
This social-first mindset set Dysrupt apart from traditional agencies that often treated paid social as an add-on to broader media strategies. Instead, Dysrupt placed social at the center of the marketing funnel, integrating creative testing and data analytics into every campaign iteration.
The Impact Advertising System
Central to Dysrupt’s identity is its proprietary Impact Advertising System (IAS). Rather than a single piece of software, IAS is a structured methodology combining tools, workflows, creative processes, and measurement practices.
The system was built to address three persistent problems in digital marketing:
Disconnected data sources that obscure performance insights
Creative that lacks measurable testing and optimization
Media buying that prioritizes spend over profitability
IAS integrates paid media execution with continuous creative iteration and rigorous measurement. Campaigns are treated as living systems that evolve based on performance data rather than static launches. Creative assets are tested rapidly. Media budgets are adjusted dynamically. Measurement goes beyond surface metrics like clicks and impressions to focus on cost per acquisition, revenue impact, and return on ad spend.
The result is a marketing process designed for profitability first, rather than exposure.
Measurement in a Privacy-First Era
As digital privacy regulations expanded and traditional tracking methods weakened, many brands struggled to measure performance accurately. Dysrupt anticipated this shift and built measurement practices that did not rely solely on legacy tracking technologies.
By emphasizing diversified data inputs, modeled performance insights, and integrated reporting systems, the agency positioned itself as a partner capable of navigating the cookieless future. Measurement became not a post-campaign report but a real-time decision-making tool.
This emphasis on measurement became one of the agency’s most valuable differentiators — and a key reason larger networks saw strategic value in its approach.
Leadership and Expertise
Dysrupt’s growth was closely tied to the experience of its leadership team.
Nate Lorenzen, founder and Chief Operating Officer, brought platform-level insight from his time working within Facebook’s eCommerce initiatives. His understanding of how advertising platforms function at a structural level informed Dysrupt’s approach to media buying and creative testing.
Alongside Lorenzen, Jarod Haness, co-founder and Chief Revenue Officer, contributed expertise in business strategy and digital growth across major networks. Their combined experience shaped Dysrupt into an agency where strategic thinking and technical execution worked hand in hand.
The broader team included specialists from top digital platforms, analysts skilled in performance measurement, and creative professionals trained to produce assets specifically engineered for conversion.
Serving Complex, High-Growth Industries
Dysrupt’s client base reflected its performance orientation. The agency worked across industries where measurable growth is essential:
E-commerce brands competing for customer acquisition efficiency
Entertainment platforms seeking subscriber growth
Fintech companies needing precise targeting and compliance-aware marketing
Health and wellness brands focused on direct response outcomes
Subscription services optimizing lifetime value
These sectors share a common need: marketing that directly influences revenue rather than simply generating awareness. Dysrupt’s methodology aligned closely with those needs.
The 2025 Publicis Media U.S. Acquisition
In early 2025, Publicis Media U.S. acquired Dysrupt to strengthen its performance marketing capabilities. The acquisition was positioned as a strategic move to integrate Dysrupt’s methodologies into Publicis’s broader media and creative ecosystem.
The deal underscored how performance-driven agencies are no longer peripheral players but central assets in global advertising networks. Publicis recognized that Dysrupt’s Impact Advertising System, creative testing approach, and measurement rigor could be scaled across its client base.
Leadership continuity played an important role in the transition. Dysrupt’s executives joined Publicis Media U.S., ensuring that the agency’s philosophy and operational model remained intact within the larger organization.
Why Dysrupt Mattered to the Industry
Dysrupt’s significance lies not only in its success but in what it represents about the evolution of marketing:
The shift from awareness to profitability
The elevation of paid social as a primary growth channel
The integration of creative and analytics into a single system
The growing importance of privacy-aware measurement
Its rise demonstrated that agencies built for the modern digital ecosystem — rather than adapted from traditional models — can deliver measurable, scalable growth.
A New Model for Performance Marketing
Performance marketing once meant short-term direct response campaigns. Dysrupt helped redefine it as a comprehensive system that blends brand building with measurable outcomes.
Creative is no longer artistic alone; it is experimental and data-driven. Media buying is no longer about scale; it is about efficiency. Measurement is no longer retrospective; it is operational.
This model has implications beyond a single agency. It points toward how marketing organizations may structure themselves in the future — around impact, iteration, and accountability.
Conclusion
Dysrupt’s journey from a Los Angeles startup to a strategic acquisition target for Publicis Media U.S. reflects broader changes reshaping the advertising world. By prioritizing paid social, creative optimization, and rigorous measurement, the agency built a system designed for profitability in a complex digital environment. Its Impact Advertising System and leadership expertise positioned it as a rare blend of innovation and execution.
The acquisition marked not an endpoint but a validation of a performance-first philosophy that many brands now demand. As marketing continues to evolve under the pressures of privacy, platform change, and rising expectations for accountability, the model Dysrupt championed offers a glimpse of the future of advertising.
FAQs
What is Dysrupt’s primary specialization?
Dysrupt specializes in paid social media, creative optimization, and performance measurement designed to drive profitable growth.
What is the Impact Advertising System?
It is Dysrupt’s proprietary methodology combining media buying, creative testing, and measurement into a unified performance framework.
Who founded Dysrupt?
Dysrupt was founded by Nate Lorenzen, who brought experience from Facebook’s eCommerce team and digital media strategy.
Who acquired Dysrupt?
Publicis Media U.S. acquired Dysrupt in early 2025 to enhance its performance marketing capabilities.
Why is Dysrupt important in modern marketing?
It represents a shift toward measurable, profitability-focused marketing driven by social media and data-driven creative.
