14 ways blockchain in marketing and advertising is getting our attention

14 ways blockchain in marketing and advertising is getting our attention

In today's marketing and advertising glutted world, product placement is a constant. Whether it's through sponsor names on NBA jerseys, large billboard and building ads along your morning train commute or targeted online ads tied to recently searched items, marketing teams are always fighting for our attention.

In 2016, global marketing budgets totaled $195 billion. By 2021, thanks in large part to the rapidly expanding realm of digital advertising, that number is expected to reach $412.88 billion.

To make the most of their money, companies collect more consumer data than ever before. This data, in turn, directly affects major business decisions like the introduction of new products, price points and future ad campaigns. But this stockpile of customer data is also highly vulnerable to ad fraud and mismanagement, which contributes to inefficiency. 

Another problem: there's no single accounting of real-time metrics from all platforms, which can cause customers to be inundated with repetitive marketing materials and product misinformation. Most troubling, it can lead to profit loss.

Blockchain’s decentralized ledger technology could offer a simple solution to these pressing problems with its cost-saving transparency and real-time data aggregation.

Below are 14 examples of how blockchain is already being used to help companies and brands stand out from the pack. 

The following companies help marketing and advertising teams collect better data and optimize their content for digital platforms. Using data organization tools, they also help combat ad fraud and reduce  advertising supply chain mismanagement.

How it's using blockchain: Rebel AI combats ad fraud with a blockchain-enabled, cryptographic verification system for advertisers and marketers. Marketing teams and publishers are assigned unique identities that help prevent what's called "domain spoofing" — unverified ad networks or fraudulent websites that obscure marketing traffic data.

By assigning immutable IDs on a DLT, Rebel AI can transparently display an ad's payer, how long the ad has run, all actors involved in the ad supply chain and how many humans interacted with the ad.    

Industry Impact: Advertising contract marketplace NYIAX recently agreed to use Rebel AI’s blockchain as a way to ensure that media trading has a thorough supply chain registry and that all contracts are legitimate.

How it's using blockchain: The Lucidity blockchain platform stores and verifies every marketing event to ensure transparent and accurate data. The company’s platform uses smart contracts to give marketing teams real-time insight into their current campaigns, track payments to ad publishers and prevent fraud by flagging fake bot views.  

Industry Impact: Auto giant Toyota saw a 21% lift in ad campaign performance on Lucidity’s platform. By blacklisting sites and apps that were determined by Lucidity to have high levels of discrepancy, Toyota was able to shift its budget to higher performing sites and eliminate wasteful spending.

How it's using blockchain: MetaX is using blockchain to open up transparency in the advertising supply chain. The company’s latest tool, the adChain Registry, provides advertisers with a list of websites that offer high-quality, low-fraud space for digital advertising. Once a URL is submitted, registry members vote to support or oppose the site's authenticity.

Industry Impact: The MetaX adChain Registry features more than 100 quality-approved sites, including Twitter, Esquire, Popular Mechanics and NPR.

How it's using blockchain: Kiip is an in-app mobile advertising platform that uses blockchain to augment advertising supply chain transparency and provide real-time marketing data. The Kiip platform enables all parties involved in an ad campaign to directly view and audit data. It also streamlines some of the reporting and payment processing. Additionally, the Kiip Koin is a blockchain-based crypto that enables brands to buy media and orchestrate campaigns through smart contracts.

Industry Impact: Kiip and beer giant AB InBev launched the world’s first blockchain mobile ad campaign in July 2018. In the summer of 2018, AB InBev used the mobile platform to target customers and build data on their programmatic ad buying methods.

How it's using blockchain: Technology giant IBM uses its blockchain platform to verify the advertising supply chain. The company  partnered with advertising and analytics platform Mediaocean to offer an end-to-end ledger that gives marketing teams better data insight. The goal is to help businesses eliminate wasteful spending on unnecessary third-parties, and to expose potentially fraudulent data.

Industry Impact: IBM’s digital consultancy arm, IBM iX, and Mediaocean's platform are piloting the network for media deals with Unilever, Pfizer and Kellogg, for which the ledger will ideally eliminate the “ad-tech tax.” It will expand to other larger companies in the near future.

How it's using blockchain: NYIAX is the world’s first marketplace for advertising contract trading. Developed in partnership with Nasdaq, the company uses blockchain to give advertisers and publishers a platform to buy, sell and trade advertising contracts in a futures methodology. The company’s patented, blockchain-backed “Financial Matching Engine” verifies quality advertising contracts that are available for trade or sale and connects publishers with advertising buyers.

Industry Impact: NYIAX partnered with mesmr (a blockchain-based media ecosystem) to integrate the ledger platform into all digital content so brands and content creators can seamlessly interact and trade with one another.

How it's using blockchain: FusionSeven is a SaaS platform that uses blockchain to foster transparency in digital advertising processes. The company’s ledgers automate workflows to speed up the reconciliation of programmatic digital advertising supply chains.  

Industry Impact: Instead of “disrupting” the advertising industry, FusionSeven employs its blockchain to bring about something they believe will provide immediate relief. After dipping a toe in the water with digital media reconciliations, the company will move on to ad payment processing.

How they’re using blockchain: Havas Blockchain, the ledger-oriented digital marketing arm of the advertising giant Havas Group, provides public relations and advertising campaigns for the blockchain community. The company consults and develops strategies for ICO’s and crypto launches by defining the right channels and using blockchain-backed platforms to fulfill outreach and create content.  

Industry Impact: Havas Blockchain has already developed advertising campaigns for blockchain companies like Sandblock and Talao.

With more than three billion users, social media has allowed brands to connect and engage with fans on a deeper, more-personalized level than ever before. Advertisers are constantly trying to find innovative ways to win over consumers' attention and inspire brand loyalty.

To differentiate themselves, companies must offer unique rewards and build genuine relationships with their customers. The following blockchain companies helping marketing and advertising teams step up their social media engagement and customer relationship building practices.

How it's using blockchain: Loyyal uses blockchain tokenization and smart contracts to help businesses expand customer loyalty programs. The company’s Blockchain-as-a-Service (BaaS) has already been implemented in the travel, credit card and employee incentives industries.

The Loyyal blockchain platform helps companies trace their loyalty tokens throughout the entire customer rewards process and helps marketing teams to personalize promotions based on an individual’s rewards spending and behaviors.

Industry Impact: Loyyal is working with an airline company to establish a customer “wallet” through which tokens earned for flying can then be used on their rideshare to a hotel or home. The travel continuity will ideally encourage customers to consider using the airline and the rideshare company for both legs of their journey.

How it's using blockchain: Cryptibles is an Enthereum blockchain-based digital token designed for customer engagement, trading and collecting. The company’s app enables marketing teams to design their own interactive digital currency or token that can be used to increase engagement among consumers or as a digital incentive to purchase more items.

Industry Impact: Cryptibles launched its app in late 2017 to help marketing teams reward their customers with unique, collectible items. The company markets its product to mobile game developers and influencers.

How it's using blockchain: Boomerang is a blockchain platform that rewards users and workers with tokens based on performance and engagement. The company designed its platform to help service industry workers (bus drivers, waiters, rideshare drivers, etc.) earn more tips and ensure that all payments are fairly tracked.

Users can use the company’s KUDOS token to tip workers, and businesses can build customer incentive programs that encourage engagement. The Boomerang blockchain also includes the world’s first verified rating system through which customers can rate and describe their experiences at bars and restaurants all over the world.

Industry Impact: As a project of Skedaddle — a transportation rental service — Boomerang’s proof-of-concept is being tested on bus services. Users can tip a review bus services using the Boomerang decentralized app and the KUDOS token.

Not only can mass advertising be overwhelming, it would be nice to know that our data on which those ads are based is being used responsibly. These blockchain companies help consumers navigate the morass.

How it's using blockchain: Brave’s blockchain helps to block unwanted ads and, via its Brave Rewards, enables users to reward frequented sites and their content creators with the company’s Basic Attention Tokens (BAT). BATs are a way of focusing attention on certain brands or content that users believe needs more recognition. Brave’s ad blocker uses blockchain to track harmful ad popups and neutralize them before they can spread malware. The shields are completely customizable and on a per-site basis.

Industry Impact: Brave just released a new version of its desktop browser. Chromium-based, it's 22% faster and still has all the customizable blockchain-backed ad blockers.

How they’re using blockchain: BitClave uses blockchain to reward consumers for sharing their personal data with marketing teams. Via a transparent ledger, the BitClave Active Search Ecosystem (BASE) enables users to control their identity and decide who can and cannot access their information. In exchange for access to information, marketing and advertising teams build direct relationships with customers and offer them uniquely targeted promotions to match their preferences.

Industry Impact: BitClave operates in a number of industries — including auto insurance, child care, home rental and car sales — to help businesses more effectively target their audiences and consumers to better understand who is handling their personal information.

How they’re using blockchain: Chlu is a decentralized, crowdsourced ratings and reviews platform. Through a proof-of-payment blockchain, users verify they’ve had an actual in-store experience or purchased a real product, which ensures authentic reviews.

Marketing and advertising teams can use this tool to market their authentic positive reviews to customers searching for products and offer promotions. Chlu’s blockchain also enables customers to view reputation scores and give private feedback that marketing teams can use to enhance their product and customer experience.  

Industry Impact: Having already developed its blockchain integration and wallet, Chlu is planning a token sale for early 2019 to fund the Alpha stage of its review ecosystem.

For a look at how blockchain is helping other industries safeguard consumer information, click here.

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