Unilever and IBM Pilot Blockchain Digital Ad Supply Chain
IBM is working with Unilever to create blockchain digital ad transparency and provide more insight for marketers.
Unilever have been piloting a programme together with Salon Media Group and IBM, to create a digital ad buying ecosystem. Using blockchain technology, a single shared ledger will track how digital ad inventory is filled.
Currently, around 20 percent of Digital Advertising spend is fraudulently misused, a substantial loss of a ‘return on investment.
Along with Procter & Gamble, Unilever have been addressing the need for ‘more transparency’ in the ad industry, with a statement earlier this year that they would halt advertising on Facebook and Google due to the lack of it.
Unilever’s $9.8 billion annual marketing budget, affords them a strong voice. During the first half of 2017, they sent a message to the industry by dropping their digital ad spend in the US by 17 percent.
During this pilot on the IBM blockchain platform, Unilever has been using part of its US ad spend to make ‘buys’, validating the ‘agreed spend’ and clarifying all discrepancies.
Executive partner in global marketing at IBM’s digital agency iX, Babs Rangaiah said the results of this blockchain digital ad solution have been promising, he added:
“Members have a ‘key’ that allows them to see only the data they are allowed to see, but the data itself can be used for targeting across devices, sites and more”
Further to this, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) released a whitepaper outlining the potential of blockchain technology as a media buying tool for video advertising. The IAB stated that blockchain:
“is a natural fit for the digital advertising supply chain, potentially enabling increased efficiencies and a more trustworthy supply chain, as well as reducing cost and fraud for publishers and buyers.”
IBM is part of the AdLedger consortium, together with many members including the IAB, GroupM, Publicis Media and Tegna. They seek to establish the rules and standards for blockchain in advertising.
