Who could have predicted that this vast and intricate digital media advertising network would emerge from the humble banner ad? Our industry has been so completely transformed by digital and technological advancements that advertisers are expected to spend $ 98 billion on programmatic advertising this year alone, about 68% of their total spending on digital media advertising. With a greater emphasis on automation, the increase in programmatic is sure to continue, but there are significant hurdles ahead.
From brand security and ad fraud to the constant need to comply with privacy frameworks that are enacted around the world, these concerns remain at the forefront of the decision-making table. Gesturing towards an endemic lack of transparency and trust among the various stakeholders in the industry that has led to the proliferation of intermediaries and inefficiencies throughout the digital media supply chain, the problems surely persist. However, the solutions are not far behind.
Clearing the Path to Better Insights
Since its introduction, programmatic real-time bidding media has become the undisputed breach for the digital advertising industry. However, as is unfortunately the case with all successful experiments, there are bad actors looking to find a way to exploit the machinery to make money. Ad fraud has become a thorn in the side of digital advertisers, and the industry is constantly on the lookout for ways to counter fraudulent impressions, clicks, and conversions that have cost up to $ 19 billion in losses. by year. The widespread problem of ad fraud is compounded by isolated ad solutions that have been created by tech powers like Google, Amazon, and Facebook, which offer little room to understand how marketing campaigns are really performing in nature.
Blockchain can fundamentally transform the digital marketing space in this regard: it provides the means to record reconciled transactions in a decentralized ledger, thereby eliminating data duplication. This then serves as immutable proof of a transaction or event that has taken place, which means that the success of the campaign cannot be falsified after the fact. By employing smart contracts in the tracking and reconciliation process of published ad campaigns, stakeholders can ensure that only impressions that have been verified according to the parameters encoded in the contract are paid. Payments can also be automatically distributed to relevant parties based on factors such as when and where an ad was shown, who viewed this ad, and if the viewer interacted with it.
Unraveling the supply chain
Moving digital, the expectation was that ultimately advertising would be a fully responsible activity – every penny spent on ads would be trackable, new granular metrics would help drive higher engagement, and there would be much less wasted time, effort and money. usually. Obviously something has been achieved, but not everything. Digital advertising encompasses a vast and complex ecosystem that, while expert and effective in some respects, is still plagued by inefficiencies stemming from its fragmented nature. Significant duplication occurs when advertising on multiple major advertising platforms, thus persisting the complicated chain of vendors, platforms, and third parties.
However, for blockchain to fully exploit its potential, the marketing industry will have to find a way to overcome its divisions and establish measurement standards for its practices, as well as the most suitable methods for authenticating identities, properties, and digital impressions. . Amid increased mistrust of digital companies and increasing regulatory oversight, marketers must take steps toward compliance while focusing on a broader picture of accountability and transparency because doing so will not only increase the bottom line, but also It will improve the customer experience, and that is a victory for all of us.
