MIAMI — Bitcoin isn’t the only beneficiary from blockchain, the underlying technology that powers decentralized cryptocurrencies and, potentially, a whole lot more.
That same kind of infrastructure is getting people in several industries excited. In particular, blockchains’ ability to store an immutable, public ledger of every system activity.
In the advertising world, that capability has some people wondering if such a ledger could be the perfect way to record how every cent of media spend is allocated and how every consumer action correlates.
For Jonathan Steuer, Omnicom Media Group’s, chief research officer, the benefits are coming in to focus.
In this video interview with Beet.TV, he says: “The two things that keep coming up over and over again are:
- “How do you measure unduplicated reach and frequency in a cross-platform world, which is still really hard?”
- “How do you assess the quality of data sets that you’re using for targeting or for measurement or for both?”
“The two, I think, potentially get solved together in a … blockchainy-like solution… some sort of tokenized identity.”
Whilst the detail is yet to be fleshed out, in theory, Steuer imagines a system driven by how audience members themselves control the data they provide to advertisers.
“On one hand, you empower consumers to control the data about them that gets collected and, on the other hand, you have standard ways of connecting that and rolling that up that extend across all the various different platforms,” Steuer adds.
Today, blockchain is the zeitgeist technology searching for application beyond cryptocurrency. Could it really cure advertising’s ills? Many a vendor is currently launching blockchain solutions purporting to enhance advertising capabilities. But the proof of the pudding will be in the eating.
“I think that’s where we eventually get to,” Steuer says of his own idea. “The question is, how long does that take and what are the stops along the road to get there?”
This video is part of a series titled The Road to the Digital Content NewFronts. It is a preview of topics to be explored at IAB’s NewFronts, which begin on April 30. This series is presented by Meredith Corporation. For more videos from the series, please visit this page.
