Blockchain tapped to combat ad fraud

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Blockchain has been impacting the advertising industry for years now, but for the first time, it will be used in the digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising sector. Blockchain solutions provider Aqilliz has launched the blockchain-powered DOOH platform for food delivery giant foodpanda. The company is counting on blockchain to combat ad fraud which has become rampant in the digital era.

Despite the implosion of digital advertising, DOOH advertising remains a critical marketing technique for many firms. However, it has yet to become fully digital, with most firms having to rely on archaic techniques that have become less effective. Even in cases when the DOOH advertising is digitized, ad fraud is widespread as there’s no full-proof way of determining the ad campaigns’ success. Aqilliz believes blockchain can solve this, partnering with ad-tech company Moving Walls on the venture.

The project will rely on the Zilliqa blockchain and will leverage smart contracts to give the media owners and buyers a transparent and reliable ledger to verify the delivery of promised impressions. The use of blockchain will enable near real-time verification of performance for greater cost efficiencies.

In a press release shared with CoinGeek, the CEO of Aqilliz Gowthaman Ragothaman stated, “The OOH space is already much more fragmented than digital advertising and a lot of work is needed to better optimise and streamline existing infrastructures. This pilot with Moving Walls can help to demonstrate the potential of blockchain as a viable solution to address such issues in the OOH space. As a fully viewable, immutable ledger of transactions, blockchain can foster greater trust between stakeholders, be it media owners, buyers, and solutions providers, effectively repositioning OOH investments as more transparent and accountable.”

The partnership with foodpanda will greatly spread awareness about the viability of blockchain technology in DOOH advertising, especially given the company’s wide reach. Foodpanda, a wholly-owned subsidiary of global giant Delivery Hero, is a leading food delivery company, with over 150,000 restaurant partners in the Asia-Pacific region. The company’s head of marketing for offline channels, Hasnain Babrawala remarked, “As we embark on this campaign, we’re excited to see what benefits blockchain can bring by way of providing a real-time, independent view of OOH ad delivery in order for us to better strategically plan our marketing expenditure.”

Blockchain’s use in advertising has continued to take root, with several global giants already integrating the technology. Last year, McDonald’s Virgin Media and Nestle joined a U.K. advertising body’s blockchain pilot that seeks to clean up the ad space. E-commerce giant Amazon hasn’t been left behind either and is working on a blockchain advertising platform. Others include Disney, Comcast and NBC.