In this dynamic environment of digital marketing, trust and transparency are on the rise along with consumers who are more aware than ever before about how their data is used and consequently pushing brands to be more accountable with their marketing practices. In this period of disruption, blockchain technology could be a major disruptor by providing ways to not only protect data, but also regain trust in the digital advertising ecosystem.
Understanding Blockchain Technology
A Blockchain is a distributed, decentralised ledger that securely and impenetrably records transactions over numerous computer networks. With traditional databases, one entity, such as a company, controls the data and can change or delete, while no single entity has control over the transactions made on a blockchain. Once a transaction is stored on a blockchain, it can never be modified, or deleted in the future. Immutability and transparency are supported by blockchain technologies and are advantageous for trust and verification requests.
Blockchain Technology’s Application in Digital Marketing
- Fighting Ad Fraud
Fraud is one of the largest issues facing digital ads; each year, phoney impressions, bot traffic, and fraudulent clicks cost marketers billions of dollars. Blockchain can stop these losses by verifying that clicks and ad impressions are authentic. With open tracking and verification of every ad interaction, marketers can be certain their ad budgets are being spent effectively and ethically.
- Strengthening Data Privacy and Consumer Consent
Most online marketing is consumer information-driven. Abuse of personal data led to the need for improved practice in privacy. Blockchain allows safe, user-managed sharing of information. Smart contracts can be used by users to grant or withdraw permission to access data, empowering them and enabling greater trust in companies that care about their privacy.
- Transparency in Influencer Marketing Influencer collaborations are often surrounded by unsubstantiated statistics and ill-defined deliverables Blockchain has the ability to provide transparency in this space by maintaining agreements and outcomes in an immutable ledger. It might guarantee that influencers deliver their promises and brands understand the value they expect to achieve. This promises less disputes and greater accountability.
4 Digital advertising, like all ecosystems, has a myriad of intermediaries, such as advertisers, agencies, publishers, and ad networks, and any of these parties can bring their own level of inefficiencies and hidden costs. By recording the entire process of serving an ad on a blockchain, we can give transparency to every stakeholder, from advertisers to publishers, in the ad supply chain with the assurance of fair prices and honest transactions.
Real-World Applications
Blockchain is already being investigated by a number of businesses in marketing:
- The Brave Browser utilizes blockchain technology to create a user-centric advertising ecosystem, wherein users receive Basic Attention Tokens (BAT) in return for viewing ads.
- AdEx Network offers a decentralized advertising exchange that aims to prevent advertising fraud and ensure that advertisements are delivered as planned. provides blockchain-based tracking to verify that ads are served to real people on verified platforms.
Challenges and Considerations
Although blockchain holds great potential, its adoption in digital marketing faces several hurdles. These consist of:
- Scalability obstacles: Blockchain networks may have slower performance than traditional systems.
- Technical complexity: Blockchain implementation requires unique specialized knowledge and the ability to integrate easily with pre-existing systems.
- Regulatory uncertainty: Changing regulations could impact the use of blockchain within the advertisement process.
Nevertheless, because of ongoing improvements and a desire for transparency, the use of blockchain in digital marketing will likely move very quickly.
Conclusion
Blockchain has a considerable space to revolutionize digital marketing through improved transparency, trust, and data protection. While it is still developing, the underlying principles of this technology directly reflect the changing demands of consumers and marketers. As companies aim to create more ethical and responsible marketing approaches, blockchain could become a fundamental element of digital trust in the coming years.
