Martech: Martech is Marketing Logo
  • Topics
    Transformation
    Operations
    Data
    Experience
    Performance
    Management
    Special Reports
    All Topics
  • Conference
  • Webinars
  • Intelligence Reports
  • White Papers
  • What is MarTech
    Mission
    Team
    Newsletter
    Search Engine Land
    Third Door Media

Processing...Please wait.

MarTech » Digital Transformation » IAB Tech Labs launches blockchain-analysis pilot program

IAB Tech Labs launches blockchain-analysis pilot program

The effort will examine blockchain projects by member organizations, resulting in a white paper that separates wheat from chaff.

Barry Levine on July 20, 2018 at 12:33 pm

It seems like every other day a new startup is claiming it can cure the woes of digital advertising with blockchain — while doubters point to the technology’s limitations.

To help sort the wheat from the chaff so some real baking can occur, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) Tech Lab announced this week that its Blockchain Working Group is launching a pilot program.

The program will look at blockchain-based, advertising-targeted projects from the Working Group’s 100+ member organizations. It will then write a white paper that attempts to point out the actual value — and possibly throw shade on the hype — of blockchain’s potential for this industry.

So far, projects have been identified from Kochava Labs, FusionSeven, MetaX and Lucidity. Each includes a variety of ad tech participants, including advertisers, agencies, DSPs, publishers and exchanges.

The Lucidity “Layer 2” pilot, for instance, is looking to verify impressions and track the programmatic supply chain through a blockchain-based decentralized shared ledger. The company is also planning other blockchain projects to tackle fee transparency, digital publisher signature and audience verification.

The hype surrounding blockchain has obscured its key asset as a distributed and virtually immutable shared ledger. While there are other capabilities, the technology also has issues about processing speed, privacy between participants and functions that might otherwise be handled with less expense or less complexity through more conventional technologies.

Smart contracts and virtual currency, for instance, are consistently cited as unique aspects of blockchain-based systems, but both could also be offered through conventional software. Startup WildFire, for instance, launched this week a virtual-coin-based platform to support app discovery and engagement, and it doesn’t use blockchain.

IAB SVP/GM Dennis Buchheim told me that he expects the white paper will “glean insights” from the various projects in the pilot program, helping to sift which blockchain-based functions are clearly advantageous for digital advertising, which could hold promise and which have not yet proven themselves.

The paper will also attempt to determine which blockchain-based capabilities would benefit from standardization by IAB, such as smart contracts. There’s no date yet on when the white paper will be issued, he said.


New on MarTech

    Create a B2B GTM strategy that buyers, execs and revenue teams love

    Martech failure? 50% say loyalty programs don’t offer much value

    5 tips for building customer trust during the supply chain crisis

    Everything you should know about evaluating your competitor’s backlink profile

    Webinar: Transform your content operations with DAM

About The Author

Barry Levine
Barry Levine covers marketing technology for Third Door Media. Previously, he covered this space as a Senior Writer for VentureBeat, and he has written about these and other tech subjects for such publications as CMSWire and NewsFactor. He founded and led the web site/unit at PBS station Thirteen/WNET; worked as an online Senior Producer/writer for Viacom; created a successful interactive game, PLAY IT BY EAR: The First CD Game; founded and led an independent film showcase, CENTER SCREEN, based at Harvard and M.I.T.; and served over five years as a consultant to the M.I.T. Media Lab. You can find him at LinkedIn, and on Twitter at xBarryLevine.

Related Topics

Digital TransformationPerformance Marketing

Get the daily newsletter digital marketers rely on.

Processing...Please wait.

See terms.

ATTEND OUR EVENTS

June 7, 2022: Master Classes

September 28-29, 2022: Fall

Start Discovering Now: Spring

Learn More About Our MarTech Events

June 14-15, 2022: SMX Advanced (virtual)

November 14-15, 2022: SMX Next (virtual)

March 8-9, 2022: Master Classes (virtual)

Learn More About Our SMX Events

Webinars

Data-Driven Answers to Achieve Omnichannel Success

Is Your Marketing Stack Ready for Omnichannel CX?

Outrank in Organic Search with These 5 Core Tactics

See More Webinars

Intelligence Reports

Enterprise SEO Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide

Enterprise Identity Resolution Platforms

Email Marketing Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide

Enterprise Sales Enablement Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide

Enterprise Digital Experience Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide

Enterprise Call Analytics Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide

See More Intelligence Reports

White Papers

Reputation Management For Healthcare Organizations

Unlock the App Marketing Potential of QR Codes

Realising the power of virtual events for demand generation

The Progressive Marketer’s Ultimate Events Strategy 2022 Worksheet

CMO Guide: How to Plan Smart and Pivot Fast

See More Whitepapers

Receive daily marketing news & analysis.

Processing...Please wait.

Topics

  • Transformation
  • Operations
  • Data
  • Experience
  • Performance
  • Management
  • All Topics
  • Home

Our Events

  • MarTech
  • Search Marketing Expo - SMX

About

  • What is MarTech
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Marketing Opportunities
  • Staff

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Newsletters
  • RSS

© 2022 Third Door Media, Inc. All rights reserved.