Blockchain marketing news in April 2019

Approaching the world with a healthy dose of scepticism is always sensible. Fake news and FOMO are used to make you hand over your hard earned cash, so taking a step back to assess a situation from afar while the masses pile in is usually a good strategy.

The same is true with blockchain marketing. Even though we believe that this technology will have a profound effect on certain areas of marketing (and many more parts of our lives too), it pays to take any new announcement of how it will transform the market with a pinch of salt.

Having reported last month that momentum was building, scepticism is maybe the most appropriate word to sum up this month’s news. Not that there haven’t been some positive news stories. We’ve included news that R/GA Ventures, the investment arm of marketing agency R/GA, is building a blockchain investment studio, as well as a story about the Atlas Protocol’s new Atlas Coin++ product.

But the stories that have caught our eyes most this month are the industry opinion pieces in The Drum and Marketing Tech News, which seek to cool any enthusiasm for blockchain marketing with claims that it “isn’t the answer yet” and the “potential is there but caution advised”. This same theme comes across in our And Finally… section, which features interviews from Wall Street traders who claim the institutions aren’t actually coming after all (at least, not yet).

So sit back and enjoy a bit of scepticism this month. We’re sure they’ll be plenty of positivity next month because we are the pioneers!

News and Reports

R/GA Ventures Partners With Local Blockchain Firms To Create Blockchain Venture

R/GA Ventures, the investment arm of international marketing company R/GA, is opening a blockchain investment studio in Oregon, USA. Oregon Enterprise Blockchain Venture Studio (OEBVS) has announced it will work with a number of firms, including Consensys and blockchain research firm Smith + Crown.

Tech Mahindra and Samsung SDS announce blockchain collaboration

While not strictly marketing-related, the news that two major global tech giants are working together on a blockchain programme is noteworthy, particularly as it will be marketed throughout the APAC region. The partnership revolves around offering Nexledger, a blockchain platform developed by Samsung SDS, the company’s software arm.

Atlas Protocol launches Atlas Coin++ product to measure social traffic

Atlas Protocol, the blockchain advertising platform, has launched its Atlas Coin++ product, which it claims will allow projects to measure the authenticity and validity of social traffic. The integrity of marketing and advertising data is often cited as an industry pain point that blockchain technology can help to fix.

Features and Interviews

Blockchain in Digital Marketing: Q&A with Jack Smith, GroupM

It’s always interesting to hear from senior executives inside the industry about the effect blockchain might have. In this Q&A with Jack Smith, Chief Product Officer at advertising firm GroupM, he explains why education around blockchain’s potential and testing in limited-scope trials are needed.

Top 5 Blockchain-Based Native Advertising Platforms

This rundown of what the writer claims are the top 5 blockchain-based native advertising platforms is a useful reference point for anyone trying to get a basic understanding of the market. While none of the platforms mentioned are used extensively, it does give you a sense of where the most competition is happening.

3 Reasons Why you Need a Blockchain Marketing Strategy in 2019

This article is more about introducing a blockchain-enabled strategy than a marketing strategy for a blockchain solution but it still highlights some useful points. In particular, it focuses on how blockchain could transform loyalty programmes and advertising data platforms, although its analysis of how it might affect influencer marketing is less useful.

Industry Opinions

'Stepping backward': why blockchain in marketing isn't the answer yet

This opinion piece (log in required), which is built off research from Brave and Never Stop Marketing that shows the blockchain marketing industry has grown over 1000% in a year, is a helpful reality check on what progress actually means. This article assesses the pros and cons of blockchain for marketing in a fair and balanced way.

Assessing blockchain for marketers: Potential is there but caution advised

This opinion piece is built of the report on blockchain (and DLT) from the aforementioned Jack Smith of GroupM. While it essentially draws out the key arguments of the report, it does make the point that’s often forgotten by an over fascination with the tech - that consumers still want inexpensive content without giving up too much data.

And Finally…

Amid Bitcoin Uncertainty, ‘the Smart Money Knows That Crypto Is Not Ready’

As the opening line of this article suggests, there were many people “who thought big Wall Street institutions were about to become heavy hitters in the cryptocurrency markets”. That hasn’t come to fruition and this piece is a useful reminder for anyone interested in blockchain marketing that, even in the wider crypto world, adoption can be slow.