Blockchain marketing news in September 2019

Things seem to be picking up in the world of blockchain marketing in September.

After a quiet few weeks over the summer, there’s been a lot of news of large enterprises continuing their investigations and trials of blockchain technology within marketing and advertising.

The top news story this month is that of Unilever’s work with IBM on tracking advertising spend through blockchain technology. While some might dismiss this as nothing more than a pilot, Unilever has a huge advertising budget for all their consumer products so we believe that this sort of small but steady increase in the use of technology by large firms is significant.

It is our belief that incremental adoption of blockchain technology within marketing and advertising is the best we can hope for as it enables firms to test, learn, iterate and improve. It might not be as headline grabbing as ‘Major tech firm adopts blockchain across whole business’ but slow and steady often wins the race.

That incremental adoption can be seen in other news stories this month too. Havas has launched a blockchain-based platform that rewards sports fans for their loyalty with exclusive content and swag. This is a major, multinational advertising firm adopting blockchain technology. Whether it’s a huge project or not, it shows intent and incremental adoption.

Finally, there’s our usual mix of opinion from the industry and features on how to improve your own blockchain marketing, as well as a feature on the areas of employment in the blockchain industry that are likely to grow in 2020. Oh and content writing is top of the list - although we could have told you that :)

So, enjoy the content, good luck for the month ahead and remember, we are the pioneers!

News and Reports

Havas Launches Sports 'Fan Relationship Management' Model: Leverages Blockchain To Tokenize Swag, Content Experiences

Havas, a multinational advertising company, has launched a “direct-to-fan” blockchain platform that rewards sports fans for their loyalty. This pioneering application is offering tokens for fan’s online engagements that can be “converted into real consumer goods,exclusive content or experiences that “money can’t buy.”

Unilever encouraged by blockchain ad-buying pilot

Unilever’s blockchain pilot programme with IBM on tracking advertising spending has been successfully completed after yielded promising initial results. Now the company wants to develop “blockchain as a solution for wider digital supply chain”, that will give full transparency of their business operations.

Google's Cooperation Agreement With Ubex Gives New Meaning To Blockchain-Based Programmatic Advertising

Ubex, an advertising platform that combines Artificial Intelligence (AI) and neural networks on blockchain infrastructure, is making a big entrance into the global advertising ecosystem. By signing a cooperation agreement with Google, this blockchain-based platform “will be able to display ads on over 50 billion apps downloaded via Google Play.”

Kind Ads: A Decentralized Advertising Platform for Advertisers & Publishers

Another blockchain platform is paving the way for wider blockchain adoption in digital marketing. If their claims are right, this application will allow publishers to advertise their ads directly to their target audience through email and push notifications. This way, advertisers will save valuable resources while web users will not be bothered with irrelevant and annoying ads.

Features and Interviews

Blockchain Marketing The Definitive Insights Guide 2019

Although we would not call this piece The Definitive Guide for Blockchain Marketing, it does offer some interesting tips for improving your online presence in the blockchain community. In an environment where Facebook, Twitter and Google Ads are banning cryptocurrency-related ads, options for a successful blockchain marketing campaign are challenging, but far away from impossible. From writing engaging SEO content to different Social media strategies, this article is only scratching the surface of exciting blockchain marketing industry.

Blockchain In Advertising Use Case #10: MAD Network

This interview in Disrupt Daily is part of their Blockchain In Advertising series, where they interview CEOs and senior leaders of the most exciting companies that are already using blockchain in their everyday marketing operations. This month they spoke with Adam Helfgott, CEO and Project Lead of MAD Network, and shared his experience with blockchain ecosystems and how his company is planning to develop further in the blockchain digital space.

Industry Opinions

How Blockchain Is Changing Digital Marketing

Not a month goes by without Forbes publishing at least one (and this month we have two) opinion article on blockchain in marketing. This time, they concentrated on how further blockchain implementation will first and foremost benefit the end user, while a whole generation of digital marketing companies could stay out of business if they don’t follow the fast-growing integration of blockchain technology.

How Blockchain Is Affecting The Marketing And Advertising Industry

As mentioned earlier, this is another Forbes article, only this time, it gives more professional insight from an advertising perspective. Ivan Guzenko, CEO and Co-Founder of SmartyAds Inc,thinks that “future is bright” for blockchain-based advertising and he shares some promising stats and examples to back up his opinion.

How to Create a Shitcoin: 5 Valuable Lessons from ICOs

This somewhat funny ICO marketing guide will lead you through all the major marketing strategies that were creating a lot of hype back in 2017. but “don’t seem to make sense anymore”. The writer makes a good point when she says that the era of crypto craze is now over and in order to successfully promote blockchain project marketers need to return to more traditional marketing tactics.

Can Online Advertisers Fight Click Fraud With Blockchain?

It is not news that click fraud is one of the main marketing problems that can be solved with blockchain. This article, however, shows us that advertisers are still reluctant to embrace blockchain as a tool for ad purchases, whether it is because of the impartial downsides of blockchain (speed, energy efficiency) or just fear of adopting the latest technological trends.

And finally...

7 Blockchain-Related Job Opportunities to Watch for In 2020

Blockchain technology is being widely adopted and if you are looking for a job in the blockchain industry, there will be plenty of opportunities for you in the year ahead. This article will help you get a sense of what are the hottest and most hireable skill sets in the blockchain industry, with content writing being at the top of the list.