Blockchain-powered ad campaign for PepsiCo sees 28 pct increase in efficiency

A test advertising campaign using blockchain technology achieved a 28% increase in efficiency, Mindshare, a WPP-owned media agency network, said in a press release.

Mindshare carried out the test in March 2019 in the Asia Pacific in partnership with Zilliqa Research, Rubicon Project, MediaMath and Integral Ad Science. It said that the test showed “up to 28% increased efficiency in terms of costs for viewable impressions, in running the campaign through smart contracts, versus one without.”

In the existing process, reconciliations are done after a campaign is completed. However, the blockchain-based solution reconciles it several times a day and could help reduce inefficiencies in costs.

The test leveraged Zilliqa’s smart contract platform to automate the programmatic supply chain, enhance efficiency, and ensure complete transparency.

The trial run was part of Project Proton, which uses smart contracts built on a dedicated deployment of Zilliqa’s blockchain to ensure that “advertisers need to only pay for the ad impressions that have been deemed viewable, brand-safe and free from any ad fraud,” the release said.

“We are happy to be partnering with Mindshare to test the application and value add of blockchain in media. It is key that we stay abreast of new technologies, and continue to advance transparency, viewability, brand safety and buying efficiency,” Farida Shakhshir, Director of Consumer Engagement for PepsiCo AMENA said.

“The results are encouraging, and we plan to run a few more campaigns under different conditions to verify more hypotheses and measure overall impact.”

According to the press release, the next phase will see the integration of payments to publishers and the inclusion of more performance metrics in smart contracts.