If your startup wanted to buy ad space on television, billboards, print or radio (known as traditional media) you would have to first go through an ad buyer. Similarly, in order to do almost any digital advertising, your company would have to work with Google or Facebook to place the ads. This becomes a problem because these middlemen take large mark-ups and as a result media owners make less and companies pay more.
Furthermore, the industry is incredibly inefficient. Ad buyers track client ad spend and media owner performance via email and spreadsheets. There is no pricing transparency between companies, media owners, and ad buyers. Furthermore, data monitoring is done via surveys and sample groups. Overall, this makes buying media more difficult and costly.
Background on AdBit
AdBit is a blockchain company tackling the problems within the traditional media buying industry. Their approach implements a trustless decentralized media exchange that connects media buyers and media owners. The exchange offers automation of routine tasks, transparent pricing, and effective monitoring of ad performance.
They are acquiring the media buying platform, Ciinch, with proceeds from their token offering to help boost their network effects and make use of Ciinch’s workflow management software. Once they launch, AdBit’s three main functions will include the Media Exchange, Media Monitoring, and Media Match tools. AdBit
Media Exchange: Focus on Transparency
One of the biggest problems with traditional media buying is that companies and media owners never know how much spread the middleman is actually taking. With a decentralized exchange companies/media owners can submit proposals to one-another and manage contracts. Companies can also still work with media agencies, which would then be more about tailoring campaigns on the exchange. This alone will help reduce costs for all parties.
Additionally, up to 30% of media owners inventory goes unused each year due to inefficiencies in the buying system. With an improved exchange interface and real-time analytics, advertisers and media owners can more efficiently carry-through orders. This will maximize ad spend and ensure greater yeilds for media owners.
Media Monitor: Enable Better Monitoring
Pricing and performance tracking for media buying is typically done via surveys and questionnaires. Companies including Nielson, Kantar, GFK, and IPSOS, control this monitoring market. These surveys can sometimes take weeks to complete and thereby are slow and poor gauges of performance. With real-time digital analytics of media, companies can get better insight into their ad performance and the entire system can work more effectively.
This technology analyzes social media for different media types, such as television and radio audiences, to determine fair pricing and accurate reporting. Furthermore, this monitoring technology helps companies compare marketing projects across media. Currently, companies need to compare negotiated contracts with ad agencies with metrics from Facebook Ads, whereas now, all media can have real-time comparability.
Media Match: Automate Functionality
As part of their acquisition of Ciinch, AdBit already has a range of automated functionality that streamlines the buying system. On top of this, since buyers and owners will be sending proposals to one another, Media Match automatically takes data from proposals and inserts it into the Media Exchange platform.
This removes a huge time suck of checking emails for proposals, entering them into spreadsheets, and constantly updating spreadsheets for account reconciliation. It also improves upon the speed and accuracy of transmitting the information. Overall, AdBit has structured their product to be as time effective and automated as possible.
The traditional media buying industry is a flawed spaced, held back by inefficient business practices, lack of transparency, and mark-up fees. In order to solve this problem and offer better access to companies looking to invest in marketing, AdBit is deploying a blockchain-based media exchange. With automated functionality and transparent transactions, their exchange brings the benefits of decentralization to media buying. They are launching their token in August 2018 and are poised to majorly improve the way in which advertisers and media owners transact.
