Los Angeles-based company MetaX is unlocking the power of blockchain technology for the digital advertising ecosystem. The MetaX platform allows the digital advertising supply chain to coordinate in a scalable, trustworthy and secure way using the blockchain.
MetaX reached out to ConsenSys, a blockchain production studio based on Ethereum, to co-build adChain, a blockchain-based protocol that powers the ad-centric applications MetaX is bringing to market for the digital ad industry. The adChain protocol works across all digital advertising channels and is the only technology-driven solution that enables participants across the supply chain (from advertisers to DSPs to publishers to safety vendors) to coordinate and work together in a new healthy ecosystem free of fraud, bot traffic, and malware.
Ken Brook, co-founder and CEO of MetaX said:
“Innovation in digital advertising is growing faster than our standard industry protocols can support. This has created gaps in the ecosystem that can be exploited. Blockchain has a number of exciting implications for digital advertising. Fraud prevention is a natural first application given the transparency and security blockchain brings, and because fraud is such a major issue for the advertising sector.”
Thomas Benton, CEO of the Data & Marketing Association (DMA) stated:
“It’s inspiring to see smart start-ups take on providing innovative solutions to challenges in our industry that are resulting in fraud and injuring marketers’ relationships with their customers. As the only trade association in marketing and advertising that represents all parts of the ecosystem equally, DMA is eager to see its members, like MetaX, provide innovative and trust-based solutions that support the client and supply sides of our industry around ad-fraud and other system-wide pain points.”
Why Blockchain Is Right For Advertising
Blockchain has the capability to transform digital advertising. At its core, a blockchain is a decentralized shared ledger that records transactions into “blocks.” Unlike the current advertising ecosystem, which requires buyers and sellers to trust each other and/or a third-party, all transactions recorded on the blockchain use a system that’s secured by the broader participants of that blockchain via cryptography. It also has no central owner and no single point of failure, making it an extra-secure place to record these transactions.
Blockchain provides a detailed audit trail – something every advertiser wants. All transactions are auditable within the blockchain’s universal, immutable ledger. The end result is a scalable, trustworthy solution for tracking and verifying all advertising impressions, that provides media buyers 100 percent transparency into the supply chain.
Using the MetaX platform to hook into and access the adChain protocol is as easy as setting up a normal campaign. There is zero change to existing systems and no deep integration is necessary.
Joseph Lubin, Founder, ConsenSys said:
“The digital advertising industry is experiencing tremendous growth while increasingly struggling with problems like ad fraud, offering an ideal use case for blockchain technology. The MetaX team are experts in digital advertising. It was a perfect complement to work with us, the largest blockchain startup, in helping the industry solve these problems and become more efficient and transparent. The development of the adChain protocol on the Ethereum platform brings a powerful and unparalleled approach toward reaching these goals.”
Key benefits of the MetaX platform include:
- End-to-end Transparency: For the first time, brands and media buyers have a trustworthy holistic view of all data related to an impression
- Campaign Coordination and Auditing: Advertisers and publishers have a comprehensive audit trail for everything related to a campaign (e.g. participants, media and placements)
- Exposes Fraud: Fraud can be identified and blacklisted in real time at a protocol level, routing out and neutralizing that fraud before significant damage can take place
- Real-time Reconciliation and Data Collection: Advertisers and their vendors can see where other problems arise across the supply chain and take advantage of coordination efficiencies to help track/solve issues
- Cryptographically Secure Event Processing: Using the MetaX platform, advertisers and publishers can execute massive transaction volume while maintaining integrity and security of their impression data
- Comprehensive Data: Complements existing safety vendors and fraud prevention solutions by providing secure and comprehensive data
- Ad-friendly Implementation: Simple tracking beacons and basic scripting allows MetaX and the adChain protocol to seamlessly integrate with the industry’s existing solutions, enabling interoperability and easy adoption by the digital advertising ecosystem
Digital advertising industry partners, such as publishers, advertisers, safety vendors, exchanges, DSPs and more, are all invited to participate in an ongoing private beta program.
