For years, these advertisers’ efforts to secure authentic, valuable connections with consumers have been stymied. Opaque data, convoluted campaign terms and fuzzy metrics are inhibitors. Nineteenth-century retailer John Wanamaker’s iconic line, “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don't know which half” represents a fundamental question about digital ads altogether. It represents the growing unease about dubious tactics and tepid returns offered by leading search engines.

Emerging Technology And The Evolution Of Search

At BitClave, we’re solving the problem from both the consumer and business side. We believe mutually incentivizing and establishing a direct connection between businesses and customers is the paradigm shift the search and advertising vertical needs. Principally, customers find what they are looking for and businesses provide the right offer to the right question from the right consumer. Within the ecosystem, these interactions are managed in a decentralized way, leveraging the security and immutability of blockchain. As user information is generated, businesses enjoy precise levels of user targeting, maximizing ROI on advertising spend, regaining campaign control and answering search queries. Customer and retail activity information gets stored on the decentralized ledger. This satisfies users’ desire for relevant search results while driving a safer, more efficient transactional experience.

In the U.S., digital ad spend is expected to be $83 billion in 2017. Of this, roughly $37 billion will be from search. As Google and Facebook’s stranglehold tightens, sub-optimal experiences for users and advertisers will continue. These middlemen have moved from simply owning the platforms for search and commerce to meddling in the actual engagements. They are dictating results and using this influence, in the form of ad placements and click-through rate performance, for exorbitant gain.

The too-big-to-fail search and advertising middle should be accountable. Their currency is data and dollars — the very things that consumers and advertisers provide. Irritation is growing among consumers and advertisers alike. AdBlockers app downloads are surging. The vagaries of digital ad ROI have spurred blockchain-based companies bent on disrupting the vertical — and conditions are changing.

Alongside BitClave, martech industry observers note some early leaders:

• AdChain
is an open protocol that uses blockchain technology to improve the digital ad supply chain and prevent ad fraud.

• NYIAX
 is the world’s first exchange to trade advertising contracts. Developed in partnership with Nasdaq, NYIAX enables publishers and advertisers to buy, sell and re-trade high-quality advertising inventory with its financial matching engine.

• AdShares
offers programmatic advertising in a decentralized, peer-to-peer marketplace. The platform brings together publishers and advertisers by cutting out the middleman.

A View Of The Future

Our conviction is that mechanisms to deliver value to buyers and sellers, not middlemen, need to be at the center of search.For years, these advertisers’ efforts to secure authentic, valuable connections with consumers have been stymied. Opaque data, convoluted campaign terms and fuzzy metrics are inhibitors. Nineteenth-century retailer John Wanamaker’s iconic line, “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don't know which half” represents a fundamental question about digital ads altogether. It represents the growing unease about dubious tactics and tepid returns offered by leading search engines.