KFC Introduces Blockchain Pilot, A Digital Advertising and Media Buying Platform

The blockchain technology has grown so much over the years and does not require as much introduction as it does when it was first introduced to the world. As a technology, the blockchain was created to introduce ease of use and convenience and as such have been used to disrupt almost every industry in which it has been applied.

For this reason, so many mainstream ventures are starting to adopt the blockchain technology in an attempt to improve their services. Of all industries, one industry that is tilting towards blockchain for ease is the online advertising industry and this even more evident as chicken giants Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) has rolled out a blockchain pilot program across the Middle East for its digital advertising supply chains that is aimed at improving digital advertising and media buying.

Ads Data Are Transparent On a Shared Database

It is expected that the blockchain-powered platform will ensure greater transparency in the advertising supply chain and news publication, and the deployment of the platform will help the company to address issues like security and privacy of advertisers, publishers and consumers.

The Pilot will showcase how it is that blockchain can help improve data processing, increase the brand’s visibility and penetration, and optimize advertising revenue. Additionally, with the use of a shared blockchain-based database where information about all ads delivery and placement is seen, shared and updated on a real-time basis, KFC hopes to resolve any fraud issues.

The chief marketing officer at KFC, Yum! Brands, Ozge Zoralioglu, said, “KFC can now benefit from enhanced visibility of real-time data and the most updated insights — all with full confidence that information is authenticated, tamper-proof and hence credible.”

Fast Foods Already Have An History Of Experimenting With Cryptocurrencies

Previously, KFC has experimented with emerging technologies including cryptocurrencies as back in 2018, KFC introduced a new menu item called the bitcoin bucket where customers could buy anything and exclusively pay with bitcoin (BTC).

American fast-food chain, Church’s Chicken, is another venture that followed in the footstep of KFC when it started accepting payment in cryptocurrency, DASH, at all its 10 restaurants located in Venezuela, at the time.

Burger King is also one of the first international fast-food chains to accept payment in bitcoin as visitors were reportedly able to buy burgers with crypto back in 2016 at the Netherlands branch of Burger King. Later, the German branch of Burger King began accepting Bitcoin on its website and mobile app. Unfortunately, Burger King stopped accepting Bitcoin and announced that the digital currency payment initiative was just a temporary promotional campaign.

Benefits Of The Blockchain-based Pilot

With the Pilot, KFC aims to introduce a blockchain-based solution that is expected to deliver tangible benefits, which enables them to:

1. Harness more accurate data to increase the brand’s visibility and penetration, enabling the distribution of more timely and relevant messaging, reducing over saturation of any communications, maximizing on ad placements and optimizing advertising revenue.
2. Drive increased efficiencies and a more trustworthy supply chain by resolving any issues of fraud. Due to its shared database, every ad delivery and placement is seen, shared and updated on the blockchain on a real-time basis, bringing in ultimate transparency to the digital ad supply chain.

The Managing Director of Hearts and Science MENA, Fadi Maktabi when commenting on the new development said, “We are very excited to be launching blockchain technology with KFC in the region. We believe there is no better time to venture into this than now as both the technology is maturing and the need for faster actionable insights is becoming crucial. With greater access to log-level data, we will be able to make faster changes to fuel data-driven business performance and gain more access into the region’s media supply chain.”

One online advertising company that has also taken full advantage of the power of the blockchain to provide a seamless advertising solution is SaTT. SaTT upgrades the advertising transaction process thanks to blockchain while removing the high costs associated with launching a campaign, reducing payment delays for publishers that rely on ad revenue, and injecting some much-needed transparency into the industry with performance-based payments.

Concretely, the SaTT solution allows anyone to play the role of an online influencer and be remunerated for those posts on social networks, now available on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram & Youtube.

The speed, low-cost, transparency and efficiency of the blockchain remains one reason why every mainstream company should incorporate it into their business. Just as KFC and SaTT have shown, the power of the blockchain is absolutely limitless.