How Blockchain Can Change Marketing Forever
And it’s not how you think.
Before diving in, I have to mention that I am not a blockchain expert. I have prepared this piece by reading about it. I am a marketer. And what interest me are the implications the blockchain will have on the way we practice marketing. If you have more knowledge of blockchain technology, and agree or disagree with my arguments, please leave a comment. I’d love to know your insights.
The more I read what’s online about blockchain and its potential impact on marketing, the more I thought: “they have it wrong, something is missing”.
What I read about is how the blockchain will create a better ad buying experience for advertisers or improve reward programs...
All the articles I read talked about surface changes.
They talked about the impact of blockchain in the context of the internet we know today.
I believe it’s much more than that.
I believe blockchain technology will change what the internet is.
It will change the foundations we have today.
Blockchain will change the internet
The Fordian reference here is that blockchain is not about building a faster horse, it’s about the car.
We need to change our paradigm.
Blockchain is a promise of a decentralised “database” that is virtually incorruptible.
Blockchain is not a person or group, it has nothing to hide. It has no secrets because it has no self-interest (nor a self).
In the blockchain, every transaction is timestamped. When it is verified and agreed upon by the entire network that it is safe and will not corrupt the system, it is legitimized and added to the continuous ledger.
With this level of transparency and open verification, no one can make a change that goes unnoticed. It also doesn’t allow for changes to old entries.
The system never sleeps. (Sam Yang, on Medium)
What this will change is the fundamental role of data authorities.
The current internet is owned by these data authorities.
They are the corporations that collect our data and monetise it, in exchange for bearing the cost of maintaining the infrastructure.
To offer a search service like Google, someone needs to bear the costs of the infrastructure (data centers, algorithms, engineers etc…).
The implicit deal we make with these data authorities is:
- You (the data authority) bear the cost of the infrastructure
- We (the consumers) give you our attention for free
- You (the data authority) sell our attention to the highest bidder.
Now, what if that infrastructure was self-standing, independent and not owned by anyone?
What if instead of Google, a blockchain-based infrastructure maintained by it’s own users, would do the job?
I am not talking here about the death of intermediaries. I am talking here about the death of data authorities.
What’s the difference?
The difference is that intermediaries will exist even in a blockchain-run internet. Intermediaries help create additional trust. They speed the flow of information. They facilitate exchanges and play a valuable role.
Who these intermediaries are and how they are structured is another story.
This new type of intermediaries will be maintained on a volunteer basis by non-profit driven communities.
Wikipedia is a good example of that, it’s an intermediary, but it’s not a data authority. Wikipedia could be the prototype of these next-gen blockchain intermediaries.
My prediction is that next-gen blockchain intermediaries analog to Wikipedia could slowly replace data authorities. And the deal with these next-gen intermediaries will be:
- You (the intermediary) maintain the blockchain infrastructure on a volunteer basis.
- We (the consumers) give you our attention for free or pay you, with time, money, resources on a voluntary/donation basis
- You (the intermediary) live on donations and the social currency of adding value to the community.
This may sound a bit a utopian. But think about it. Who would have imagined a system like Wikipedia working?
It works because a few contributors are willing to do the work. That’s all it takes.
If you add the recent Facebook data scandals, the fake news issue and generally the growing concern for data privacy, I believe data authorities will find more and more resistance. They hold a power more and more consumers are not willing to grant anymore.
Now going back to the search example. Imagine an organisation like Wikipedia but handling an internet search service based on a blockchain system.
And just like Wikipedia, it’s maintained by its users. It could definitely work. And more than that, I think it may be the future.
This could be the death of data authorities as we know them. And with their death, something powerful would happen to marketing.
People’s attention will never be traded the same way again.
Ads will never be the same
Of course there will still be ads.
Some organisations will still own our attention and trade it.
But, in a blockchain-run internet interruption-based ads will slowly disappear. I am talking about banners and native-ads as well.
Before talking about how this will happen. Let’s just mention that interruption-based ads are already in bad shape. With 53% of internet users using ad-blockers, one-third disliking ads, an average of 0,05% CTR for banner ads, something is not working. Even advertisers themselves are questioning the standards:
Two of the biggest spenders on advertising, Unilever and P&G, are putting less money in advertising each passing year. The reason why the biggest players are decreasing their ad spending is because they find the system for online advertising murky at best, and fraudulent at worst. (TNW, CMO.COM)
Here are 2 reasons why a blockchain-run internet will accelerate the death of interruption-based ads:
- Transferring power from data authorities to next-gen intermediaries. If this trend (which might take decades) emerges, then next-gen intermediaries will slowly replace the current data authorities. We’ll see next-gen intermediaries for social networking platforms, search services, content-sharing platforms, review websites..etc. And they will be ad-free. Their voluntary, non-profit, donation-based network infrastructure will not push them to sell ads. Just like Wikipedia is ad-free.
- Micro-transactions will offer publishers another way. Now, what about media companies and publishers? Blockchain will enable micro-transactions, which means that paying 5 cents for a piece of content or a subscription will be possible. With transaction fees virtually disappearing, it will make gated content and compensating content producers more affordable and easy. Look at what Medium is trying to do with it’s Partner program. A similar model will become the standard for publishers.
You may ask, if we cannot interrupt anymore, how will advertising look like?
Content, content, content
I believe that a blockchain-run internet will make content marketing, branded content and influencer marketing even more predominant.
It might be the only way left to market.
Many startups entering this Blockchain/Marketing space are focused on using this technology for a better ad buying experience. The idea being to help advertisers better track results, spend and avoid fraud.
I think this approach might just miss the point of blockchain.
The idea is not to use blockchain to fix the internet of today.
Blockchain is about giving birth to a new internet.
And with it, another way to market.
