These brands are the first to sign up for the Joint Industry Committee for Web Standards (JICWEBS) blockchain trial. Nestle, McDonald’s and Virgin Media will be joined by their respective media agencies Zenith, OMD UK and Manning Gottlieb OMD in the experiment.
The blockchain pilot program, which JICWEBS is planning to run for the rest of this year, will evaluate how blockchain or distributed LEDGER technology can help to resolve the trust, transparency and inefficiency problems facing the online ads industry. JICWEBS has entered into the partnership with London-based tech business FIDUCIA to implement the blockchain solution.
In the later stages, the program will focus to optimize the supply chain and gain operational efficiencies. If the program completes successfully, JICWEBS plans to consult with the industry on how best to roll this out in 2020.
Kat Howcroft, senior media and budget manager at McDonald’s, said:
“This technology offers us the opportunity to see a truly transparent picture of our investment across the digital supply chain. We are also eager to understand the potential impact that this may have on our ROI and efficiency.”
Previously Nestle also entered into a partnership with OpenSC, a blockchain platform to enable their consumers to track the origin of their food. Later on, the company plans to test the technology, using palm oil sourced in the Americas. These pilots will help Nestle asses the system’s scalability.
