We can all agree that no event has been as disruptive as the Covid-19 pandemic over the past few decades. Yet, one silver lining is the advent of blockchain technology that blossomed in that time.

Crypto enthusiasts and blockchain finance dealers no longer have to bear mocking stares. Some regarded blockchain as the fruit of the ‘dark side of the internet,’ and we now all tout them as visionaries. Yet, it beggars belief that blockchain has not realized half of its full potential. Much like other elements of much-heralded industry 4.0 technologies, its boom is imminent. 

At the very least, digital marketers now have a few reasons to have interest in the future of blockchain.

How Does Blockchain Work? 

Try to picture a chain of digital records (known as blocks). That chain is a blockchain when there is no third-party verification required. It is most famous for the introduction of Bitcoin. Still, it has brought the possibility of data protection, accessibility, and transparency. And to a digital landscape in desperate need of those same qualities.

With blockchain, the endless horror stories of data breaches will end. No more breaches by greedy ad vendors and even trusted platforms like Facebook. Of course, it is an awful thing for digital marketers, but getting a forewarning is the positive here. Lucky You!

How Will Blockchain Affect Digital Marketing?

Let’s see how blockchain affects the digital marketing industry’s supply chain.

The Omniscient Customer

Long gone are when marketers could rest easy in the knowledge that the clients wouldn’t know. They did not need to know if the production process required ‘a little bit’ more sugar than it says on the label. Not anymore. Nowadays, it’s not impossible for giant brands to be at a disadvantage. Coca-cola, for example, lost $4 billion in value because of a viral video by Cristiano Ronaldo. Transparency is an enemy for many bigwigs.

People can now know the conditions and processes needed to make every product. Customers no longer have to hope that the goods are organic. Additionally, they can now know if the products involve immoral production practices, like child labour. 

The reason, you might have guessed by now, is blockchain. Blockchain and the ever-growing applications of this incredible platform.

The Omnipotent Customer

It’s been a great decade for companies when it comes to data gathering. Almost all online stores have enjoyed being able to ask customers for their info. Some ask for only names and emails, others ask for much more before customers can buy anything. 

Pay The Consumers

We know so far that the data gathered was not so they ‘make their services better,’ as many of them claim. Companies have realized fortunes from dealing with customer information for two decades. Except if ‘product development’ somehow translates to selling information. But that too is about to end.

Consumers worldwide are all excited about being able to receive value for data given out. Even though the customer gets paid, giving data out is still an invasive experience. Yet, it is undoubtedly a step in the right direction. The Brave browser is a popular example of this democratic change. It allows consumers to get payment for their personal information.

The New World Order of Advertising

Say we are the first users of a new form of online advertising. In this advertising method, Brave browser users can choose to opt into online ads. And they receive payment for viewing ads in Basic Attention Tokens (BATs). Users can BATs exchange on the crypto market. You can get more insights on blockchain in coruzant.

This online advertising platform places power in the people’s hands. Brave wants users to hold the right to refuse companies access to their data. If the companies do not reimburse the customers for their attention or data, they get nothing. In short, online advertising has a new element: the literal sale of attention.

Stacks, uses a mix of industry 4.0 technologies to protect users’ digital rights. Stacks utilizes a novel network designed for decentralized applications. The apps save the user’s data on the platform’s server. That way, apps that need data input can access it on Stacks. Yet, Stacks make them unable to store user information after the user closes such apps. 

Consumer data can no longer go with the ease companies enjoyed over the past two decades. Few digital marketers will be smiling as getting data from consumers will be a hard task again. But others will be glad to know they are secure, thanks to blockchain.

Death to Third-Party Cookies

Cookies have become the public enemy, and it was always going to be a matter of time. Of course, grandma’s cookies are safe. On the other hand, the cookies that have underpinned the successful $569 billion digital marketing industry are about to meet a sad end. 

Voices screamed out in discontent over ad tracking and its negatives in the past few years. So, Apple’s Safari and Mozilla’s Firefox have washed their hands off cookies. Likewise, the world’s browsing big boy, Google Chrome, will pull out of cookies. As soon as it figures out how to care for the web publishers that “support freely available content.”

Death to the Middle-Men

It’s necessary to hold a moment of silence for the thousands that will go out of business when blockchain gains full adoption. After all, out of $0.85 per advertising, $1 got to the publisher in the 2000s. Now, only about $0.40 per ad $1 gets to the web publisher because of the many third-party ad metric analysts involved.

After they moved transactions to blockchain, Unilever and IBM reclaimed above $10 million. More companies will soon follow suit by getting rid of unnecessary ad expenses. Yet, in so doing, they will also cut off the sustenance of the middlemen. The middlemen are companies that base their mission on analyzing ad metrics. If blockchain has its way, all these intermediaries will kick their respective buckets.

Image Credit: Pexels

Conclusion

So, there we have it. 

Blockchain will give consumers knowledge and power in an untamed digital marketing industry. At the same time, blockchain will kill off two things. The system and companies that have defined digital marketing thus far. If that’s not enough impact, we might never know what is.