Could NFTs potentially be used to solve some of the current ad tech challenges such as user authentication? We can begin to answer those questions by digging deeper into the current and future applications of NFTs.
NFT Technology Predictions and Applications in Digital Marketing
In my previous post, I examined the state of the union of NFT technology and how some brands and marketers have used it to generate awareness. However, outside of a few brands that have raced to be the first to use NFTs, questions remain such as whether NFTs are a sustainable product that brands can utilize for market awareness and loyalty programs? Or if NFTs offer wider application in the AdTech industry? Could they potentially be used to solve some of the current challenges such as user authentication? We can begin to answer those questions by digging deeper into the current and future applications of NFTs.
Future Applications of NFT Technology
To understand how NFTs can influence and shape the digital advertising industry, we must examine where the technology is going and its practical application in the real world. Once wider adoption of this technology is realized, NFTs can power almost anything where authentication is a requirement. For example, a luxury watch certificate could become a digital NFT instead of a paper certificate that anyone can forge. Sport event tickets could be offered as NFT digital tokens, tying the purchaser to the exact ticket, and eliminating the possibility of scalpers purchasing and reselling many tickets. Furthermore, we’ve all purchased movies, songs, video games and additional content through different platforms and ecosystems. This content is usually locked to the platform and its DRM from which we bought the content. NFT tokens could evolve to become a widespread digital licensing and authentication product that allows users to purchase and own any piece of digital media across decentralized digital platforms which check and verify authenticity with a valid Blockchain record.
NFT Technology and its Potential for Digital Advertising
While NFTs in their existing product form are leading the conversation for brands who are looking to connect directly with their consumers, there may be wider application for this technology in the digital advertising ecosystem. Specifically, when it comes to user authentication and tracking, digital advertising is currently going through a monumental change, shifting from browser-based cookies to 1st party authentication and tracking solutions. Keeping in mind that NFT digital tokens at their essence are just transactions recorded on the secure Ethereum blockchain ledger, they can be used to validate the authenticity of both digital and physical goods and purchases. For example, a consumer looking for a new vehicle is usually targeted by car manufacturer and dealership ads. Currently digital marketers do not know when the car purchase is complete, and they will continue to target the interested user for up to 30 days with remarketing campaigns. Had the car purchase been validated by an NFT token instead of a paper receipt, this could immediately inform marketers and remarketing campaigns that the customer is no longer looking for a vehicle, stopping the digital ads for this user. This would lead to much higher efficiency and accuracy for digital marketing and remarketing campaigns, not to mention less frustrated users who are seeing non relevant ads.
On the other side of the digital spectrum, publishers and media platforms could leverage digital tokens and blockchain technology for user authentication and contextual content targeting. Allowing users, for example, to add their portfolio of digital tokens to a login profile would provide publishers and platforms with contextual interests and additional content relevancy. Someone who collects NBA and Nike NFTs is most likely a sports enthusiast. A step further could see the entire open web move towards leveraging Web 3.0 decentralized standards and blockchain technology for user identity and authentication. In this concept, NFT digital tokens could serve as true markers of consumers’ online identity which would be cross-platform, cross-device and completely under users’ control.
Necessary Advancements in NFT Technology
There are still many missing pieces to this puzzle and for some of these aspects to become reality, many technical developments and changes are needed. Starting from wider adoption of digital wallets and crypto standards to easier and safer methods to confirm digital token authenticity. Further down the road, goods manufacturers and shops would have to implement digital currency support and leverage blockchain technology for physical transactions. Platforms and publishers would need to move away from the walled garden approach and towards decentralized open web standards. While digital advertising tends to be at the forefront of technology, without this infrastructure in place it will be next to impossible for AdTech to introduce blockchain based solutions and for marketers to shift their buying and targeting strategies. For the time being, digital marketing enthusiasts and early adopters should keep an eye on NFTs and innovation that comes out of its product evolution. There may be opportunities to introduce new and exciting marketing ideas sooner rather than later.
Could NFTs potentially be used to solve some of the current ad tech challenges such as user authentication? We can begin to answer those questions by digging deeper into the current and future applications of NFTs.
NFT Technology Predictions and Applications in Digital Marketing
In my previous post, I examined the state of the union of NFT technology and how some brands and marketers have used it to generate awareness. However, outside of a few brands that have raced to be the first to use NFTs, questions remain such as whether NFTs are a sustainable product that brands can utilize for market awareness and loyalty programs? Or if NFTs offer wider application in the AdTech industry? Could they potentially be used to solve some of the current challenges such as user authentication? We can begin to answer those questions by digging deeper into the current and future applications of NFTs.
Future Applications of NFT Technology
To understand how NFTs can influence and shape the digital advertising industry, we must examine where the technology is going and its practical application in the real world. Once wider adoption of this technology is realized, NFTs can power almost anything where authentication is a requirement. For example, a luxury watch certificate could become a digital NFT instead of a paper certificate that anyone can forge. Sport event tickets could be offered as NFT digital tokens, tying the purchaser to the exact ticket, and eliminating the possibility of scalpers purchasing and reselling many tickets. Furthermore, we’ve all purchased movies, songs, video games and additional content through different platforms and ecosystems. This content is usually locked to the platform and its DRM from which we bought the content. NFT tokens could evolve to become a widespread digital licensing and authentication product that allows users to purchase and own any piece of digital media across decentralized digital platforms which check and verify authenticity with a valid Blockchain record.
NFT Technology and its Potential for Digital Advertising
While NFTs in their existing product form are leading the conversation for brands who are looking to connect directly with their consumers, there may be wider application for this technology in the digital advertising ecosystem. Specifically, when it comes to user authentication and tracking, digital advertising is currently going through a monumental change, shifting from browser-based cookies to 1st party authentication and tracking solutions. Keeping in mind that NFT digital tokens at their essence are just transactions recorded on the secure Ethereum blockchain ledger, they can be used to validate the authenticity of both digital and physical goods and purchases. For example, a consumer looking for a new vehicle is usually targeted by car manufacturer and dealership ads. Currently digital marketers do not know when the car purchase is complete, and they will continue to target the interested user for up to 30 days with remarketing campaigns. Had the car purchase been validated by an NFT token instead of a paper receipt, this could immediately inform marketers and remarketing campaigns that the customer is no longer looking for a vehicle, stopping the digital ads for this user. This would lead to much higher efficiency and accuracy for digital marketing and remarketing campaigns, not to mention less frustrated users who are seeing non relevant ads.
On the other side of the digital spectrum, publishers and media platforms could leverage digital tokens and blockchain technology for user authentication and contextual content targeting. Allowing users, for example, to add their portfolio of digital tokens to a login profile would provide publishers and platforms with contextual interests and additional content relevancy. Someone who collects NBA and Nike NFTs is most likely a sports enthusiast. A step further could see the entire open web move towards leveraging Web 3.0 decentralized standards and blockchain technology for user identity and authentication. In this concept, NFT digital tokens could serve as true markers of consumers’ online identity which would be cross-platform, cross-device and completely under users’ control.
Necessary Advancements in NFT Technology
There are still many missing pieces to this puzzle and for some of these aspects to become reality, many technical developments and changes are needed. Starting from wider adoption of digital wallets and crypto standards to easier and safer methods to confirm digital token authenticity. Further down the road, goods manufacturers and shops would have to implement digital currency support and leverage blockchain technology for physical transactions. Platforms and publishers would need to move away from the walled garden approach and towards decentralized open web standards. While digital advertising tends to be at the forefront of technology, without this infrastructure in place it will be next to impossible for AdTech to introduce blockchain based solutions and for marketers to shift their buying and targeting strategies. For the time being, digital marketing enthusiasts and early adopters should keep an eye on NFTs and innovation that comes out of its product evolution. There may be opportunities to introduce new and exciting marketing ideas sooner rather than later.
Behind Headlines: 180 Seconds in Ad Tech is a short 3-minute podcast exploring the news in the digital advertising industry. Ad tech is a fast-growing industry with many updates happening daily. As it can be hard for most to keep up with the latest news, the Sharethrough team wanted to create an audio series compiling notable mentions each week.
Could NFTs potentially be used to solve some of the current ad tech challenges such as user authentication? We can begin to answer those questions by digging deeper into the current and future applications of NFTs.
NFT Technology Predictions and Applications in Digital Marketing
In my previous post, I examined the state of the union of NFT technology and how some brands and marketers have used it to generate awareness. However, outside of a few brands that have raced to be the first to use NFTs, questions remain such as whether NFTs are a sustainable product that brands can utilize for market awareness and loyalty programs? Or if NFTs offer wider application in the AdTech industry? Could they potentially be used to solve some of the current challenges such as user authentication? We can begin to answer those questions by digging deeper into the current and future applications of NFTs.
Future Applications of NFT Technology
To understand how NFTs can influence and shape the digital advertising industry, we must examine where the technology is going and its practical application in the real world. Once wider adoption of this technology is realized, NFTs can power almost anything where authentication is a requirement. For example, a luxury watch certificate could become a digital NFT instead of a paper certificate that anyone can forge. Sport event tickets could be offered as NFT digital tokens, tying the purchaser to the exact ticket, and eliminating the possibility of scalpers purchasing and reselling many tickets. Furthermore, we’ve all purchased movies, songs, video games and additional content through different platforms and ecosystems. This content is usually locked to the platform and its DRM from which we bought the content. NFT tokens could evolve to become a widespread digital licensing and authentication product that allows users to purchase and own any piece of digital media across decentralized digital platforms which check and verify authenticity with a valid Blockchain record.
NFT Technology and its Potential for Digital Advertising
While NFTs in their existing product form are leading the conversation for brands who are looking to connect directly with their consumers, there may be wider application for this technology in the digital advertising ecosystem. Specifically, when it comes to user authentication and tracking, digital advertising is currently going through a monumental change, shifting from browser-based cookies to 1st party authentication and tracking solutions. Keeping in mind that NFT digital tokens at their essence are just transactions recorded on the secure Ethereum blockchain ledger, they can be used to validate the authenticity of both digital and physical goods and purchases. For example, a consumer looking for a new vehicle is usually targeted by car manufacturer and dealership ads. Currently digital marketers do not know when the car purchase is complete, and they will continue to target the interested user for up to 30 days with remarketing campaigns. Had the car purchase been validated by an NFT token instead of a paper receipt, this could immediately inform marketers and remarketing campaigns that the customer is no longer looking for a vehicle, stopping the digital ads for this user. This would lead to much higher efficiency and accuracy for digital marketing and remarketing campaigns, not to mention less frustrated users who are seeing non relevant ads.
On the other side of the digital spectrum, publishers and media platforms could leverage digital tokens and blockchain technology for user authentication and contextual content targeting. Allowing users, for example, to add their portfolio of digital tokens to a login profile would provide publishers and platforms with contextual interests and additional content relevancy. Someone who collects NBA and Nike NFTs is most likely a sports enthusiast. A step further could see the entire open web move towards leveraging Web 3.0 decentralized standards and blockchain technology for user identity and authentication. In this concept, NFT digital tokens could serve as true markers of consumers’ online identity which would be cross-platform, cross-device and completely under users’ control.
Necessary Advancements in NFT Technology
There are still many missing pieces to this puzzle and for some of these aspects to become reality, many technical developments and changes are needed. Starting from wider adoption of digital wallets and crypto standards to easier and safer methods to confirm digital token authenticity. Further down the road, goods manufacturers and shops would have to implement digital currency support and leverage blockchain technology for physical transactions. Platforms and publishers would need to move away from the walled garden approach and towards decentralized open web standards. While digital advertising tends to be at the forefront of technology, without this infrastructure in place it will be next to impossible for AdTech to introduce blockchain based solutions and for marketers to shift their buying and targeting strategies. For the time being, digital marketing enthusiasts and early adopters should keep an eye on NFTs and innovation that comes out of its product evolution. There may be opportunities to introduce new and exciting marketing ideas sooner rather than later.
Founded in 2015, Calibrate is a yearly conference for new engineering managers hosted by seasoned engineering managers. The experience level of the speakers ranges from newcomers all the way through senior engineering leaders with over twenty years of experience in the field. Each speaker is greatly concerned about the craft of engineering management. Organized and hosted by Sharethrough, it was conducted yearly in September, from 2015-2019 in San Francisco, California.
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