Unilever, O2 and Sky join JICWEBS blockchain project in digital advertising

Unilever, O2 and Sky have joined the Joint Industry Committee on Web Standards (JICWEBS) program, which aims to increase trust and transparency in digital advertising through the blockchain.

For the first time, JICWEBS announced the launch of this initiative in May this year. The largest media agencies Zenith, OMD UK, and Manning Gottlieb OMD are participating in the pilot project. Companies believe that using blockchain can increase transparency in the advertising industry, reduce costs and increase the effectiveness of advertising.

According to the Campaign report, the popular online platforms Gumtree, Netmums and Rightmove from the UK also joined the project.

The JICWEBS project is supported by the Association of British Advertisers (ISBA). The association conducts a comprehensive audit of the problems that are present in the digital advertising sector, and also considers issues related to increasing brand confidence.

According to Richard Reeves, Managing Director of the Online Publishers Association, ISBA welcomes all initiatives to increase transparency in order to “shed light” on where the advertising budget is distributed in digital supply chains.

If the pilot project on the blockchain is successful, the organizers will closely engage in its implementation in the field of digital advertising next year.

As previously reported, in July, the JICWEBS initiative was supported by McDonald’s, Nestlé and Virgin Media. In addition, a year ago, the Japanese automaker Toyota signed a partnership agreement with Lucidity, a blockchain solution for analyzing ads and preventing fraud when buying advertisements.