Unilever and O2 join Jicwebs blockchain pilot

The cross-industry committee for standards and best practice in digital advertising said these additional participants would join its pilot project to evaluate how blockchain or Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) can help resolve trust, transparency and inefficiency problems in digital advertising.

ISBA – a founding member of Jicwebs – is separately running a study of the programmatic supply chain to understand the distribution of costs. The ISBA study will be a ‘snapshot’ of some of the major problems the industry is currently facing, while the Jicwebs pilot is evaluating how a DLT technology platform could be a permanent solution to these problems.

Stephen Chester, director of media, ISBA, said: "We’re pleased to see good progress being made in the efforts to increase all stakeholders’ understanding of the digital supply chain. Our own Programmatic Supply Chain Transparency Study – conducted by PwC – will provide the industry with empirical evidence that it needs to underpin and drive forward any future technological solutions."

Jicwebs is working with London-based tech business Fiducia for the pilot which it plans to run across the rest of the year.  If successful, Jicwebs will consult with the industry on how best to roll this out in 2020 to raise levels of trust and transparency in the sector.