As blockchain technology matures beyond its cryptocurrency roots, its potential impact on the business of media buying and selling is becoming harder to ignore. In a recent conversation with blockchain strategist Laura Masse — formerly of Accenture — we explored not only where blockchain stands today in the advertising ecosystem, but also where it may soon lead us, particularly when it comes to transparency, tokenization, loyalty, and community engagement.
Blockchain’s long-touted benefits — immutability, decentralization, and transparency — make it a natural fit for an industry plagued by opaque supply chains, fraud, and convoluted intermediaries. And yet, widespread adoption in advertising has been slow. According to Masse, much of the hesitation stems from blockchain’s early associations with hype and speculative investment, rather than tangible brand value. But that perception is changing.
The State of Blockchain in Media Buying
Across the digital advertising landscape, major players are beginning to integrate blockchain into their infrastructure, with varying degrees of commitment and success. Companies like The Trade Desk and Magnite have yet to publicly commit to blockchain-based solutions. The Trade Desk, for instance, focuses its transparency efforts through initiatives like OpenPath, which aims to provide direct access to premium publishers, bypassing intermediaries, and streamlining the buying process. This strategy mirrors some of blockchain’s goals, though without adopting the technology itself.
Supply-side platform Magnite is actively addressing Made-for-Advertising (MFA) inventory, using partnerships and AI-driven curation, but not blockchain — at least not yet. These approaches show how adjacent technologies may temporarily meet the same needs blockchain promises to address permanently.
Some of the most ambitious early moves have come from agency holding companies and independent ventures. GroupM at WPP has openly explored blockchain’s potential, publishing white papers on how the technology might one day power real-time impression-level reconciliation, enhance privacy compliance, and reduce fraud. Yet, GroupM remains cautious, noting blockchain’s current limitations: latency, cost, and complexity.
Omnicom Media Group, Dentsu, and Publicis Media are notable for joining AdLedger, a nonprofit consortium that brings together agencies, media companies, and tech platforms to define and promote blockchain standards in advertising. AdLedger aims to solve industry-wide issues such as double counting, domain spoofing, and low-quality traffic. These efforts reflect a growing consensus: blockchain won’t replace the entire media buying infrastructure overnight, but it may evolve into a layer of verification and authentication that the industry sorely needs.
Outside the holding companies, startups like NYIAX are building blockchain-native platforms. NYIAX, built in partnership with Nasdaq, enables secure, auditable contracts for media buying, ensuring all parties can trust terms, timelines, and performance. Similarly, Verasity uses blockchain to validate views and prevent ad fraud via its Proof-of-View protocol, an increasingly attractive concept as video inventory and CTV rise in importance.
Tokenization: The Next Loyalty Frontier
While infrastructure development continues, one of blockchain’s most exciting near-term opportunities lies in tokenization — especially within loyalty ecosystems. In our discussion, Masse framed tokenization not merely as a rewards tool, but as a bridge to emotional brand engagement. She distinguishes traditional rewards points, which are static and transactional, from tokens, which are programmable, flexible, and imbued with meaning.
“Tokens can be reprogrammed by the brand,” she explained, “so today they might get you a product, and tomorrow they will get you into an exclusive online event.” In contrast to points, which are fixed in value and purpose, tokens become vessels of identity, affiliation, and participation. They turn consumers into co-creators.
She pointed to an experiment by Nike, which allowed members of its digital community to remix and co-design sneakers using Nike’s assets — logos, parts, and brand visuals. If any community-generated product made it to market, contributors would share in the rewards. Not only did this tokenize creativity, but it allowed participants to accrue real and emotional value in return for engagement.
This represents a third wave in loyalty: from reward, to engagement, to belonging. Blockchain enables this shift by offering tools that are secure, portable, and dynamic. Consumers no longer want to feel used by brands — they want to feel seen by them. A token can reflect identity in a way a reward point never could.
Digital Communities as Value Engines
Masse and I also explored how blockchain fits within the evolution of digital communities like MediaVillage. These communities aren’t just content hubs — they’re ecosystems where value is created, shared, and circulated. Tokenization provides the infrastructure for this value exchange, enabling micro-rewards for actions like sharing, co-creating, collaborating, or promoting.
This builds on a deeper trend: the rise of individual agency. In a Web3 model, people want more than passive consumption — they want participation, autonomy, and control over their data, identity, and engagement. Brands that tokenize access and contribution can cultivate more resilient, emotionally connected tribes.
As Masse put it, “The future of loyalty is tribal.” Tokens act as entry points into those tribes. The blockchain records everything — credibility, history, contribution — offering a verifiable ledger of belonging. And importantly, it can all happen without a brand needing to control the experience.
Practical Hurdles and Future Promise
Despite this vision, blockchain’s broader adoption still faces hurdles. Speed and cost remain significant challenges. According to GroupM and others, today’s blockchain systems still fall short in transaction speed and environmental efficiency when compared to traditional adtech infrastructure.
However, industry initiatives like AdLedger, alongside improvements in blockchain scalability and interoperability, are steadily paving the way forward. If new layers like Layer 2 protocols or private-permissioned chains gain traction, some of blockchain’s current frictions may soon be resolved.
In the meantime, forward-thinking companies can experiment in non-core, brand-building arenas — like loyalty, community engagement, and creator monetization — where blockchain can shine without needing to replace legacy systems.
Conclusion
Blockchain isn’t a magic bullet for media buying, but it may very well be the operating system for advertising’s future — one where transparency, participation, and trust are not just buzzwords, but native features. As marketers seek to rebuild connections with consumers in an age of AI-driven automation, blockchain may offer the humanizing layer of agency and authenticity we didn’t know we needed.
