Mindshare, MediaMath, Integral Ad Science, Rubicon Project announce blockchain pilot

Mindshare has announced a blockchain-focused programmatic alliance that includes MediaMath, Integral Ad Science, Rubicon Project, Zilliqa and Underscore CLT.

The aim of the alliance is to realistically assess the applicability of blockchain technology into the world of advertising, according to the company. Findings are expected by the end of the year.

The partners in the alliance are developing a prototype, dubbed “Project Proton”. The purpose of the work, according to a statement, is to evaluate the promise of blockchain for the ad industry—that it can provide a way for all the stakeholders in the ecosystem to "interact in a secure and verifiable manner through smart contracts", allowing all the players to "completely trust each other".

Two critical technical factors the effort aims to test will be its throughput (the ability to handle a large volume of transactions) and the consensus protocol (the mechanism that creates an agreed-upon record). According to a Mindshare spokesperson, several flavours of consensus protocol exist, and the task for this project will be to evaluate "which one suits our business". As for throughput, the sheer volume of transactions in programmatic trading presents challenges, and "alternative methodologies" will be explored.

“We are absolutely delighted and thankful to have MediaMath, IAS, Rubicon Project and Underscore CLT partner with us on this project with Zilliqa," said Gowthaman Ragothaman, chief development officer with Mindshare AMENA. "There are many claims and speculations on the applicability of this technology to our business. Project Proton is designed to test this, particularly in the areas of building consensus and managing high throughput.” 

Zilliqa describes itself as a blockchain platform tailored towards enabling high-throughput data-driven decentralized applications. It also provides a secure and efficient smart contract layer. Underscore CLT develops cryptographic ledger technologies.

Mindshare had already announced a partnership with Zilliqa last year.