Nestle, McDonalds and Virgin Media are the first brands to sign up to the project to see how blockchain or Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) can help overcome the problems of trust, transparency and inefficiency facing the digital ad industry.

Further stages of the trial will look to optimise the supply chain and gain operational efficiencies for all involved.

The brands are joined by their respective media agencies Zenith, OMD UK and Manning Gottlieb OMD in the trial. 

Steven Pollack, head of media communications, Nestlé said: “We’re really excited to be involved in this pilot. Blockchain is a new technology being tested in many diverse industries. It’s great to be one of the first brands to gain insight into its potential in programmatic.”

Jicwebs has partnered 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 digital advertising.

As the project develops and the supply chain mapping is completed, additional participants will be announced, including publishers and technology vendors.