- Experienced ad execs raise $1.5mn for independent blockchain ad platform set to transform global advertising and media buying market
- Fenestra will provide the $640bn* global advertising and media market with an independent, secure transaction platform allowing for greater transparency and security throughout the media supply chain, stripping out opaque, problematic practices embedded within the current global system
- Fenestra’s platform, will use distributed ledger technology to create higher returns for advertisers and media owners from greater efficiency and trust within the system
London – Three senior media and advertising executives have successfully secured $1.5mn equity investment for the launch of an innovative new venture designed to transform the traditional advertising market by introducing a new, independent and more transparent model of media buying for the future.
Fenestra Holdings Ltd (Fenestra) – the brainchild of former co-founders of Base79, the social video start-up sold for $85mn in 2014 – will enable advertisers to book, bill and pay for advertising from media owners via a much more open and transparent transactional platform, creating the potential for large increases in Return-on-Investment for the advertisers and higher revenues for media owners. Fenestra will first target the traditional media market (print, radio, TV, cinema, outdoor), where transaction volumes are lower than in digital markets, thus making the platform best suited to the current computational capacity of blockchain technologies.
The current media and advertising market is laden with opaque trading practices, hidden costs, rebates, lack of consistent governing regulation and remains over-centralised. Studies by Guardian Media in the UK and K2 Intelligence – an industry leading investigative consulting firm – in the US have revealed the significant value of spend leaking out of the media buying and selling ecosystem. The research highlights the extent of the disconnect between advertisers’ spending and the value they realise. Unable to see clearly where their money is being spent, brand owners are being left with significantly reduced returns on investment as their money flows through the supply chain with a host of intermediaries absorbing their cash.
In migrating the media supply chain onto a blockchain, Fenestra’s independent platform will offer a far more transparent and open ecosystem for brands and their agency partners to book, bill and pay for media owners’ inventory. Distributed ledger technology will enable Fenestra to offer a decentralised, immutable platform unable to be manipulated by an intermediary. The consequent audit trail created by Fenestra’s independent platform provides advertisers greater control and detailed oversight of their own media supply chain.
Fenestra’s CEO and Founder, Ashley Mackenzie, sees the vast potential that distributed ledger technologies can bring to the global advertising and media market, and comments on the scale of the opportunity;
“Advertising is an incredibly powerful tool, however today’s media supply chain does not work in favour of the advertiser who ultimately funds it. Advertisers don’t trust their media supply-chain. Budgets are swallowed by intermediaries and advertisers have little sight of where their money ends up across all media. Change is needed in how advertising inventory is traded. Fenestra will make this a reality, bringing an independent, truly transparent trading system for advertisers and a more secure, compliant network for media agencies, who will be better equipped to deliver value to their clients. Today’s investment is testament to the demand we’re seeing, and I’m thrilled to have the support from a team of cross-industry expert advisers who share our vision for a better framework for the future.”
Fenestra’s founding management team – Ashley Mackenzie, Kevin Deeley and Richard Mansell – and a range of expert advisers all have a proven track record of bringing to market internationally successful B2B companies in media and advertising built on technology innovation.
Colin Kinsella, CEO, Havas North America, and Adviser to Fenestra adds;
“One of the biggest barriers for continued growth in the traditional and digital media ecosystem is trust in pricing and delivery. Blockchain technology has the capability to put trust back in the system and allow agencies and clients to explore new ways to confidently deliver audiences, messaging and growth.”
The initial $1.5mn seed funding will be used for the development of an early Minimum Viable Product launching next quarter and business development activity with brands, agencies and media owners in both Europe and the US. The company will seek to raise further funding later this year.
*https://www.statista.com/statistics/273288/advertising-spending-worldwide/.
