Digital advertising is a necessity for modern brands, whether we’re discussing international sportswear giants, car manufacturers, or fast-food restaurants. This year, global ad spend on digital campaigns will surpass half a trillion dollars for the first time, with regions such as the US, UK and France leading the way. Despite record investment in digital marketing, however, many brands fail to get the most bang for their buck.
According to the recent Next&Co Digital Media Wastage Report, over $130 million was wasted in Q1 of this year – and the report audited just 81 companies. Over the course of a year, Next&Co estimates that some $3 billion is wasted on digital ads, whether through lack of relevancy/suboptimal targeting, ad fraud, or the use of ad blockers.
Allocating millions of dollars to a campaign that sends the wrong messages to the wrong audience – or the right messages to those who never get to see the ad in question – often causes frustration for brands large and small. There’s got to be a better way.
Declaring War on Digital Ad Waste
Crowny is a blockchain-powered platform whose novel advertising model caters to both brands and consumers by building loyalty between the two. The team behind the product contends that it will help companies slash ad spend dramatically and for good reason.
So, how does it work? Well, firstly, consumers sign up via Crowny’s smartphone app and specify their areas of interest; they can also choose to follow their favourite brands, just as they would on Twitter or Facebook, and control the type of content and the deals they get to interact with.
As for brands, they are able to reach out to consumers who are genuinely interested in their products or services, and in a variety of ways, from push notifications and geofencing to QR codes and gamified interactive elements like micro-tasks. Arguably even more important is the financial implications of creating lasting engagement. Research by Bain & Co found that increasing customer retention by just 5% boosts profits by 25% to 95%. Additionally, 58.7% of users say earning rewards and loyalty points is one of the most valued aspects of the shopping experience.
Whenever a user receives a message from a brand, or completes a follow-up (watching a commercial, say, or signing up to an e-commerce platform), they are rewarded in the platform’s native $CRWNY crypto-asset and brand loyalty points (if the company has an active loyalty program). The former can eventually be converted to fiat currencies or used for other services on the platform, while loyalty points can be redeemed to take advantage of special offers. Crowny calls this model interact-to-earn (although others dub it ‘engage-to-earn’).
With its unique blockchain-based system, Crowny addresses many of the long-standing inefficiencies associated with modern-day advertising. No ad impressions go unseen, content is unobtrusive by design (consumers can opt-out of brands they don’t like), and expensive intermediaries are cut out of the picture entirely. The platform is geared towards international firms as well as small local businesses, which can attract would-be consumers to their brick-and-mortar stores in real-time – and at low cost.
While the majority of ads we are used to seeing online are bothersome, irrelevant, or simply unappealing, Crowny enables companies to entice customers to claim an offer or accept a reward. They can also utilize push notifications to keep users informed about their products, personalize content via direct messaging, and create an impactful CTA that helps boost conversion rates.
Best of all, companies get to directly target a relevant consumer without invading their privacy, since all user data is anonymized by default within the app. The fast settlement and low transaction costs of the Solana blockchain, meanwhile, ensure the $CRWNY token economy runs like clockwork.
A Multitude of Milestones
Crowny has come a long way in a relatively short space of time. Since 2021, the platform has received a grant from Solana’s EcoSerum fund, welcomed investment from several high-profile VCs , listed $CRWNY on AscendEx and Raydium Protocol, launched its beta app, and onboarded over 10,000 customers. This year, it will move out of beta and release their Crowny App to the world.
Crypto startups often struggle to stand out, in part due to the hyper-competitive nature of the industry. Crowny is different, and not just because it’s leveraging blockchain to fix problems associated with web2. The venture is also notable for its work with universities, sports teams and hackathons, and for participating in industry events and crypto community meet-ups. In short, the team’s desire to build bridges and furnish conversation sets Crowny apart from its contemporaries.
By facilitating better targeting at a lower cost, all the while protecting user privacy, Crowny aims to reinvent digital advertising for 2022 and beyond. And that’s something we should all be excited about.
