McDonald's, Nestlé and Virgin Media have joined a new blockchain pilot seeking to increase transparency in advertising online.

Developed by the Joint Industry Committee for Web Standards (JICWEBS) — a British United digital ad trading standards body — the new initiative aims to assess the potential of blockchain in the digital ad supply chain, as business media outlet Campaign reports on July 16.

First announced in May 2019, the JICWEBS blockchain-powered pilot is now joined by global industry giants’ respective media agencies, Zenith, OMD UK and Manning Gottlieb OMD, who will evaluate blockchain’s capabilities in the digital ad industry for the rest of 2019, the report notes.

Specifically, the media agencies will check not only blockchain’s potential in increasing trust and transparency in the ad supply chain, but also see whether the technology can boost operational efficiency and return on investment (ROI). Kat Howcroft, senior media and budget manager at McDonald’s, said:

"This technology offers us the opportunity to see a truly transparent picture of our investment across the digital supply chain. We are also eager to understand the potential impact that this may have on our ROI and efficiency."

According to the report, the JICWEBS trial is supported by London-based tech business Fiducia. JICWEBS wrote that they will consult the industry on how to incorporate blockchain solutions for the digital ad industry if the test shows successful results.

In late 2018, Japanese car manufacturer Toyota partnered with blockchain advertising analytics firm Lucidity to eliminate fraud when buying digital ads.