By Jules Lavallee
Matt Wasserlauf, one of the original disruptors of the TV business, is known as the visionary who revolutionized advertising by enticing television advertisers to invest their marketing dollars online. He recently sold Torrential to the television company ITN, the leading unwired broadcast network. In May of 2019, Matt Wasserlauf launched his newest, and arguably most exciting venture yet, BLOCKBOARD; a new digital distribution platform service that utilizes Blockchain technology to distribute videos.
You are one of the original disruptors of the TV business. Share your background.
I left TV in the late 90s for the world of streaming video which was just getting started. At Warner Bros. I sold Friends and ER. At CBS I sold Letterman and Survivor. When Ford said they were interested to spend millions on CBS’ online video and we had none, I knew there was something “there there.” I started BBE as the first Online Video Network and VINDICO as the first Video Ad Server. We closed the first P&G and Pfizer Upfronts and we were on our way.
Tell us about what led you to launch, BLOCKBOARD.
For the past 20-years, I’ve pioneered Online Video, I’ve become concerned about the growing levels of fraud and waste in the business. Dr. Augustine Fou, the industry expert on fraud estimates that by 2023, there will be over $100,000,000,000 of ad fraud. After selling Torrential, my second video start-up, I became fascinated with the potential of Blockchain and learned as much as I could about it. We opened the doors at Blockboard two and half years ago to validate every single Video impression and reset the Video industry on verified and waste-free distribution.
How is BLOCKBOARD removing the friction and distance between advertiser and target customer?
By validating and verifying every single Video impression, Blockboard is removing all the friction between advertiser and customer. We remove all the layers of ad tech suppliers from ad servers to validation companies that make accountability impossible. In fact, Blockboard goes by the tagline, “The Video Accountability Company” because we remove the friction and more importantly, deliver the results.
How has the pandemic created new media consumption habits?
Streaming Video has boomed during the pandemic with some sources reporting that streaming minutes have doubled over the past twelve months. Moreover, traditional advertisers who have for a long time sought linear TV to amass reach are being forced to look at other ways to execute their own media buys. Social Media for instance, has also taken a great deal of attention away from traditional TV and advertisers’ budgets have flown to new media platforms such as Social Media, OTT (“Over the Top” Apps), and CTV (Streaming Apps on TVs).
What are the key elements of BLOCKBOARD?
Blockboard has three elements to the business: (1) Blockboard Media; (2) Blockboard Studios and; (3) myblockboard.com. Blockboard Media is our distribution partnership with all the leading media companies and platforms in the space. We distribute to everyone from Sony Playstation and Tubi to Disney and NBC Universal. Blockboard Studios are the several relationships we have with top producers in Digital Video. “FeelAgeless,” “Friars Side Chats,” and American Health Journal are a few of those type of relationships.
Finally, myblockboard.com is our Blockchain Video Platform built on Ethereum. All of the companies’ Video campaigns flow through this platform. Every impression is validated on this platform and beginning in 2022, myblockboard.com will be available as a self-service platform for our customers.
Tell us about blockchain.
Blockchain is a public ledger. When I first read about blockchain, I was told it can be used to restore trust and transparency; two things that have been largely lost in Online Video. We went about building Blockboard on Ethereum because it is the easiest of the various blockchain platforms to build on. Other platforms are Bitcoin, Dogecoin, and Stellar to name a few. What makes blockchain so important to the Digital Video industry though, is not the crypto-currency craze that’s capturing so many people’s attention these days, but rather the public ledger and transparency element that is so lacking in our industry. All the data and results are captured and recorded for the advertisers to see on myblockboard.com.
Why is MyBlockboard so important?
MyBlockboard is so important because it is our company’s technology platform and the foundation of Blockboard. This technology enables us to deliver results that no other enterprise in Digital Video is capable of or delivering for clients. MyBlockboard.com delivers both content and ads across all OTT, CTV and Social Media platforms and measures and validates those assets so that we can provide the KPIs (Key Performance Indices) that our customers are seeking. MyBlockboard is Blockboard’s “special sauce.”
Share your vision for BLOCKBOARD.
Blockboard is soaring now that we’ve persevered through the Pandemic and the world is streaming video. As advertisers look to the future and recognize the trends in where their customers are now, Blockboard is increasingly being sought out as a company that can both help them reach those customers and deliver on the goals they’re seeking. Partners including Chizzcom Beacon Media and Eight O’Clock Coffee are two examples of partners we work with today. Production partners such as Jennifer Pate, host of “FeelAgeless” and Ron Insana, host of Friars Side Chats are also critical to the growth of Blockboard. Finally, our technology, myBlockboard.com will become self-service in 2022, a feature that will continue to power the growth of Blockboard well into the future. We’re excited to build a better Digital Video Ecosystem and Blockboard has the team to do it.
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