Blistering Advertising Network & Ad Campaign Life Cycle Smart Contract

[GENERAL] Name and surname of main applicant

Robert Cotter

[GENERAL] Are you delivering this project as an individual or as an entity (whether formally incorporated or not)

Entity (Incorporated)

[GENERAL] Co-proposers and additional applicants

Blistering Media Inc.

[GENERAL] Please specify how many months you expect your project to last (from 2-12 months)

6

[GENERAL] Please indicate if your proposal has been auto-translated into English from another language

No

[GENERAL] Summarize your solution to the problem (200-character limit including spaces)

Our Digital Media Kit DApp MVP offers advertisers transparent on-chain pricing. We will launch an ad network, proliferate our dapp & solve the last mile with our Ad Campaign Life Cycle smart contract.

[GENERAL] Does your project have any dependencies on other organizations, technical or otherwise?

Yes

[GENERAL] If YES, please describe what the dependency is and why you believe it is essential for your project’s delivery. If NO, please write “No dependencies.”

We will extend our ongoing engagement with MSVN Distributed Systems Ltd. for the development of the Ad Campaign Life Cycle (ACLC) smart contract as well as create a mechanism to replicate our existing dapp in order to onboard ad network partners (web publishers).

[GENERAL] Will your project’s output/s be fully open source?

No

[GENERAL] Please provide here more information on the open source status of your project outputs

We do not immediately plan to open-source components of the ad booking tool nor components relating to the network or smart contract at the onset, however we will open source the majority after scaling the Blistering Ad Network to a 10M+ monthly visitor reach.

[METADATA] SDG rating

N/A

[SOLUTION] Please describe your proposed solution

We believe in transparency; an equal playing field.

Advertisers (media buyers, ad agencies, small businesses, etc.) want the best possible ad pricing from a web publisher and a speedy, fair buying experience. Basic ad campaigns along with more complex multi-flight master campaigns can be booked in mere minutes.

Web publishers want to increase direct sales in order to reduce reliance on programmatic sources and/or 3rd party vendors that undercut revenue. Web publishers can upload part (or the entirety) of their media kit/rate card showcasing offerings with real-time pricing referenced on chain, which promotes transparency and trust with buyers.

The MVP is currently functional in its basic form: one can book a variety of ad campaign types, review/finalize an order, and choose to pay in ADA (or other prefered method). A web publisher simply updates their on-chain rate card anytime by submitting a tx referencing a new data set.

The ultimate point of this Catalyst Fund 12 proposal is, however, to onboard additional sites that want to supercharge their direct sales efforts by using our ad booking tool and joining the Blistering Ad Network.

Furthermore, we will streamline the ad campaign workflow (the last mile) by developing an Ad Campaign Life Cycle smart contract, which tracks the journey from point of sale to ultimate final campaign delivery by web publishers. This involves several steps including creative upload & approval, ad delivery, screenshot proofs, statistics, and proof-of-payment as an optional add-on.

All on-chain activity will be exclusively on Cardano.

[IMPACT] Please define the positive impact your project will have on the wider Cardano community

·       The Blistering Digital Media Kit DApp will be launched first on Blabbermouth.net to its existing advertiser base (Q3 2024). Blabbermouth is one of the world's largest rock/metal music news sites with ~2 million monthly users & 8-10 million monthly page views. We represent the monetization interests of Blabbermouth.net exclusively worldwide, thus we will funnel current/future direct advertisers to the dapp.

·       We will also showcase the benefits of blockchain to everyday marketers and lean into the narrative of bringing Cardano into mainstream applications

·       We will launch the Blistering Ad Network to showcase scale and attract new brand/ad agency buys as a collective

·       Blistering.io will empower digital publishers in the Cardano community by inviting them to launch their very own Blistering Digital Media Kit dapp (free with varying revenue share levels based on the type of service; from basic to white-glove)

·       We accept ADA as a payment method

·       We will develop the Ad Campaign Life Cycle smart contract to expedite the last mile between advertisers & publishers (to be open-sourced once the ad network reaches 10M+ monthly users), bringing additional activity and development offshoots to Cardano

[CAPABILITY & FEASIBILITY] What is your capability to deliver your project with high levels of trust and accountability? How do you intend to validate if your approach is feasible?

We operate in the real world today and sell ad campaigns to the largest entertainment companies in the world (major record labels, concert promoters, etc.) and have a near-20 year track record in business with 8-figures plus in digital advertising sales.

On the web3 side, our ad booking MVP (self-funded) is the first development project in conjunct with MSVN who are experienced Cardano builders (smart contracts, NFT project launches, auction site development, etc.). We are confident in our ability to execute this project together and build on our existing relationship.

Blistering Media Inc. is a federally chartered Canadian corporation founded by Robert Cotter in 2006. Rob maintains the CEO role and has 20+ years of digital advertising, media, and music industry experience.

[PROJECT MILESTONES] What are the key milestones you need to achieve in order to complete your project successfully?

Ad Network Launch

·       Offer the Blistering Media Kit dapp to additional web sites that currently sell digital advertising

·       Formation of an advertising network comprised of web sites using the Blistering Media Kit dapp in select verticals (starting with the music industry)

·       Creation of “Run Of Network” ad campaigns to attract media buys at scale as a network collective

Evidence of milestone completion: publisher onboarding portal and information center, adding additional digital properties (beyond Blabbermouth) to the network, proof of "Run Of Network" ad buys showcasing power in numbers.

Ad Campaign Life Cycle Smart Contract

·       Here, we expedite the last mile and remove friction between buyer & seller during the entire process from ad trafficking to proofs to payment (etc.)

·       Creative upload area

·       End-of-campaign statistical audits/verifications

·       Basic web interface where advertiser and publisher track progress and respective responsibilities (an interactive "order status" contract with action items when applicable)

Evidence of milestone completion: the mission is to deploy a basic interactive communications channel between an advertiser and a publisher and prove the efficacity of keeping each party accountable to its side of a given campaign via a simple web interface (combined with email, SMS, etc.) that tracks responsibilities and action items.

Midnight

Midnight, for its privacy-preserving characteristics, can in theory extend A) the depth/capabilities of our Ad Campaign Life Cycle (ACLC) smart contract and our ad booking dapp and B) provide a discrete alternative to a public blockchain like Cardano for corporate clients that require it.

Here, we explore how we can offer enhanced/premium versions of our products via Midnight by foremost ascertaining the basic need for offering two options (public v. private). Important to note: we will open-source all public offerings on the Cardano side after attaining a reach of 10M+ monthly user reach via the Blistering Ad Network.

Evidence of milestone completion: we will join the Midnight devnet, attempt to replicate our smart contract and dapp, and add to its feature set to offer premium products for clients that require privacy layers. At minimum, we will release a roadmap or litepaper to build Midnight-related elements out (self-funded).

Our close-out video report/video will demonstrate an end-to-end campaign simulation in real-time!

1) An ad campaign is booked through the Blistering Ad Network web site / via our campaign booking dapp

2) Life cycle smart contract used to demonstrate one entire campaign setup & deployment start to finish (from booking to launch in mere minutes)

3) A call to action to join the Blistering Ad Network and revealing incentives

Our goal is leverage blockchain and its inherent transparency in a real-world advertising environment where many web publishers struggle with direct relationships with advertisers.

Our goal with this Fund 12 proposal is to build a basic suite of advertising products for publishers, prove the model, and empower web sites that rely on ad revenue to regain control of an increasingly commoditized programmatic marketplace dominated primarily by a handful of web2 media giants.

[RESOURCES] Who is in the project team and what are their roles?

·       Blistering.io Founder & CEO: Robert Cotter (Cardano community member on X, stake pool operator [ticker: BLSTR], and World Mobile EarthNode operator)

·       Developer: MSVN Distributed Systems Ltd.

·       UX/UI: Pixel Hustler

[BUDGET & COSTS] Please provide a cost breakdown of the proposed work and resources

Development: 75% (75000 ADA)

·       Tooling required in order to launch the Blistering Ad Network (e.g. ability to replicate booking dapp to onboard new sites, crafting run of network campaign offerings, public dashboard, etc.)

·       Ad Campaign Life Cycle smart contract (step-by-step post-campaign booking checks and balances between advertisers and publishers in an easy-to-use web interface)

Marketing & Design: 20% (20000 ADA)

·       Incentives to join the Blistering Ad Network (50% of the Marketing & Design budget)

·       Educational materials about Cardano and how we employ the blockchain

·      Design (UX/UI and branding)

Etc.: 5% (5000 ADA)

·       Miscellaneous expenses

·       Contingency

[VALUE FOR MONEY] How does the cost of the project represent value for money for the Cardano ecosystem?

·       Greater visibility of Cardano in a practical use case

·       Demonstration of Cardano as a payment option in a non-crypto context

·       Leveraging blockchain as an historical, immutable record of advertising rates and workflow via the Ad Campaign Life Cycle smart contract

·       Increased activity and transactions on Cardano (and exploring Midnight/partner chain models)

·       The Blistering Digital Media Kit dapp will go to market in Q3 2024 in its basic form; to be deployed on Blabbermouth.net (a property with ~2M unique monthly visitors) and to be used by our existing clients/advertisers that include concert promoters, major & independent record labels, artists, ad agencies, etc. Cardano will be featured front and center as our blockchain of choice.

Fund 12 is a timely opportunity to take part in our second ever Catalyst round. We fell a bit short with shy of 25 million votes in Fund 11, but we hope to take our vision to the next level faster with the support of the Cardano community.

We sincerely appreciate all considerations. Thank you!