Trendsetters: Blockchain is the Beginning of the Supply Chain Revolution for Media says Ashley Mackenzie of Fenestra

Ask Ashley Mackenzie about media transparency, and he'll tell you that "transparent" can now be fully actionable.

"Blockchain," he attests, "invites the Media Buying Industry to rise to what is a realistically higher standard and to forever close the door on its imperfect past. We are all now presented with how 'transparent; can be genuinely achieved through a new, exciting, open-ended technological advancement."

Ashley Mackenzie, co-founder of Base79 and former chief executive of Brave Bison, is betting with his latest startup, Fenestra (or Latin for "window"), that technology can bring trust back to the media supply chain by providing a better idea of where ad expenditures go.

According to Mackenzie, "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."

He also believes that any new, fully transparent way of buying and selling media can only work by being wholly independent and a neutral tech platform. Blockchain-driven Fenestra will allow advertisers to book, bill and pay for advertising from media owners.

Using distributed ledger technology (i.e. blockchain), Fenestra will create a decentralized, undisputable platform that cannot be changed by any intermediary. It will generate an audit trail that gives advertisers greater control and detailed oversight of their own media supply chain. If properly implemented, the decentralized ledger would be continuously updated with ad buys to keep a reliable register of digital ad spending. Once entered, each transaction is encrypted, and cannot be changed.

"Advertisers want a number of things," says Mackenzie. "They want value, they don't want to be exploited. They want healthy, trusting and viable relationships with their third-party suppliers and lead agencies. But that's not all. Advertisers also want to know that the advertising they commission and the media space they buy is then ultimately seen by people. And while these are all wholly realistic wants, it remains remarkable that an environment has formed where these wants are not being met."

He continues, "At the same time, it's hugely exciting that technological change can lead to a reset of our advertiser and media buying landscape. With Fenestra, we're harnessing the potential of blockchain technology, factoring in where the established providers are still falling short, and have built a solution that iterates and improves on what effectively is everyone else's beta. Fenestra will serve to reassure and reinforce the Advertiser-Agency relationship by confirming that media buying is as black and white as it should be."

Ashley Mackenzie, Founder & CEO of Fenestra is a serial entrepreneur who has founded and successfully exited several internet businesses, including the most recent-- Brave Bison, a social video company acquired by Rightster in 2014.  A graduate of University of Bristol, UK and Harvard Business School's General Manager Program, Ashley is London-based but generally found on or around an airplane circling the planet.

FENESTRA provides the $640Bn global advertising market with an independent, secure platform to Book, Bill, Pay and Audit every transaction made through an advertiser's media supply chain using distributed ledger technology. www.fenestra.iowww