# 1
KIND ADS - a platform that takes advertising to the next level

Advertising is making a thing known to people commercially on a large scale. A good ad tells you that you need something even before you think you do. Advertising helps to keep consumers informed about new products or services available at their disposal. The main aim of advertising is to sell.

During the course of our day to day activities, we see different ads. These ads are inundated with messages, these messages enable us make decisions. How to look, what to wear, how to talk, what to eat, how to eat, how to smile, how to wave, what our homes should look like, how to meet new people, these are some of the decisions that ads enable us to make.

However, there are some problems with ads. Let us look at them:
Internet Advertisement and It’s problems
Every internet user at one time has struggled with advertisement. Take for instance, I am browsing through a website, and at each loading of a page, I am greeted with a pop-up advert. This ruins my user experience. Even though, the amount of revenue generated from online advertisement is growing, more users out there are like me, we are getting our user experience being ruined all for spam and pop-up adverts. This problem is not just peculiar to just the users. It actually affects everyone involved.

The companies that advertise (also know as Advertisers):
Companies pay heavily for putting up adverts. However, most of these adverts are inefficient. I personally took a survey among 5 of my friends. I asked them if they actually clicked on pop-up ads and end up buying something. Only one of them admitted to doing that. This shows how inefficient pop-up ads are. The companies go through a third party, who charges the companies heavily to put up the ads. The third party has almost no control as to the quality of audience the ads are being presented to, and the third party do not care. So at the end of the day, the ads are inefficient. This means, the company has paid heavily for an inefficient advertising.

The Publisher:
The publisher is someone that works with an advertising agency. The advertising agency is in control of an ad-space and sells the ad-space to whoever they want to for a fee. For example, a masculine website could sell its ad-space to a feminine targeted ad. This means, that the advertisement is not relevant to the user-base, and therefore ends up being cost ineffective.

The User:
Everyday, while users browse through the internet, they are made to see ads that are intrusive and irrelevant to them. If I am browsing through a masculine website, and an ad about a feminine drug pops up on my screen. There is a very high probability of me finding the ad intrusive and irrelevant. In addition to this, websites have the habit of selling user information with little or no regards for user privacy. At the end of all these, the end user is the one that is greatly affected, by decisions albeit not made by him/her.

KIND ADS to the rescue
Kind Ads is a decentralized advertisement platform. The Kind Ads protocol is the heart of this platform. Kind Ads intends to remove the middle man from between companies and end users. This would be achieved by the use of blockchain. This is a great advantage for both the Publishers and the Users

For the Publishers: the era of late payments, fees and commission would be a thing of the past with Kind Ads. Also, publishers can also determine the companies that advertise to their users. This would no doubt, increase the importance of publishers.
For the Users: with the removal of third parties, users don’t get intrusive and irrelevant ads. Let us look at a case scenario. My mom bought a deep freezer recently. In this case, my mom is the user and the lead. Companies paid just to ensure that my mom buy from them. However, with Kind Ads, the story would be different. If my mum had used Kind Ads, all she has to do is to enter her information, so companies that sell deep freezers could bid for her attention, hence she wouldn’t get intrusive and irrelevant ads. This means, my mom would get commission on her buying a deep freezer. Also, only deep freezer advertisement would be targeted to my mom. The fun part of all this is that, my mom can choose to remain anonymous during all this, and also, she can opt-out of the ads entirely.

How does Kind Ads change the interaction between companies and their potential demographic?
Kind Ads would greatly change and improve the ways in which companies interact with their potential target users. Kind Ads achieves this by giving companies a direct access to potential target users. This means, companies no longer get inefficient advertisement. Also, companies end up paying for ads that goes directly to their target users. This means cost effectiveness.

How does decentralization help combat large corporations currently dominating the advertising space?
As typical of every field, large corporations often dominate. In the case of the ads-space, the story is no different. Large corporations such as Alphabet (Google), Facebook dominate the ads-space. This means, that these corporations dictate prices, and also set beneficial conditions. This leads to a very unbalanced market-space, and at the end of the day, publishers and users are the ones that are being exploited. These large corporations are the third parties. They don’t care about the target user for the company, they don’t care if the ads they give are intrusive to the users. They are only concerned with themselves.
However, with decentralization achieved by blockchain, these would eliminate the third parties (in this case, the large corporations). Companies would end up getting direct access to their target users for a low cost. Publishers would decide the type of ads that get to the users, publishers also get faster payments. The end-users no longer get intrusive and annoying ads. In the end, everyone wins.

KIND ADS - a platform that takes advertising to the next level

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Kind Ads Tokens
The Kind Ads platform would run on KIND tokens. Companies that plan to advertise on the platform would pay with KIND tokens for marketing services that are rendered. Users and Publishers can earn KIND tokens. This ensures a continuous flow of money in the platform, as well as giving publishers and users a way to cash out.

CONCLUSION:
Kind Ads is a great and remarkable improvement to the way advertising is done. The Kind Ads platform takes a look at the problems facing the ads-space and fixes them. With Kind Ads, Users are not choked with unnecessary ads, companies get efficient adverts for a low cost, publishers can not be exploited. All these are reasons why Kind Ads should be embraced and employed in the ad-space.

Moving toward the next

#2
Kind Ads: Meet a New Era of Digital Marketing

In the advertising world, the saying that “the rich gets richer” holds true. Armed with juicy customer data-with or without the users full permission, and a massive war chest, giant corporations such as Alphabet Inc (parent company of Google) and Facebook continue to duopolize the market, to the detriment of every other player. This trend shows no sign of being abated to a significant level. As at Dec. 2017,25% of all ad spent went to Google or Facebook. It doesn’t stop there-it gets worse.

In 2017, Google and Facebook accounted for 73% of all digital advertising in the United States (up from 63% in Q2 2015)!
It was also estimated that they control 83% of all digital advertising growth.

Digital advertising spending is projected to increase to $330 billion by 2020.

Intrusive ads are a real menace. Nine out of ten times when I get on the internet, I always find these pop-up ads popping up all over my screen.
It’s so annoying that one doesn't bother to check the content of the advert. In cases where these ads are clicked on by error, one doesn’t bother to see what it is about, either. We are usually mad, and in a hurry to click on the “close” button. Hence, the advertiser has incurred a loss, and wouldn’t get the expected ROI.

INTRODUCTION

In 2017, Google and Facebook accounted for 73% of all digital advertising in the United States (up from 63% in Q2 2015)!
It was also estimated that they control 83% of all digital advertising growth.

Digital advertising spending is projected to increase to $330 billion by 2020.
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IDENTIFYING THE PROBLEM, IN ORDER TO PROFFER A SOLUTION
The Players Involved.
Intrusive ads are a real menace. Nine out of ten times when I get on the internet, I always find these pop-up ads popping up all over my screen.
It’s so annoying that one doesn't bother to check the content of the advert. In cases where these ads are clicked on by error, one doesn’t bother to see what it is about, either. We are usually mad, and in a hurry to click on the “close” button. Hence, the advertiser has incurred a loss, and wouldn’t get the expected ROI.
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Source: NeONBRAND, unsplash.com

(S)he has also lost a potential customer by that action alone, which was deciding to use that particular channel to advertise. The publisher is also at a disadvantage, because (s)he won’t have any earnings, from all the effort made.
Other times, it is getting information you never asked for, telling you you signed up for a certain newsletter which you have no recollection about(Funny enough, it actually displays your name). How is this possible?
Someone somewhere, who you trusted with your personal data has sold your information to the highest bidder.

This a weekly-if not a daily experience for me, it is also the same problem faced by millions of users, worldwide.

Naturally, everyone would want a larger piece of the pie, but publishers that have the right tools-a large following, do not have a way to let advertisers know that “hey, we have everything you need to get your product or service out there”. Publishers on the other hand, can’t separate the pretenders from the real deal.

There isn’t a solution/platform to vet these guys, a yardstick to measure services provided. Questions that need answering such as: Are the facts presented true? How large a following they have? How effective are ad campaigns? Are they really as good as they claim to really be?

In order for anyone or group of people to be able to achieve anything close to this solution, they need to be a big player in the industry, and this takes years of experience as well as a lot of resources.

Selling leads to the same set of buyers only brings about a drop in quality over time. Thus, also leading to a loss on investment for advertisers.

problem-3303396__480.png Source: Geralt, pixabay.com

This is a dilemma publishers and advertisers face.
Currently a number of people are leveraging technology to create innovative communication channels through which end users can be reached. But without the presence of big publishers and advertisers, it’s a wasted effort, as no one would be interested in being part of a system that doesn't give them a return on every dollar spent.

What could be done to salvage this situation?

To combat this trend, The LeadChain Foundation has created a viable solution that is sustainable and suitable to all parties involved in the advertising chain. They have come up with a solution known as “Kind Ads”.
Kind Ads is a decentralized advertising platform that serves user-friendly ads which users can opt-out from at any time.
Advertisers can relate directly with publishers.
Users are also able to earn, first by disclosing only information they decide to share, and then interacting with the ecosystem, based on these set preferences.

Advertisers had to go through a middle man

Seeing it’s the user that opted-in by him/herself, ads can be expected to be 100% (okay chill, 99.99%) relevant and effective.
This eradicates the menace of spam. It also delivers a more user friendly experience, and the ride is more enjoyable. Users will be shown relevant ads via channels such as email, chat, and push notifications. Thus, they will be able to surf the net without fear of being bombarded with information one never requested for.

For publishers, they don’t have to wait till the end of the month or quarter to receive that paycheck (believe me, I have been there). Seeing the platform is built on the Ethereum blockchain, payments are secure and instant. They are actually received on a daily basis. This enables small businesses to be able to plan and reinvest the revenue generated back into the system, if they so wish. They don’t have to worry about huge overheads anymore.
App providers are also able to launch channel innovations within the ecosystem. Advertisers and publishers are able to compare such App providers, and select the option that best suits their needs.

Being based on the blockchain is the reason why Kind Ads is able to cut off the middle man and link Advertisers with publishers, directly. Seeing the middleman has been cut off, there will be more money gained, and less spent in costs incurred during the process.

Less is more in some situations, and this holds true in this equation.

Asides from the reasons already discussed, what does this mean for the advertising sector?

*Better engagement.
*Huge savings for advertisers.
*Exposure for little companies.
*More earnings and better use of resources for publishers.
*Earnings for users.
*Better management of resources.
*App providers don't have to worry about having huge overheads and the market.

All these are achieved via a token known as the KIND token. All transactions on the platform are carried out with the help of the KIND Token, which is an ERC-20 complaint (more protection) token. Paying for adverts by advertisers, ad purchasing payment to publishers, and opting in and out of Kind Ads by users, are all effected using the KIND Token.

According to Statista, Coca-Cola spent $3.96 billion on advertising worldwide, in 2017 . Global revenue amounted to $35.41 billion in the same year.
In the same year, Coca-cola admitted that 30% of its adverts were not as effective as expected, with regards to targeting.

To tackle a problem like this Coca-Cola hears about the Kind Ads platform, and signs up as an advertiser, knowing that they have a pletoria of publishers, App providers and users to work with. Seeing users opt in to receive content from the advertiser in question, only customers that are fully interested in what Coca-Cola has to say, opt-in. Seeing these users have opted in, they will receive tokens capped at $5. (They also forfeit tokens, when they opt-out and these are put back into the reward pool). These users are also able to select who can get in touch with them. The more the user engages with the ecosystem, the more rewards that user stands to gain.

Once Coca-Cola has made a decision on the preferred publisher to work with, they will make a purchase using the KIND tokens, and then proceed to upload their ad(s). Once the ad is approved by the publisher, the tokens will be transferred.

So seeing Coca-Cola get the desired results(30% lost, now being covered), they will be glad that they have found a solution that delivers results and is also cost effective. Hence, Coca-Cola would become a returning customer, thus making the ecosystem financially rewarding for the other parties involved.

A rating system, known as the Kind Ads Score would be used to rate publishers. This score can be boosted through a number of activities on the ecosystem, such as running internal campaigns and by linking data from trusted sources.

Having this system in place ensures that publishers continue to maintain a certain standard of excellence, since it has a direct bearing on their revenue.

75% of the revenue generated would go to the publisher, while the remaining 25% would be split between App providers(10%), users(5%), and also publishers (10% based on their kind Ads publisher score).

Advertisers had to go through a middle man

Less is more in some situations, and this holds true in this equation.

Asides from the reasons already discussed, what does this mean for the advertising sector?

Better engagement.
Huge savings for advertisers.
Exposure for little companies.
More earnings and better use of resources for publishers.
Earnings for users.
Better management of resources.
App providers don't have to worry about having huge overheads and the market.
Screenshot_2018-05-18-22-00-11.jpg

Now Coca-Cola goes ahead to run specific searches, or check through channels created by App providers. They are able to see detailed information about the publishers performance, how they compare with others, if they have the right audience they need, etc. This enables Coca-Cola to make better informed decisions.
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Once Coca-Cola has made a decision on the preferred publisher to work with, they will make a purchase using the KIND tokens, and then proceed to upload their ad(s). Once the ad is approved by the publisher, the tokens will be transferred.

Having this system in place ensures that publishers continue to maintain a certain standard of excellence, since it has a direct bearing on their revenue.

When the system works and everyone is happy, everyone keeps on coming back, seeing they are getting results. This would lead to more advertisers taking advantage of services available, thus a steady and healthy growth would be noticed in the sector as a whole. It will also create a new level of trust, seeing everyone is actually getting the value they hoped to get, when they made the investment. Being innovative, it will clearly lead to advancement, and would definitely bring the industry into a new era. Gradually, this will become the norm and the standard.
Decentralization would also give the lesser known companies a chance. Companies that offer the best services would rise to the top, and deservedly, would be rewarded more. These companies would be able to receive the recognition they deserve, while offering superb services at a fraction of the cost. This is one of the beauties of a decentralized market.

Also, thanks to Kind Ads, companies would be able to get their message across to their desired audience in less intrusive ways, leading to a better experience for users(no more annoying pop-ups). Companies won’t have to waste money anymore, seeing they have demographics to work with and they will be able to target accordingly.

With the success of this, intrusive adds would begin to die a natural death gradually, and advertisers would see that they can actually get better ROI by making use of Kind Ads. This would directly lead to the death of those companies that put money before their users and their customers, and would also indirectly lead to cleaning up of the industry, and changing the way marketing is done.
All that is needed is a little patience, and keeping up with the pace. Kind Ads has to keep on learning and evolving by interacting with all stakeholders in the process. The team has a background in running advertising agencies, and are very familiar with the terrain, so I wouldn't be betting against them.
Slowly but surely, the objective would be reached.

Hopefully, this will also help to set a standard, and curb the ever present menace of pop-up ads and other intrusive adverts in the near future.

Advisors also include very experienced and well known individuals, who consult for fortune 500 companies, such as Amazon, Uber, General Motors, Hewlett-Packard, and Sony Pictures. Others are experts on blockchain and lead hugely successful companies.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The total supply of KIND tokens is 61,000,000. This is the maximum, and the tokens cannot be mined.
Pre-sale has concluded, and there won't be an ICO.
Plans are in the works to ensure that KIND tokens are listed on top exchanges when they are released.

FOR MORE INFORMATION & RESOURCES:

Kind Ads Website

Kind Ads WhitePaper

Kind Ads on Twitter

Kind Ads on Telegram

Kind Ads FAQ

All images are used with the permission of Kind Ads, or belong to the writer, where no source is quoted.