Where’s the Beef (in AI)? BlockVantage

By Matt Wasserlauf

There is no bigger buzzword in the world than AI (artificial intelligence). Right now, hundreds of billions of dollars of investment are rolling in to pay for chips, data centers, and people to build out AI. Many on Wall Street are calling this development a bubble that could take down our entire economy. The stakes are very high.

While all this happens, a lot of us are asking ourselves “Where’s the Beef?” Where does AI really impact our businesses? How will AI really move the needle for us on Main Street?

This past week, Blockboard launched its most ambitious product ever: BlockVantage. BlockVantage is our AI platform built on top of Digiday’s “Best Buy Side Programmatic platform,” Blockboard. The combination of AI and blockchain is what makes BlockVantage unique and powerful.

For the past seven years, Blockboard has been delivering unprecedented performance for brands such as Chipotle, Dexcom, Luxottica — and now, Jersey Mike’s. To be clear, Blockboard has performed 90-percent more efficiently and effectively than the two biggest platforms in digital media: Google and The Trade Desk — 90 percent!

Last week, to pilot BlockVantage, Jersey Mike’s, which has more than 3,000 stores, launched a campaign to open its new franchise in Cambridge, Mass. With only a couple of thousand dollars to spend, Jersey Mike’s chose Blockboard so it could make every penny work for this one store. They knew that handing that $2,000 to Google or The Trade Desk would be equivalent to spitting in the wind. Their franchise and their money were way too important to do that.

Here’s what Blockboard’s BlockVantage did on opening day:

• $378 in sandwich sales

• 18 customers (Source: M1 Data & Analytics)

• $5.48 cost per visit

• 0.92% click-thru rate on commercial 

For this Cambridge, Mass., campaign, Jersey Mike’s tagged the same Danny DeVito-led spot we all see on TV and delivered incredible engagement. Publishers like Peacock, HBO Max, and Sling were among the top performers. By eliminating the waste and tech fees — and unleashing AI — BlockVantage powered the sales and foot traffic on a limited budget for one of America’s most iconic brands.

I am a proud kid from New Jersey and incredibly honored to have scored for Manasquan, N.J.-based Jersey Mike’s. This small campaign is nothing different from the hundreds of campaigns Blockboard has earned during the past seven years.

I am proud to have executed the very first online video upfront 20 years ago with Rishad Tobaccowala; I am proud to have won the very first P&G video upfront with Bob Dees and the Mediavest team; and I am proud to have built the very first online video ad serving platform, VINDICO, back in 2007.

BlockVantage is much bigger than all these things — much bigger. We have the chance to fix the $100 billion ad-fraud problem that plagues our industry — and, perhaps, even answer the critics who say we’re in an AI bubble right now.

So, where’s the beef? BlockVantage is the beef.

Matt Wasserlauf is CEO and co-founder of Blockboard. He can be reached via email at matt@myblockboard.com.