It was a hot, wet summer day in Buenos Aires when an unexpected visitor came to our office. Alex, the guard, was running after him unsuccessfully trying to make him turn off the cigarette he was smoking as he walked through the hallway of the building.
— Is this Flixxo?— he asked
The words barely came out of my mouth, but he seemed to understand the slightly oscillating movements of my head because he pushed himself into the office.
The place was a work in progress, we had just moved in. White walls, no curtains, a small round table, three chairs — which have nothing similar one with each other — and an old leather coach from the sixties. He looked around and stared at me for some seconds before taking a seat in the coach.
— Do you have something to drink?
— Tap water…?
— I was thinking on a glass of Scotch…
— I´m sorry… we´ve just moved in.
The guy frowned.
— Let me introduce myself — he continued
— I know who you are, Mr. Draper…
Don Draper was sitting in my office, in my old coach, asking me for a glass of Scotch. True story. Wish I had a secretary and I was able to say “Maria, please no calls and cancel all my meetings”. Wish I had that glass of Scotch. Two glasses, I would have made a good use of it as well.
For one second I thought It would have been better letting him introduce himself. But he smiled, proud to be recognized.
— I´ve participated in your ICO — he said.
— Wow, Mr. Draper… that´s such an honor for us.
— I know nothing about blockchain… But so far I´ve understood you´re trying to beat YouTube. I´m so mad at them. Our clients have been losing a lot of money trying to spread their messages…
I was speechless.
— So now that I have some Flixx… How can I use them to showcase advertising?
— Well, Mr. Draper…
— Call me Don.
— Sorry.
— Don´t be. Please, continue.
— Don, now you just need to upload your advertisement and make a bid.
— A bid?
— Yes, a bid. How much are you going to pay to the segmented consumers for watching your content?
Again he frowned. He reclined himself upfront and stared at me for some seconds that lasted an eternity.
— What do you mean? I have your tokens and I want to pay Flixxo for showcasing my client´s content.
— I´m sorry Don… but you need to pay for our user´s attention. You pay them, not us.
— I don´t get it. I want my advertisements to be shown on your Flixxo show or however you call the stuff you broadcast.
— You don´t have to mind what content the users watch. They will choose that content after you´ve paid them.
— No.
— No what?
— Impossible. It doesn´t work that way. You have a show and you shall broadcast my advertisement in the middle of your show.
— That so sixties… — I laughed.
— Are you making fun of me?
— No, I´m sorry Don. But I just figured out that the actual internet AD model on video is just the same that has been in use for the last fifty years…
Draper snorted. But he laid back down on the coach.
I continued — You don´t have to be worried about the show your advertisement is tied with… You just choose your audience and pay them for watching your content.
— And how do I know who I am broadcasting my content to?
— Our users could decide to bring us that information.
— What if they don´t?
— You would pay less… or nothing for their time.
— You´re saying that your users would come and tell me “Hey Mr. Coca-Cola… My name is Nancy, I´m 40 and I live in Minnesota”
— Would you pay for that information?
— Hell, yes!
— Today our personal information is being monetized by someone else. In Flixxo our users can choose what information to share with advertisers in order to monetize their information and time.
— Yes, sure. And we will make a wire transfer each time a user watches our advertisement — he answered with an ironic tone.
— No, you will transfer some Flixx.
— And if I ran out of Flixx?
— You can reach authors, content creators, and buy tokens from them.
Don took a deep breath.
— How much have you raised on your ICO?
— About five million…
— Five million dollars is nothing for this market! YouTube generates revenues of about ten billion dollars a year! What if I go today and buy 50% of your tokens…?
— You would have a freaking lot of AD space when Flixxo launches…
— But that would be worth much more than the actual price.
That was my turn to smile…
— Well… I guess you see the opportunity. Right, Don…?
TO BE CONTINUED
