The blockchain buzz: the marketing hype and quest for meaning

Over the past decade, few terms have stirred the business world like “blockchain”. Initially celebrated as the backbone of cryptocurrencies, blockchain quickly became a marketing phenomenon, with companies across various industries eager to leverage its promise.

However, this rush revealed a significant disconnect between blockchain’s actual capabilities and how it was marketed leading to widespread confusion about its real utility. I saw this firsthand during a blockchain panel discussion in Dubai a few years ago, where it became clear that my company, Drooms, had been ahead of the curve.

We were one of the first companies able to generate revenue on a blockchain-based product outside of cryptocurrency. In reality, the underlying technology itself didn’t actually matter. It was the product that generated the revenue because it served the market’s need. Today, our product uses a different underlying technology and continues to generate revenue.

Beyond the buzzwords

As industries continue to navigate a rapidly changing technological landscape, the lessons from the blockchain and AI marketing hype are essential. Companies need to move beyond buzzwords and adopt a more thoughtful, grounded approach to technology. By focusing on the core principles of blockchain and AI, businesses can develop solutions that address genuine challenges, rather than creating new problems.

Some companies are successfully applying blockchain and AI to create genuine value. Financial institutions, for example, use blockchain to ensure secure, transparent transactions and enhance auditing processes. Similarly, AI is transforming sectors such as real assets, healthcare, manufacturing and retail by streamlining operations, improving decision-making and automating processes. From data analysis to machine learning, AI is helping companies predict trends, speed up workflows and enhance customer experiences.

These examples show how both blockchain and AI can provide meaningful solutions when applied thoughtfully. The key is not to chase trends for their own sake but to focus on real-world problems that require innovative solutions. When properly implemented, these technologies can enhance security, prevent unauthorised access and ensure regulatory compliance.

The blockchain hype cycle

The story of blockchain began in 2009 when Bitcoin introduced decentralised finance. As interest in Bitcoin grew, so did curiosity about the technology behind it: blockchain. Soon, businesses saw blockchain as a golden opportunity. By incorporating it into their messaging, they hoped to position themselves as forward-thinking innovators.

However, many companies regarded “blockchain” more as a buzzword than as a truly transformative concept. Startups and established firms alike launched products claiming to use blockchain, even when its application wasn’t necessary or beneficial. This mirrored the dot-com boom of the late 1990s, when the internet was similarly touted as a universal solution, often without a clear understanding of how it would actually deliver value.

At its core, blockchain is a decentralised ledger that records transactions across multiple computers, making it nearly impossible to alter or hack retroactively. While it offers transparency and security, the average business leader has tended to only understand its most basic implications.

This lack of understanding led to companies applying blockchain to problems that didn’t exist. For instance, a business might claim blockchain was streamlining supply chain logistics, but in reality, its current system was already efficient enough, rendering blockchain unnecessary.

Embrace clarity and purpose

As blockchain hype began to fade, another buzzword took its place: artificial intelligence (AI). At Drooms, we’ve been using AI on our platform for more than eight years, but many other companies quickly jumped on the AI bandwagon, combining it with blockchain in their marketing materials – even when they had no clear idea of how the two technologies would work together. This “solutionism” led to companies developing technologies for vague, non-existent problems, rather than addressing the real needs of the market.

Terms like “disruptive innovation” and “synergy” flooded marketing materials, creating a sense of excitement without substance. While both blockchain and AI hold real potential, their combined use in marketing often lacked clarity and purpose.

Ultimately, the future belongs to those who can harness these powerful technology tools in meaningful ways, focusing on clarity and purpose over hype, and delivering real value to customers, rather than simply riding the wave of the latest zeitgeist.