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AxLabs / grantshares

GrantShares Program 🌱
https://grantshares.io
Apache License 2.0
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Ecosystem Marketing Proposal #117

Closed grantshares-dapp[bot] closed 3 months ago

grantshares-dapp[bot] commented 3 months ago

Abstract

MarketAcross is one of the leaders in PR and marketing in the web3 space. I'm unsure how many of you know, but we helped Neo rebrand from Antshares in 2017. Since then, we’ve worked with hundreds of projects, such as Binance, Tezos, Polygon, Solana, etc. We found that new projects have difficulty engaging a PR firm because they lack the resources and don’t have enough progress to justify an ongoing PR budget.

We request a marketing grant to elevate the vibrant Neo ecosystem and support the community. We’re currently successfully doing this for the Polkadot ecosystem.

Proposal Information

Description

Deliver at least 37 unique articles (not including syndications, press release distributions, wires, etc.) over 3-4 months or less.

This includes:

  1. Public Relations:

Spain, Germany, Italy, France, Argentina, Mexico, Brazil, Russia + Ukraine, Egypt + Saudi Arabia, and the Middle East, as well as Korea, Japan, Vietnam, and China for specific press release distributions.

  1. Content Marketing
  1. Growth hacking and social amplifications
  1. Advisory, campaign management and reporting

As I’ve mentioned, we feel like we’ve been there for the Neo community back in 2017 when we helped Neo to rebrand from AntShares, there have been a lot of changes to the foundation and the ecosystem since, and we feel like it’s time to get back to the good ol’ roots and help Neo to get to the top once again ;)

Motivation

We’re one of the leading PR agencies in the web3 space, and we’re all native crypto peeps who actually try to help web3 communities succeed. An L1 project like Neo has a limit on how much marketing support it can give to its community. We’ve seen it happen to many vibrant communities that, for some reason, stay outside of the global conversation, even though lots is happening.At the same time, so many people “abused” the treasury and promoted scams or things that are hard to measure, like “spreading good vibes in the community.”So our idea was to come as a well-known agency with a mile-long track record, offer our services directly to the community, and let the community decide which projects to promote over others.The idea is to strengthen the community and get them more engaged while signaling to other projects that this community will support its good builders and contributors.

Goals

Our goal is to promote Neo (and particularly Neo3) as one of the best and easy-to-use frameworks for devs, create engaging PR & content marketing campaigns for Neo-based projects, promote Neo core contributors as thought leaders and overall support and advisory to the ecosystem from our knowledge, networking, and experience.* Our future goal is to try and join Neo as validators and use the rewards as “marketing grants”

Deliverables Verifiability

We will be in active and ongoing communication with community leaders and possibly even reps from the Neo Foundation to determine the best course of action and approve our objectives and KPIs.Then, we will provide a monthly report to showcase our work. For reference, here is our Polkadot campaign tracker, which is public and transparent to the community:https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1MMqGlO6511vITyBGgxtJaEjRy4IV09fUlIqmMM4VGzQ/edit

Budget Plan

About You / Your Organization

MarketAcross was launched in 2017, shortly after the Ethereum ICO. Since then, we have served over 300 blockchain companies, including Binance, Solana, Polygon, Crypto.com, Polkadot, Tezos, Huobi, Kucoin, and eToro. 

With an earned media tool kit developed in the Web2 space and fine-tuned in Web3, our combined experience across webs finds us with a unique product marketing skill set that is fluent in media and understands audiences.

We're also a success-based agency with guaranteed deliverables; unlike traditional PR agencies, we only charge for what we are able to deliver (no retainer fees). So our clients are able to control the amount/volume and the velocity of our work at all times.

Snippets of our work for Polkadot (Articles, Reddits promotions, social amplifications etc.)

Case studies: 

https://marketacross.com/clients/ 

Examples:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lLVqsa1wa3vvqjsBALvYoDMgqTMfaT7z/view?usp=drivesdk 

Deck/presentation:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vIzhQOik5FXaBskU_C_zN-u9GvhWin2I/view?usp=drivesdk

One-pager:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kuzMyczGkZLJvMxvgGzdf6PdDo5cFMJ-/view?usp=drivesdk 

Chainwire - The #1 Blockchain press release distribution service

MarketAcross founded a designated blockchain/web3 press release distribution service called Chainwire. As a part of this proposal, we will utilize Chainwire’s robust network for press release distribution and create more “buzz” around specific announcements, products, partnerships, etc.

Description

Chainwire is a crypto-focused PR distribution platform with 100+ media outlets integrated. We work closely with agencies in the crypto space to offer great distribution to top media outlets.

Examples

https://chainwire.org/cosmos-case-study 

https://chainwire.org/venom-case-study

Prices and Information

https://chainwire.org/pricing/ (our packages will be a part of the overall budget proposal of MarketAcross)

https://chainwire.org/deck (general information & sitelist)

Happy to answer any questions or provide any further information.

Sincerely,

Kim Bazak

VP of Business Development @ MarketAcross

Proposal Info :clipboard:

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👇 React with 👍 if you liked it, or 👎 if you think this proposal can be enhanced!

CryptoKent77 commented 3 months ago

Given NEO's historical lack of robust marketing efforts, it's becoming increasingly evident that there may be deeper underlying issues at play. Despite ongoing feedback from the community regarding the need for improved marketing strategies, the NEO team has yet to address these concerns adequately. This silence begs the question: could there be a larger reason behind the reluctance to promote NEO?

One possibility is that the NEO team may be apprehensive about drawing attention to the project due to potential regulatory concerns, particularly within the Chinese market. It's conceivable that they fear promoting NEO could provoke regulatory scrutiny or classification as a speculative asset, which could have adverse effects on their reputation and standing within the Chinese regulatory landscape.

While speculative, it's worth considering whether these factors are influencing the NEO team's marketing decisions. Until they provide clarity on this matter, speculation will continue to abound regarding their reluctance to promote NEO more aggressively.

PazBazak commented 3 months ago

The proposal is something the community is looking for.

NEO marketing efforts are visible, they participate in many conferences, hackathons, articles and so on.. but it does feel the focus is on Asia, and less in Western media.

With the coming NEO-X side chain with EVM support, and the existing efforts to market it, I think a "boost" for the marketing wouldn't harm, especially when it's such a low budget.

I think other proposals boosting more tools and apps are as important as this proposal which aims to boost brand awareness and increase NEO user base.

It does seem the proposal would "work better" if community would help them, for example NGD/Flamingo/Linkd would work with MarketAcross to have these AMAs, interviews, materials and so on..

lllwvlvwlll commented 3 months ago

Can you comment on your involvement in the rebrand from Antshares to Neo?

digimbyte commented 3 months ago

The proposal from MarketAcross outlines a comprehensive strategy aimed at boosting visibility and engagement for our project. While the scope and ambition of this plan are commendable, I have concerns about the target audience and content therein.

Echo Chambers; The focus on platforms like Reddit, Quora, and Twitter could potentially limit our outreach to within existing web3 circles, creating echo chambers rather than expanding our audience. While these platforms have their strengths, our strategy should aim to break out of these bubbles to engage a wider, more diverse audience.

Telegram for AMA: Presents challenges not just for new users, but broadly across potential and existing members of the community. The platform's niche appeal, largely confined to the most dedicated cryptocurrency enthusiasts, results in lower overall engagement rates, limiting the effectiveness of AMA sessions intended for a wider audience. The need for proprietary software, coupled with Telegram's unfortunate association with scams, further exacerbates accessibility issues. For AMAs to be truly effective and welcoming, they should be conducted on platforms that are public, easily accessible, and free from negative connotations, ensuring a broader and more inclusive reach.

YouTube: While social amplification has its place, platforms like YouTube offer a more sustainable medium for educational content, with better engagement and retention rates. These formats allow for a deeper exploration of topics, helping to foster a well-informed community.

Podcasts: The approach to podcasts and collaborations with influencers should be highly selective, focusing on those with established, relevant audiences from candidates. This ensures that our message is heard by genuinely interested listeners and contributes meaningfully to the broader discourse. (I never listen to podcasts, not my flavor of digesting side conversation)

Solid Foundations: Without up-to-date documentation or comprehensive online classes akin to Google Labs for our testnet, what exactly are we positioning in our advertisements? Ensuring our promotional efforts reflect the current and most innovative aspects of our ecosystem is crucial. This emphasizes the necessity of revitalizing our educational materials and developing accessible, hands-on learning experiences for our community. By addressing these foundational elements, we can create a more meaningful and attractive proposition for both new and existing users, ensuring that our marketing efforts truly resonate and deliver lasting value.

Investing $50,000 in a megaphone to project our message across the vast ocean is futile without ensuring we have built a welcoming and accessible island for our audience to land on.

antecrypto commented 3 months ago

I'm unsure how many of you know, but we helped Neo rebrand from Antshares in 2017.

That would mean you should have the data from your contribution to the rebrand. Can we get a full case study explaining the budget for the rebrand, details about your involvement, data metrics, how you helped make it a success, how were results measured? etc.?

The proposal is a general outline of marketing services and not a plan at all.

digimbyte commented 3 months ago

Can you expand on the financial breakdown and cost estimates with proof. I see a lot of promises with clauses and conditional 'maybes' - its not inspiring.

The concern here is that of the $50K allocated, a significant portion, perhaps $20-25K, might be dedicated to articles and social media efforts, with the remainder potentially not being utilized as intended for the campaign. It's a common scenario where the focus is placed on surface metrics like impressions and views, which are then presented as markers of success, regardless of the deeper impact or value delivered.

KimBBuilders commented 3 months ago

Can you comment on your involvement in the rebrand from Antshares to Neo?

During the rebrand Neo needed a big PR push to let everyone know about it, and MarketAcross helped with the global media side.

KimBBuilders commented 3 months ago

I'm unsure how many of you know, but we helped Neo rebrand from Antshares in 2017.

That would mean you should have the data from your contribution to the rebrand. Can we get a full case study explaining the budget for the rebrand, details about your involvement, data metrics, how you helped make it a success, how were results measured? etc.?

The proposal is a general outline of marketing services and not a plan at all.

Hopefully you'll understand that I can't share these details, like I won't share any other client. Our past involvement was 7 years ago, since then we've been Binance 1st global PR agency (still working with them on product marketing), Tezos, Polkadot, Polygon, Solana, etc.

And yes, this is not a marketing plan, this is marketing offer. In order to plan, we need to understand what the community wants - more PR to Neo? more PR to Neo-based projects? mostly new projects? mostly established and validated projects?

A strategy is something that we're doing as part of the onboarding and discovery phase.

KimBBuilders commented 3 months ago

The proposal from MarketAcross outlines a comprehensive strategy aimed at boosting visibility and engagement for our project. While the scope and ambition of this plan are commendable, I have concerns about the target audience and content therein.

Echo Chambers; The focus on platforms like Reddit, Quora, and Twitter could potentially limit our outreach to within existing web3 circles, creating echo chambers rather than expanding our audience. While these platforms have their strengths, our strategy should aim to break out of these bubbles to engage a wider, more diverse audience.

Telegram for AMA: Presents challenges not just for new users, but broadly across potential and existing members of the community. The platform's niche appeal, largely confined to the most dedicated cryptocurrency enthusiasts, results in lower overall engagement rates, limiting the effectiveness of AMA sessions intended for a wider audience. The need for proprietary software, coupled with Telegram's unfortunate association with scams, further exacerbates accessibility issues. For AMAs to be truly effective and welcoming, they should be conducted on platforms that are public, easily accessible, and free from negative connotations, ensuring a broader and more inclusive reach.

YouTube: While social amplification has its place, platforms like YouTube offer a more sustainable medium for educational content, with better engagement and retention rates. These formats allow for a deeper exploration of topics, helping to foster a well-informed community.

Podcasts: The approach to podcasts and collaborations with influencers should be highly selective, focusing on those with established, relevant audiences from candidates. This ensures that our message is heard by genuinely interested listeners and contributes meaningfully to the broader discourse. (I never listen to podcasts, not my flavor of digesting side conversation)

Solid Foundations: Without up-to-date documentation or comprehensive online classes akin to Google Labs for our testnet, what exactly are we positioning in our advertisements? Ensuring our promotional efforts reflect the current and most innovative aspects of our ecosystem is crucial. This emphasizes the necessity of revitalizing our educational materials and developing accessible, hands-on learning experiences for our community. By addressing these foundational elements, we can create a more meaningful and attractive proposition for both new and existing users, ensuring that our marketing efforts truly resonate and deliver lasting value.

Investing $50,000 in a megaphone to project our message across the vast ocean is futile without ensuring we have built a welcoming and accessible island for our audience to land on.

Hey, you've raised valid points. In our proposal we currently decided to focus on our bread and butter which is PR & amplifications on social media. We might be able to do more in the future, but first we need to establish a relationship, to see who will be our POCs, etc, what type of stories we'll be pushing and so on...

As we said, our goal is to build a long-lasting relationship and not a one-off.

KimBBuilders commented 3 months ago

Can you expand on the financial breakdown and cost estimates with proof. I see a lot of promises with clauses and conditional 'maybes' - its not inspiring.

The concern here is that of the $50K allocated, a significant portion, perhaps $20-25K, might be dedicated to articles and social media efforts, with the remainder potentially not being utilized as intended for the campaign. It's a common scenario where the focus is placed on surface metrics like impressions and views, which are then presented as markers of success, regardless of the deeper impact or value delivered.

You have a breakdown in the proposal, how many articles and how many social posts per offer. Usually, a PR agency is working with a retainer, no promises, just a retainer, We actually promise X amount of deliverables to our clients, but PR is dynamic so I can't promise prior to the campaign, what exactly you're going to get, it really depends on many variables.

And if you want to get a sense of that, I shared a doc from Polkadot. We've been asked from the Polkadot community to put a public offer, and we did. Our main goal was to do PR for the ecosystem, so we've created a form where projects ask for PR, and than we filter the requests with few key people from the community.

Honestly, you're focusing too much on Neo instead of highlighting the ecosystem. Neo, Polkadot, Solana, Tezos, all are just frameworks. Our proposal is aiming more on showcasing the vibrant ecosystem, to help projects on Neo to have a voice.

antecrypto commented 3 months ago

I'm unsure how many of you know, but we helped Neo rebrand from Antshares in 2017.

That would mean you should have the data from your contribution to the rebrand. Can we get a full case study explaining the budget for the rebrand, details about your involvement, data metrics, how you helped make it a success, how were results measured? etc.? The proposal is a general outline of marketing services and not a plan at all.

Hopefully you'll understand that I can't share these details, like I won't share any other client. Our past involvement was 7 years ago, since then we've been Binance 1st global PR agency (still working with them on product marketing), Tezos, Polkadot, Polygon, Solana, etc.

And yes, this is not a marketing plan, this is marketing offer. In order to plan, we need to understand what the community wants - more PR to Neo? more PR to Neo-based projects? mostly new projects? mostly established and validated projects?

A strategy is something that we're doing as part of the onboarding and discovery phase.

You seem to be willing to share details about Polkadot & other clients. Can you not provide any information at all? You are one who mentioned it. I find it odd that you're reaching out for a GrantShares grant instead of contacting NGD, the team you previously worked with and should have a relationship with. Did you try to reach out to NGD? why or why not?

Our future goal is to try and join Neo as validators and use the rewards as “marketing grants”

This just shows how out of touch you are with reality. I think you should take the time to understand what the community wants and needs before asking for $50K to plan something out.

You have a breakdown in the proposal, how many articles and how many social posts per offer. Usually, a PR agency is working with a retainer, no promises, just a retainer, We actually promise X amount of deliverables to our clients, but PR is dynamic so I can't promise prior to the campaign, what exactly you're going to get, it really depends on many variables.

This isn't true. I've been working in performance marketing for a firm for over 15 years. We work based on results and we measure everything. Offering written articles and some social media posts is worthless without understanding the actual impact of that content. We do it this way so ensure our clients get what they pay for & because we're confident on delivering.

KimBBuilders commented 3 months ago

I'm unsure how many of you know, but we helped Neo rebrand from Antshares in 2017.

That would mean you should have the data from your contribution to the rebrand. Can we get a full case study explaining the budget for the rebrand, details about your involvement, data metrics, how you helped make it a success, how were results measured? etc.? The proposal is a general outline of marketing services and not a plan at all.

Hopefully you'll understand that I can't share these details, like I won't share any other client. Our past involvement was 7 years ago, since then we've been Binance 1st global PR agency (still working with them on product marketing), Tezos, Polkadot, Polygon, Solana, etc. And yes, this is not a marketing plan, this is marketing offer. In order to plan, we need to understand what the community wants - more PR to Neo? more PR to Neo-based projects? mostly new projects? mostly established and validated projects? A strategy is something that we're doing as part of the onboarding and discovery phase.

You seem to be willing to share details about Polkadot & other clients. Can you not provide any information at all? You are one who mentioned it. I find it odd that you're reaching out for a GrantShares grant instead of contacting NGD, the team you previously worked with and should have a relationship with. Did you try to reach out to NGD? why or why not?

Our future goal is to try and join Neo as validators and use the rewards as “marketing grants”

This just shows how out of touch you are with reality. I think you should take the time to understand what the community wants and needs before asking for $50K to plan something out.

You have a breakdown in the proposal, how many articles and how many social posts per offer. Usually, a PR agency is working with a retainer, no promises, just a retainer, We actually promise X amount of deliverables to our clients, but PR is dynamic so I can't promise prior to the campaign, what exactly you're going to get, it really depends on many variables.

This isn't true. I've been working in performance marketing for a firm for over 15 years. We work based on results and we measure everything. Offering written articles and some social media posts is worthless without understanding the actual impact of that content. We do it this way so ensure our clients get what they pay for & because we're confident on delivering.

I'm sharing the Polkadot campaign because it's part of a public initiative approved and funded by Polkadot governance. Consequently, our report had to be made public, which differs from our usual agreements.

With 7years of experience in crypto PR, I understand the significant disparities between PR and other digital marketing realms like PPC/SEO, which you may have been involved in for 15 years. Unlike PPC/SEO, PR entails unique metrics and approaches. Our proposal stands out by offering tangible deliverables and KPIs, a rarity in most PR agencies' offerings.

If you believe Neo doesn't currently require a marketing boost for its ecosystem or if our proposal fails to align with the community's goals, that's perfectly understandable.

My journey in the crypto world began with AntShares, my first position into altcoins. I've remained engaged with Neo, now through my brother's perspective as a Neo builder himself, thus maintaining a special place in my heart for the project.

Regarding our proposal, our pricing is actually lower than our standard rates. Trust me when I say that a budget of 50K isn't substantial in the realm of marketing, not by a long shot. Even if our proposal isn't suitable for your needs, I urge you to support initiatives aimed at increasing awareness and fostering growth within the ecosystem. It's crucial for an L1 to exhibit a vibrant and expanding ecosystem.

antecrypto commented 3 months ago

With 7years of experience in crypto PR, I understand the significant disparities between PR and other digital marketing realms like PPC/SEO, which you may have been involved in for 15 years. Unlike PPC/SEO, PR entails unique metrics and approaches. Our proposal stands out by offering tangible deliverables and KPIs, a rarity in most PR agencies' offerings.

It has nothing to do with the type of digital marketing we run. Whether we're running CPL for Lead Gen or advertorials on Native advertising platforms we track and measure our results. Every client is a special case. We barely run PPC and we don't do SEO. Your deliverables include a bunch of random articles & "social amplification" from the 100+ KOLs and micro-influencers which are all unnamed and you provide 0 real information about.

Trust me when I say that a budget of 50K isn't substantial in the realm of marketing, not by a long shot.

$50K is substantial, especially when you're tracking results by impressions. Some of our biggest clients with very deep pockets started with budgets of less than that. When they see the results and metrics they scale. Your company is doing this for profit. Making it seem like anything else is dishonest.

KimBBuilders commented 3 months ago

With 7years of experience in crypto PR, I understand the significant disparities between PR and other digital marketing realms like PPC/SEO, which you may have been involved in for 15 years. Unlike PPC/SEO, PR entails unique metrics and approaches. Our proposal stands out by offering tangible deliverables and KPIs, a rarity in most PR agencies' offerings.

It has nothing to do with the type of digital marketing we run. Whether we're running CPL for Lead Gen or advertorials on Native advertising platforms we track and measure our results. Every client is a special case. We barely run PPC and we don't do SEO. Your deliverables include a bunch of random articles & "social amplification" from the 100+ KOLs and micro-influencers which are all unnamed and you provide 0 real information about.

Trust me when I say that a budget of 50K isn't substantial in the realm of marketing, not by a long shot.

$50K is substantial, especially when you're tracking results by impressions. Some of our biggest clients with very deep pockets started with budgets of less than that. When they see the results and metrics they scale. Your company is doing this for profit. Making it seem like anything else is dishonest.

Public Relations is very different...There are other objectives to PR, you can't measure them the same way, and you don't seem to get it. It's not always about impressions or any other measurements.

For example, if TechCrunch will cover Neo, do you think Neo should care because of the traffic or because the biggest tech publication just gave Neo legitimacy in the eyes of their investors/builders/community? Same goes for CoinDesk / Cointelegraph, BlockWorks, etc...it's not about the traffic, it's about getting the right narratives out there.

PR could be used for many purposes and it depends on your current goals (Brand awareness, product launch, bringing more builders, positioning, Thought Leadership, etc)

Honestly, it seems like you're anti PR in general, I feel like you should talk to a few CMOs of Web3 start-ups, they might change your mind.

NwKdOnTheBlockchain commented 3 months ago

I like the fact that a proposal like this is done but don't think it should be on GrantShares right now.

Let me try to explain why: we all (almost everyone) like to think that Neo is lacking in the 'marketing department' and therefore something must happen to play catch up with other blockchains. We like to think we have a solid chain in comparison to other chains, but a fraction of the devs that is building over here instead of there.

Well, there are certainly more marketing efforts and we do have a couple of nice things going on. But the community feels like it’s not enough to represent us.

I think we need to evaluate our efforts first. Identify what’s going well and discover our pain points. When that’s done there could be adjustments to the strategy to get more out of it.

Just a couple of things to evaluate (simplified):

When that’s all sorted out, a plan like this would be something to look into, if you ask me. I also want to add that the Neo Foundation should put more effort in this instead of an initiative via GrantShares. With NF in the corner you have more power and reach within the project itself. You need more vigor to make it worth it and go a long way.

I just don't feel like a couple articles will add enough value to make it worth the grant for now. Maybe you could advise the marketing department and help with strategy.

(copy of my reddit post)

KimBBuilders commented 3 months ago

I like the fact that a proposal like this is done but don't think it should be on GrantShares right now.

Let me try to explain why: we all (almost everyone) like to think that Neo is lacking in the 'marketing department' and therefore something must happen to play catch up with other blockchains. We like to think we have a solid chain in comparison to other chains, but a fraction of the devs that is building over here instead of there.

Well, there are certainly more marketing efforts and we do have a couple of nice things going on. But the community feels like it’s not enough to represent us.

I think we need to evaluate our efforts first. Identify what’s going well and discover our pain points. When that’s done there could be adjustments to the strategy to get more out of it.

Just a couple of things to evaluate (simplified):

  • The basics (general monthly reports are lacking, last one is of january)
  • Cultural differences in communication (we don’t feel the same for in example: West vs East)
  • Integrate community initiatives (NeoNewsToday & nDapp are so powerful yet not visible enough)
  • Channels (what’s working in our favor - how to get more engagement)

When that’s all sorted out, a plan like this would be something to look into, if you ask me. I also want to add that the Neo Foundation should put more effort in this instead of an initiative via GrantShares. With NF in the corner you have more power and reach within the project itself. You need more vigor to make it worth it and go a long way.

I just don't feel like a couple articles will add enough value to make it worth the grant for now. Maybe you could advise the marketing department and help with strategy.

(copy of my reddit post)

Solid answer indeed. It's always recommended to do kind of a SWOT analysis on Neo and evaluate different possible routes before kickin' the door with guns blazing.

Just to maybe clarify the main goal of the proposal. We know that Neo has a PR agency, we're not trying to replace them, or the marketing team. We want to help Neo-based projects, these projects normally have less money, and they prefer to spend it on R&D and not on a PR agency that will shorten their runway (and it's totally understood). But they do have news to share from time to time, and it's also aligning with the community goals, because they want to see Neo projects getting PR in other places, and not just in Neo echo chambers like NeoNewsToday, which is mainly for Neo enthusiasts. Also to put Neo and Neo projects on the radar of crypto teir1s publications.

antecrypto commented 3 months ago

For example, if TechCrunch will cover Neo, do you think Neo should care because of the traffic or because the biggest tech publication just gave Neo legitimacy in the eyes of their investors/builders/community? Same goes for CoinDesk / Cointelegraph, BlockWorks, etc...it's not about the traffic, it's about getting the right narratives out there.

PR could be used for many purposes and it depends on your current goals (Brand awareness, product launch, bringing more builders, positioning, Thought Leadership, etc)

Honestly, it seems like you're anti PR in general, I feel like you should talk to a few CMOs of Web3 start-ups, they might change your mind.

You aren't understanding. My whole point is the impressions/traffic you'll be reporting each month on the articles is meaningless if you aren't taking further steps to measure impact. You can run PR campaign and still measure the impact if you're clever about it. Neo doesn't need your firm to write up a bunch random of articles from people who don't know Neo and get them posted on CoinDesk, CoinTelegraph, etc.

  1. Your proposal is an outline of services and not a plan of action.
  2. Your proposal is coming from a company running for profit. Imagine if every crypto service started using GrantShares to sell their service.
  3. You ignored questions you aren't comfortable answering. Like why haven't you reached out to NGD if you already worked with them in the past? or who exactly are the unnamed KWOLS and micro-influencers you plan to use with this budget?

"We actually promise X amount of deliverables to our clients, but PR is dynamic so I can't promise prior to the campaign"

  1. I can see based on your responses and comments that you aren't the most experienced person in the field. People who know...know. It's clear to see.

The is a poor attempt at selling a marketing service to Neo through a grant proposal imo.

digimbyte commented 3 months ago

I don't even know if we have enough projects on the platform to keep investors interested. we got a fallback project, a team building project, a JRPG project, a meme website. as far as I know, all other projects have been rugged or abandoned. so the excuse of highlighting projects seems shallow. the majority of projects that remain are utility based. used for onboarding development and cross chain integration.

some preliminary research needs to be done before making a grant, its like advertising a milk stand before you have the cow.

deanragnarok commented 3 months ago

I am aware of who MarketAcross is and I have a few thoughts on this. I think there is potentially some value here, but the proposal probably needs to be reimagined and resubmitted. As it stands it a bit too broad and general so we have no idea of where we would land.

What I am kind of envisioning is MarketAcross potentially becoming like a "preferred supplier" for Neo ecosystem projects that we learn to trust, rather than the PR firm for Neo itself. We don't have a ton projects within the Neo ecosystem, but I'm fairly positive that the ones that we do have do not have the resources to do traditional PR. I'm thinking Flamingo, GhostMarket, FTW, Pixudi, TTM, QSC, Meme2Earn etc... These are all good projects that I believe have the potential for broad appeal.

There is truth to the fact that if we increase the visibility of projects on Neo, we also increase the visibility of Neo itself. I would be interested in seeing MarketAcross speak with some of these projects to discuss their needs, positioning, upcoming releases etc, and come up with smaller proposals on a project by project basis, centered around specific campaigns or engagement periods, with some predefined goals or KPIs.

Maybe we can get one through here and evaluate the results. Then maybe we get another, and then a few more. GrantShares obviously can't support ongoing costs for this kind of thing forever, but perhaps there are other doors than can be opened if things went well. For example, maybe in the future marketing packages could potentially be sponsored by NGD through EcoBoost, similar to how contract audits by Red4Sec or Overlord are occasionally sponsored. Or even better, we help the projects grow to a point where they can afford this kind of service themselves.

I like the idea of having a marketing/PR agency that knows the ecosystem really well and can work closely with projects individually, but the first step would be to narrow the scope and get some runs on the board if this were to gain any traction.

KimBBuilders commented 3 months ago

What I am kind of envisioning is MarketAcross potentially becoming like a "preferred supplier" for Neo ecosystem projects that we learn to trust, rather than the PR firm for Neo itself. We don't have a ton projects within the Neo ecosystem, but I'm fairly positive that the ones that we do have do not have the resources to do traditional PR. I'm thinking Flamingo, GhostMarket, FTW, Pixudi, TTM, QSC, Meme2Earn etc... These are all good projects that I believe have the potential for broad appeal.

There is truth to the fact that if we increase the visibility of projects on Neo, we also increase the visibility of Neo itself. I would be interested in seeing MarketAcross speak with some of these projects to discuss their needs, positioning, upcoming releases etc, and come up with smaller proposals on a project by project basis, centered around specific campaigns or engagement periods, with some predefined goals or KPIs.

Maybe we can get one through here and evaluate the results. Then maybe we get another, and then a few more. GrantShares obviously can't support ongoing costs for this kind of thing forever, but perhaps there are other doors than can be opened if things went well. For example, maybe in the future marketing packages could potentially be sponsored by NGD through EcoBoost, similar to how contract audits by Red4Sec or Overlord are occasionally sponsored. Or even better, we help the projects grow to a point where they can afford this kind of service themselves.

I like the idea of having a marketing/PR agency that knows the ecosystem really well and can work closely with projects individually, but the first step would be to narrow the scope and get some runs on the board if this were to gain any traction.

YES! that's the idea between the lines - our offer is basically to have a stock of X hits with us, and then to use it to fund "mini-campaigns" and have Neo projects coming to us to get help with PR, We prefer to have it in one place instead of having little chunks, because one projects might use 6 articles and another one just 2.

KimBBuilders commented 3 months ago

Hey all, some people from Neo are going directly to Tamar, she was head of BD of Neo back in 2018, and asking her about our relations.

so to clarify, we talked, and met (and she gave my brother some Neo swag), but we didn't work together or had any business relationship with Tamar, nor with Neo back then. We worked before we knew Tamar, during the re-brand (in 2017).

So please, this is starting to spiral way more than it should be, I don't mind retracting the offer, but please let Tamar live her life, she's not even in crypto anymore.

antecrypto commented 3 months ago

Hey all, some people from Neo are going directly to Tamar, she was head of BD of Neo back in 2018, and asking her about our relations.

This happens when you mention past relationships in a grant proposal but provide 0 information backing anything up. People will try to look into it when you fail to provide details.

our offer is basically to have a stock of X hits with us, and then to use it to fund "mini-campaigns" and have Neo projects coming to us to get help with PR

X amount of hits, X amount of articles....Sounds like a big waste of money to me for something NGD or Neo can just do themselves. Any platform/website you plan to post on or any social media influencer you bring on would be happy to work with Neo directly. They don't need to cut you into a % of that spend to do exactly what you plan to do.

and again, you ignored the hard questions.

lock9 commented 3 months ago

Hello,

My opinion about this proposal:

This can generally benefit the ecosystem. The proposal will likely need to be reworked. This is expected because you had to write it without meeting the client.

digimbyte commented 3 months ago

So after a few days of thinking on this, I stand against this proposal.

  1. its too early. we don't have an economy of developers building, which is the source of attraction and retention of non-devs and investors
  2. the grants are FOR neo and the neo economy. but your focus was too generalized outside Neo, ie: "crypto economy focused"

    Honestly, you're focusing too much on Neo instead of highlighting the ecosystem. Neo, Polkadot, Solana, Tezos, all are just frameworks. Our proposal is aiming more on showcasing the vibrant ecosystem, to help projects on Neo to have a voice.

So what does the neo community stand to gain for a half baked plan to take NEO money and promote other ecosystems? all news from projects typically channels through NNT as an outlet, so its kind of a no-brainer.

This is a very weak attempt to take funds that independent developers like myself are missing out on.

am I wrong?

grantshares-dapp[bot] commented 3 months ago

🚫 This proposal was cancelled (closed discussion) on request of the proposal's owner.

KimBBuilders commented 3 months ago

It was a nice discussion, good luck in the future, we might work again someday. This grant is not worth the current toxicity...