TheKidCG
commented
1 year ago Hi,
Following the latest council meeting, here is my response to the queries flagged during the call. As a reminder, these were the notes from the council meeting:
In principle there’s also support for awarding a grant for a PR firm however a few of the members have worked with YAP previously and had good experiences, so there were quite a few questions on why we selected Antidote. For example:
- Antidote don’t seem to have much experience in DeFi, can they provide some specific examples of DeFi connections and clients?
- In the doc they’ve listed all the publications in scope, but how many of those do they have relationships with?
- Can we try them out for a few months or is there a minimum contract length?I have asked Antidote PR to respond to these comments, please see their response below.
ANTIDOTE PR
We are an independent agency that works with businesses who are powering the digital economy to enhance reputation and increase performance.
It is our belief that data is powering the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and we believe that working with businesses to create data driven insights builds a compelling narrative that supercharges communications and business performance.
Data also presents an opportunity for us to better deliver value to our clients. We are crystal clear that the work we do should not deliver a coverage book at the end of every month, but instead deliver value to a business in supporting them to achieve their commercial goals.
WHY ARE WE THE RIGHT FIT FOR AVANTGARDE?
Tech & investment experience Our experienced team has worked across a range of industries including the investment, fintech and broad technology sectors. We haven technical writers on staff, with developer backgrounds, who give the account teams insight and training into any new technologies. Through ongoing training, we are committed to honing our tech know-how, understanding trends and staying ahead of the curve.
Some examples:
Amplify Link https://amplify.link/about https://amplifyyou.amplify.link/2022/06/amplifylive-livestream-concept/
Amplify is a platform for musicians, utilising the very latest technologies including Web3 and DeFi, to offer users a constant stream of income.
Antidote manages a range of services for them including investor relations - as they look to secure their next funding round - content creation and media relations and social media. This is across a range of verticals including music, national and tech (DeFi and Web3)
https://blockworks.co/news/amplify-files-for-defi-focused-etf
https://techround.co.uk/interviews/meet-sam-bates-amplify/
McKinsey Portfolio
The Antidote team work across the McKinsey Design, Digital, Leap and Quantum Black (AI by McKinsey) departments internationally.
A large part of this work is creating compelling and understandable content from intricate projects and technical notes provided the client. The account teams and technical writing colleagues have honed their skills in demystifying complex technical information.
Parmenion / ASI
Parmenion is a FinTech, developed under the ASI umbrella. It was sold to a PE firm in 2021; Niki, our director, led the investor and stakeholder relations strategy, heading up the delivery team and supporting the CEO on FCA responses. In addition, she continued to drive Parmenion’s corporate communications programme, aligned to ASI global strategy, navigating the hierarchy of an international parent company.
Media contacts We work with the media day-in and day-out. As a corporate communications agency specialised in working with innovators and disruptors, our tech, science and innovation journalists contact books are second-to-none. A key strength is national and broadcast media, where we secure daily newsjacking and proactive opportunities for clients.
A number of the team have also worked in The City and have strong relationships with the investment and financial trade, national, international and broadcast media.
More specifically, we have directly worked with 95% of the media outlets recommended for Avantgarde / Enzyme in some capacity.
As part of our kick off activity, the Antidote team will invest additional non-client billable hours into meet and greets with key media, where we need to build relationships.
We should note here that we have worked with many clients that are not our ‘specialism’. We are used to quick, deep immersion into new, technical sectors. We would add that, where we have a client doing great work, with something interesting to say, deep speciality is not a prerequisite for achieving success.
A true partner Clients get the best out of us when we work in partnership with them. From our side, this means being flexible to your needs, especially at the start of a new retainer. As part of our kick-off process, we’ll agree how to best work with the core team around their specific needs. We recognise that there is often a need for review and so we always conduct a 12 week review and offer a standard 26 week break-clause. This gives us the time needed to make a real impact in delivering great work. But, if it turns out that the time isn’t right for PR or you need to re-align your marketing strategy / budget, for example, then you have the peace of mind you are not locked into a longer term contract.
YOUR PROPOSED TEAM
One of our six core values is to ‘think like owners’. This means we’re the type of team who pull up their sleeves, won’t rest until we have exceeded expectations, and will be straight in with our feedback too. We pride ourselves on our people; they are at the heart of our business.
Niki Goddard - Director Niki has a broad corporate communications and investor relations background, working with big industry (oil & gas and pharma) and fintechs. In her previous role, she headed up the PR and communications team at investment company Parmenion, where she oversaw stakeholder and media engagement throughout its multi-million pound acquisition. More recently she has joined Antidote where she leads the portfolio of McKinsey accounts, with responsibilities ranging from messaging and content development to strategic planning.
Niki will be your lead agency point of contact; her role will be to lead on the strategic direction of the campaign, and ensure we are delivering against the objectives.
Alexandra Sedgemore - Senior Account Director Alexandra has spent her career working in PR and marketing, both agency-side and in-house. In her previous role Alexandra ran B2B and consumer client accounts across a range of sectors; these including RES Group the renewable energy company, Ecclesiastical Insurance and Tyre manufacturer Goodyear. Prior to this Alexandra worked with financial/ investment brands in the City overseeing corporate communications, supporting with mergers and acquisitions and crisis comms.
Alex will be your daily point of contact on activity across the campaign; she will lead the team to ensure we are meeting deadlines and exceeding our KPIs. She will also be responsible for creating effective relationships with those stakeholders we work with on the campaign.
Jack Hayes - Account Manager With over ten years’ experience in communications roles, Jack has run a variety of B2B and corporate campaigns for the likes of Petro Canada, McKinsey and Rebound Returns. As the media strategy lead on a number of national and international campaigns, Jack is an expert at making complex concepts simple to understand, and crafting narratives that use natural newshooks. He has a range of strong business, science and technology media contacts in the broadcast, national and trade press.
Jack will act as your point of contact on daily activities, and will be responsible for developing and executing media strategies, ensuring key message cut-through and strong call to action.
Izzy Holling - Account Executive A first-class graduate in communications & media, Izzy has a clear understanding of the wider role that comms campaigns play in helping organisations meet their goals. She is a strong all-rounder with experience gained working with B2B technology clients in the marketing and retail sectors.
Izzy will support our work with you, responsible for research, writing, media engagement and account admin.
WAYS OF WORKING
We pride ourselves in acting as an extension of your team so a key part of our onboarding process will be to understand more about how you and your team works, how and who it reports to. This ensures that we are creating synergies and not working against what you need to deliver.
We have a clear process as to what we do to onboard clients and work to their standards quickly:
First 30 days:
- Review collateral
- Messaging workshop
- Update campaign timeline
- Source data & case studies
- Research media list
Account Management and how we work:
Daily: Review of news, social media relevant to the brand and shared with the team with recommendations on any actions. Coverage highlights from the day's news shared with the team. Day-to-day calls to report on activity and update. Weekly: Regular ongoing briefs, responses and idea development. Status note summarising next steps across activity. Updating of planning and news calendar. Client conference call takes place to discuss status (tbc - in line with your ways of working) Monthly: Face-to-face meeting with the team to review activity and plan. Face-to-face all-agency session (where appropriate). KPI review via our insights tool, Meltwater Budget and time tracked for. Quarterly: Formal review of activity and review of plans. Planning and briefing for activity that lies for the remaining award cycle Annually: If we were lucky enough to win this work - and then continue to work with you beyond the 2022 award cycle, we’d advocate a team away-day to plan and “think big”.
The Antidote charter to you:
- Deliver consistently high levels of value and ROI - with a commitment to KPIs as outlined in this document, and a further commitment to delivering ambitious coverage targets.
- Dynamic - Give you the best team you could ask for.
- Constantly self-review - to ensure service levels are kept high (quarterly score chart to be given to you and media to rate our performance).
- Act as a trusted partner. We immerse ourselves in your business – we’d love to spend time working in your offices if appropriate to fully understand what you do.
- Offer the best intelligence and input – hold quarterly planning and review sessions to help shape thinking and keep things fresh. Be nimble. The media landscape is changing more rapidly than ever before. We do not place digital as an add-on, we recognise and engage with wider channels to ensure we secure the best results possible.
Executive Summary ⚜️
Avantgarde has researched some PR options for the Council and recommends engaging Antidote Communications to help firmly position Enzyme as the industry’s leading on-chain asset management protocol.
The objective of this PR campaign is to enhance the reputation, visibility and awareness of Enzyme and Avantgarde by building relationships with key stakeholders, including the media, industry analysts, customers, and the general public. Our goal is to shape and manage the public perception of Enzyme and Avantgarde via the products and services we offer.
Given the ongoing bear market, most protocols are slashing budgets and reducing spend. As such, we feel there is a unique and strategic opportunity to make our voice heard and ensure that Enzyme gains ground on its competitors at a time of uncertainty.
We are seeking $45,900.00 in MLN tokens to fund 6 months of PR activities. Please see “Funding Requirements” for a full breakdown of costs.
What value does PR provide? 🧠💡
PR provides value by increasing brand awareness, establishing credibility and trust, and positioning Enzyme/Avantgarde as thought leaders in the TradFi and DeFi industries. By investing in PR and leveraging an external agency’s support, we can gain valuable insights into public perception and opinion, which can also inform business strategy and decision making.
Moreover, this will help Avantgarde start conversations with warm, relevant leads that are looking to allocate money into on-chain DeFi strategies. This has a direct and measurable impact on Enzyme’s AUM, as well as raising Enzyme’s profile as the premier on-chain asset management destination for both crypto-natives and traditional finance players.
Selecting The Right PR Agency ✅
After careful consideration and research, Avantgarde identified and commissioned five PR agencies / freelancers to pitch for the project.
YAP Global Zebu Digital Mike Ermolaev Paradox PR Antidote Communications
Each provider was asked to provide a detailed proposal outlining their approach, specific tactics and strategies, and costs associated with their services. Below is a snapshot of the main takeaways from each proposal.
Antidote Communications (Traditional PR)
Strategy
YAP Global (Traditional PR)
Cost = $9,000 p/m Deliverables = 2 placements p/m (one long-form, one short-form) Strategy = YAP uses a traditional PR strategy to earn placements with publications. This is achieved organically through media relationships and by pitching Enzyme as a thought leader on a specific topic. More manual work required to build relationships organically and earn trust in Enzyme as a source of news, thought leadership and expert opinion.
Zebu Digital (Paid Placements)
Cost = $11,000 every 8 weeks ($8,000 per PR placement package + $3,000 for content creation) Deliverables = 5-6 placements per 8 weeks Strategy = Zebu uses a content distribution model to secure paid placements with various publications. These are guaranteed placements for a set fee. More automated approach based on a transactional exchange, rather than positioning Enzyme as a thought leader.
Mike Ermolaev (Option 1 – Paid Placements)
Cost = $8,800 p/m (includes content creation) Deliverables = 5 placements p/m Strategy = Mike will use a content distribution model to secure paid placements with various publications. These are guaranteed placements for a set fee. More automated approach based on a transactional exchange, rather than positioning Enzyme as a thought leader.
Mike Ermolaev (Option 2 – Traditional PR)
Cost = $9,000 estimated ($1,000 per media partner + $1,500 pitching to review platforms + $TBC fee for content creation) Deliverables = 3-5 placements p/m Strategy = Mike will use a traditional PR strategy to form a pool of media partners to distribute press releases and place thought leadership articles. He will secure free reviews of Enzyme from a network of 350+ review websites. He will place thought leadership articles in media outlets by pitching ideas.
Paradox PR (Traditional PR)
Cost = $8,500 p/m (includes content creation) Deliverables = 3 placements minimum p/m Strategy = Solidify and grow the brand awareness of Avantgarde/Enzyme in national media, including outlets such as The New York Times, Reuters, and BBC. Establish a footprint for Avantgarde/Enzyme in financial media, including outlets such as Bloomberg, CNBC, and American Banker. Cement Avantgarde/Enzyme's reputation as an industry leader in DeFi, including outlets such as CoinDesk, Cointelegraph, and Crypto Daily.
We have reviewed each proposal, taking into account factors such as the agency's experience and expertise in the crypto, asset management, and DeFi space, the proposed tactics and strategies, and of course the costs associated with each proposal.
Our final selection of Antidote Communications is based on the agency's ability to deliver on our objectives within a reasonable cost per month.
What monthly PR objectives will we achieve? 🚀
Monthly objectives for PR will be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART). Here are the specific monthly deliverables that we have agreed with Antidote Communications.
Messaging (kick-off)
2x “Press-Office” secured p/m
2x “Thought Leadership” secured p/m
1x Monthly LinkedIn Newsletter
2x Speaker/Event opps secured p/q
What media publications will we target? 💻
Media outlets targeting will be specific and relevant to the crypto, asset management, TradFi and DeFi space. Some examples of publications that cover these topics include:
Each of the deliverables outlined in the previous “Objectives” section will be secured in these types of publications.
How do we measure ongoing performance? 🎯
Deliverable Metrics
Commercial Metrics
Editorial Output Metrics
Social Media Metrics
What would success look like in 6-12 months from now? 💪
Success in 6-12 months from now would mean that Enzyme and Avantgarde has established itself as a leader in the crypto asset management space through effective PR efforts. Specifically, success would be demonstrated by achieving the following:
Funding Requirements 💰
Avantgarde is seeking a grant in the amount of $45,900.00 in MLN tokens. This figure enables us to engage Antidote Communications for an initial period of 6-months, after which activity will be reviewed and assessed to determine whether we will continue.
Funding requirements are broken down as follows:
Messaging workshop: $3,600 (one-time fee) Antidote's monthly retainer: $7,050 p/m
$3,600 + ($7,050 x 6) = $45,900
Timeline 🗓️
Our first 90 days of activity would look as follows.
Month 1
Month 2
Month 3
Conclusion 💫
We are excited about the prospect of engaging Antidote Communications to lead Enzyme’s PR efforts. This will position Enzyme and Avantgarde as leaders in the space, raise awareness, connect us with warm leads, grow AUM and position us nicely as we move into the next bull market.
Thanks,
Conor Gilmore Marketing Lead at Avantgarde
Email: Conor@avantgarde.finance Telegram/Twitter: @TheKidCG