PROPOSAL BY: AllCityBAYC
PROPOSAL NAME: BeyondTheSWAMP
PROPOSAL CATEGORY: EcosystemFundAllocation
ABSTRACT:
Beyond the SWAMP aims to produce a vibrant, high-quality collectible bimonthly magazine claimed through the sale of accompanying NFTs displaying each issue’s cover art—similar to Punks comic but with varying rarity and added rewards. Aside from columns featuring news and difference makers from outside of our ecosystem, content will focus on the ApeCoinDAO, ApeCoinDAO-led initiatives, successful ApeCoinDAO AIPs, and ApeCoin use cases; Yuga Labs and the growing number of projects under their umbrella; brands utilizing holder IP; diversity within regional meetup groups; female collectors; augmented reality through a sponsorship with Art House; gaming; art, tech and blockchain. All primary sales will be conducted in APE, contributors will be paid in APE and any future revenue raised from in-magazine advertising will be received in APE.
Our mission is to create an onramp into the ApeCoin and Yuga Labs ecosystems while strengthening ties between existing communities. We will take an ethical approach to journalism, provide culture-driven meaningful content, and act as a springboard for existing and up-and-coming artists. Our team is made up by a creative director with a history in bookmaking alongside a team of illustrators and graphic designers.
We also want to further-facilitate artists by providing interview space and fair compensation for cover art. Additional features include spotlights on active community members; regional BAYC groups like Bored Club Canada, TaiwanDAO, FrenchApeYC and associations like PinkDAO; women in the space; Blender tips and tech talk; metaverse; memes; music and photography; generative artwork; Meebin with the Meebits; Mutants are INSANE; Mutant Cartel and the Mutant Hounds; Cryptopunks and Cryptopunks history; 10ktf; interviews; features on ApeCoinDAO Special Council members and Stewards; discussions with founders; security tips; advertisements from brands utilizing holder IP (ApeWater, ForeverApes etc); gaming; as well as articles written by contributors sourced from projects like Nouns, Doodles, Gutter Cat Gang, Moonbirds, CloneX, and Deadfellaz. We will also be including advanced in-magazine AR capabilities to bring artwork, advertising and otherwise static NFTs to life triggered by QR codes.
Also important to note that as marketing in the NFT space shifts away from macro influencers we believe that providing community-driven content packaged in a collectible physical form will initiate broader trust from outsiders and better prepare them for onboarding. It should also be said that for some collectors, tangible products often feel longer lasting or more real than digital; particularly to those just entering the space. That being said many others prefer tokens, so keeping those community members in mind we want to include additional NFT packs based on Beyond the SWAMP NFT rarity.
Beyond the SWAMP is seeking a one-time grant for company development and first issue production. The layout of our magazine will be completed by a team of career creatives specializing in layout, illustration and graphic design. Beginning with an initial rollout of 350 copies, we will create an economy of scale increasing to 500 copies for our second issue and 750 copies from issues three to six totalling 3850 magazines in our first year at an average production cost of $13.63 per copy. Taking this approach will allow us to grow our readership cautiously during tumultuous market conditions while lowering the overall grant request and cost to the community. External services and service providers include advisors, legal, website builders, smart contract developer, audit team, printing and promotion.
MOTIVATION:
Apart from our physical presence, what motivated us to create Beyond the SWAMP was recognizing the need for a reoccurring collectible publication featuring evergreen content that can be enjoyed for longer periods of time than important day-to-day digital news sources like The Bored Ape Gazette and ApeCoin Newsletter.
RATIONALE:
We are passionate about combating negativity in the space and aim to focus on empowering content backed by ethical journalism. It should also be noted that our Publishing Manager is an experienced bookmaker with extensive history providing creative direction and project management where among other things, has overseen the conceptualization, design, production and distribution of three successful graffiti-focused sketchbooks. He is also a holder of sixteen Yuga Labs assets and currently max-staking BAYC/MAYC/BAKC. Additionally, our team of advisors will include the founder of Red Lion Eye Gazette, the first industry focused NFT periodical founded in 2020.
DROP MECHANICS & RARITY:
Physical magazines will be available through the purchase of NFTs displaying variations of each issue’s cover art made claimable two weeks after the sellout of each drop. NFTs will have different tiers of rarity enabling immediate and future utility. Examples include having your tokens drawn by one of our featured artists in a future issue, additional claimable NFTs, physical works like custom shoes from FRESHESTKICKS.ETH, prizes, and more. Price per token will be the equivalent of $150.00 USD paid in APE.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Aside from internal workings, external services and service providers will include legal, website builders, smart contract developer, printing and promotion.
Advertisements in the first issue will be offered to community-led brands utilizing holder IP (Ape Water, Forever Apes, etc) at no cost and paid in APE after that. Any external service providers will be offered to Yuga Labs NFT holders through community servers and upcoming DAO sponsored platforms like ApeTalent and outsourced from there.
Our budget includes purchasing two Otherdeeds to be given away. One for Twitter growth and the other as part of our top-rarity package awarded to the person holding a golden NFT. We will also set aside the equivalent of $5000.00 USD in APE for contingency plans should we require any additional marketing post-launch. Anything leftover will be rolled into our second issue. All NFT minting and physical claims will go through our website.
STEPS TO IMPLEMENT & TIMELINE:
Given additional startup tasks, we anticipate 10-12 weeks for our first issue to drop once funding has been received. Steps to implement are as follows, with many duties being worked on concurrently:
Phase 1 (2 weeks)
- Finalize advisory board
- Assemble columnists and contributors
- Determine feature artist
Phase 2 (4-6 weeks)
- Branding and logo design
- Hire service providers
- Content creation
- Finalize artwork
Phase 3 (3-4 Weeks)
- Finalize content and layout
- Website creation
- Smart contract development
- Launch Twitter and Twitter promotions
- Magazine production
Phase 4 (2+ Weeks)
- Mint
- Magazine claim
- Shipping
OVERALL COST: $52,500.00 USD
APE ($30,600.00)
- $4000.00 Advisors
- $3200.00 Columnists and contributors
- $3000.00 Cover/featured artist
- $7500.00 Publishing manager (3 months x $2500.00)
- $1700.00 Otherdeed golden cover
- $1700.00 Otherdeed Twitter
- $2000.00 Additional NFTs (for rarity tiers created by artists for Beyond the SWAMP)
- $2500.00 Marketing
- $5000.00 Contingency planning & additional marketing (as needed)
USDC ($21,900.00)
- $5000.00 Legal (NDAs, releases, copyright review, etc)
- $4500.00 Logo and graphic design
- $3500.00 Website w/Web3 + smart contract development
- $1500.00 Third party website and smart contract audit
- $3500.00 Printing
- $525.00 Packaging
- $500.00 Promo (stickers, posters, etc)
- $1800.00 Dedicated iMac
- $600.00 Adobe Create Cloud
- $225.00 Ledger 3 Pack (funds, deployer, giveaway NFTs)
- $250.00 Converted to ETH - deploy contract (gas)
TWITTER THREAD
PITCH DECK: 3 MINUTE READ
FULL PRESENTATION: TEN MINUTE VIDEO
AIP-169 BEYOND THE SWAMP