AIP-214: Sponsoring The DAM Show + Live Game Shows

[atareh.eth]

Proposal Name: Sponsoring THE DAM SHOW + Live Giveaway Gameshows

Proposal Category: Brand decisions

THE DAM SHOW - YouTube

THE DAM SHOW - Twitter

Abstract | WTF is THE DAM SHOW?

This AIP is to sponsor THE DAM SHOW + our Live Giveaway Gameshows. A portion of the funds will be used to purchase prizes for our Live Gameshows, which are focused on entertaining and building hype leading to The Second Trip. The other portion of the funds will be used to help THE DAM SHOW get more distribution, scale operations, delegate marketing and editing so that we can become a self sustaining operation by the end of the six month period. As a sponsor, at minimum, ApeCoin will be mentioned in each of our live streams and recorded broadcasts in the form of short ad reads, logo overlays, and at times, sponosored segments.

Author/Team Description | Who are we?

I’m @atareh, a molecular scientist that moved into web2 product management and is now in web3 full-time for 1.5 years. I write insightful threads on Twitter, co-host THE DAM SHOW, and have been deeply involved in 10KTF (among other Yuga projects). I am one of the three community members that was anointed a Captain, officially entering the 10KTF storyline.

@Mebynetta is the second co-host of THE DAM SHOW. She’s an MD and a business owner, and has been degening into mints since August 2021. She is deeply involved in 10KTF, especially in helping newcomers enter the project. Her ‘Newcomer Package’ thread (a collection of official and community resources) helped hundreds of people join and understand 10KTF. Mebynetta is also known to host “Grunches” IRL (Grailed Brunches). She is one of the three community members that was anointed a Captain, officially entering the 10KTF storyline.

@DiamondhandGMI is the third and final co-host of THE DAM SHOW. He is a policy researcher by day, degen by night. DiamondhandzGMI is well known in the community for hosting Twitter Spaces about 10KTF, and writing daily speculation recaps for the community in the early days of the project. He is one of the three community members that was anointed a Captain, officially entering the 10KTF storyline.

Motivation | Why should ApeCoin DAO fund THE DAM SHOW?

Media brings attention and awareness, which brings value. Nowhere is that more true than in the NFT space. THE DAM SHOW is a media platform the three Captains of 10KTF started in July 2022, having all met through 10KTF in September 2021. Since then, we’ve hosted a twice weekly show (a recorded episode every DAM Monday, and a live episode every DAM Thursday) totaling more than 88 videos.

So far, we’re 100% bootstrapped, we have not taken any funding and continue to produce quality content every DAM Monday and every DAM Thursday. Our recorded episodes have featured notable guests such as Elf and Bear, Founders of Forgotten Runes Wizard Cult, Luca Netz, Founder of Pudgy Penguins, Valet Jones and SAFA, Founders of Jenkins the Valet, Yam and Raph, Founders of World of Women, Kakuberry and Cromagnus, Founders of SAN, and PaperD, Founder of Bored to Death (When BAYC? Soon… we’re in the DMs with Garga (get well soon Gordon)).

With live shows, we are pushing the boundaries of what’s been done in web3, whether it’s hosting the first ever NFT Community award show (The WAGMIs), the first live interactive web3 gameshow (The DAM is Right), or hosting Special council nominees on The Great Ape Debate. On February 16, we will cover an IRL live event for 10KTF in LA (for which we made an in-character in-10KTF universe ad: NTEC video 1). The bottom line is, our focus with THE DAM SHOW is “fun” - especially the live shows. As we gear up for a big 2023, we need your help to power us through the plans we have at The DAM (and we have a lot of them).

Rationale Pt 1 | Does this fit with the DAOs culture and values?

Culture and media are sorely lacking in the ApeCoin ecosystem - while there have been great initiatives funded like The Bored Ape Gazette - there’s a need in the Video/Livestream space. By sponsoring THE DAM SHOW, we’ll be bringing thousands of new eyes to ApeCoin, the DAO itself - and if you can capture attention, you can capture value.

In the eight months we’ve been operating, we’ve totalled more than 95,000+ video views across Twitter and YouTube. Having bootstrapped the entire show for eight months, we’ve been on a great run in helping bring fun, joy and attention to 10KTF. However, to grow and expand our show into broader Yuga content (which we’ve already started months back), we need your help.

Think of this as supporting us as we cross the chasm. While we’re not a profitable rev generating enterprise yet, we will get there as we continue to create great content and build a following. The purpose of this grant is to get us over the chasm (at the very least partially), so that our reach is large enough to start generating revenue in the form of sponsorships, partnerships, ad placements and live events.

Rationale Pt 2 | How this proposal benefits the DAO

As we’re seeing with Dookey Dash, ApeCoin will succeed if gaming succeeds. We know from the Otherside’s litepaper that microtransactions in ApeCoin will be the currency of gaming. Purchasing skins, trading, or microtransactions will all happen in ApeCoin in the Otherside, so if Otherside succeeds, ApeCoin will too (and by extension, the DAO).

Benefit 1: Building hype for Future Otherside Trips

If Dookey Dash is any indictor, micro-transactions in ApeCoin are real and they work. ApeCoin is the currency of the Otherside as as such, all commerce in it will run on it. We think that any project that builds on or around the Otherside directly benefits ApeCoin itself - we’ve seen it in the short-term price action of ApeCoin since Dookey Dash launched.

Simply, the funding will be used to:

• Fund giveaways for Live Game Shows (Phase 1 - $40K USD)
• Support the crossing of the chasm (Phase 2 - $55K USD)

Benefit 2: ApeCoin Media Attention

Attention is value which is why Bankless is paid 6 figures per month for sponsorship slots. While The DAM Show is a smaller operation for now, the attention we bring to 10KTF and other projects is still impactful. An ApeCoin sponsor for The DAM show means overlays with ApeCoin logo, short ads in the episode, and at times, more funny skits.

Benefit 3: ApeCoin DAO briefings

Lastly, with this sponsorship, we plan to dedicate some parts of our live shows to ApeCoin DAO - similar to our Special Council election episode, the possibilities are endless as long as we focus on bringing fun to the community. Whether it’s bringing on on WG0 members, ApeCoin DAO Special Council members, or other members who have submitted their proposals, more media attention benefits the DAO and all the participants in it.

Specifications | What we will use the funds for

Simply, the funding will be used to:

• Fund giveaways for Live Game Shows (Phase 1 - $40K USD)
• Support the crossing of the chasm (Phase 2 - $55K USD)

Phase 1: Live gameshow giveaways leading up to the Third Otherside Trip (+ future trips)

With future trips for otherside expected to come much quick in the coming months, we want to continue our well received game show “THE DAM IS RIGHT” (TLDR: we hosted a DAM-themed version of The Price is Right where we gave away a multitude of prizes live - people loved it).

The purpose of this is to:

• Build hype for The Otherside
• Get Otherdeeds in the hands of future players
• Expand our reach

We plan to spoof several different live gameshows in the lead up to future Trips, such as: The Price is Right, Who wants to be a millionaire, Wheel of fortune etc. We plan to use $45K of the budget to purchase Otherdeeds and other smaller prizes to giveaway on this 4 week run of Live Shows. All giveaway purchases can be transparently viewed by checking thedamshow.eth multi-sig wallet. We plan to purchase 12 Otherdeeds (19.99 ETH / $30K USD). The remaining 10K will be used for smaller prizes all in the Yuga Ecosystem (Sewer passes, 10KTF etc).

The 10KTF project has also provided giveaway support for THE DAM SHOW - offering 10KTF Genesis items (~1.1 eth floor) to giveaway. We already gave one away last week.

Phase 2: Support the crossing of the chasm

The other purpose of this grant is to get us over the chasm, so that our reach is large enough to attract sponsorships and The DAM Show can become a self-sustaining operation - currently, everything has been self-funded by atareh, Meby, and Diamondhandz. While our initial ask was more conservative, after speaking with community members and them urging us to not be too conservative (particularly @captetaintrippy), we’ve slightly increased our original ask for Phase 2 as well. The response from the community has been great so far as well.

Each of the co-hosts of The DAM Show is responsible for specific parts of the operation. This includes but is not limited to editing, graphic design, production, creative direction. The remaining budget will be used to operationalize and delegate this work. We also require technical livestream consulting to overcome some technical hurdles so we can enhance our live show experience and legal to create a DAM entity bound by laws. Over the course of six months, we’ll use the remaining budget to improve core visual and technical and marketing parts of the show ($50K).

Steps to Implement | How we will use the funds

Phase 1 Line Item Breakdown

• 12 otherdeeds ($30,000 USD)
• 10KTF, Sewer passes, other NFT prizes in Yuga Ecosystem ($10,000)

Phase 1 Total: $40,000

Phase 2 Line item Breakdown:

• Editing episodes = $100/week (6 months total ~$2,500 USD)
• Clipping = $125/week (6 months ~$3000)
• Social Media Management = $200/week (6 months total $4,800 USD)
• Discord Security Audit = $2500 USD
• Graphics and overlays = $120/week (6 months total ~$2,880 USD)
• Producer = $80/week (6 months total ~$2,000 USD)
• Creative direction + Run of Show production planning = ~$250/week (6 months total = $7,200 USD)
• Talent cost = $150 per show (2 shows per week, 6 months total = $21,800 USD (7,200 per host USD))
• Software = $150 per month ($900 USD for 6 months)
• Merch drop = $1400 USD
• Livestream technician = $1500 USD
• Production consultation = $600 USD
• Legal fees = $3,500 USD

Phase 2 total: $54,580 (~500 for unexpected costs)

Timeline | Relevant timing details, including but not limited to start date, milestones, and completion dates.

Phase 1 timeline:

With the second trip in Late March, we anticipate there to be 3-4 giveaway shows in the month of March. These shows will take place during our live shows on Thursdays, but there is room for flexibility on the weekdays if required (i.e. only 2 Thursdays left before Second Trip and we have 3 shows planned, 1 show can be moved to another week day).

Phase 2 timeline:

Phase 2 will be on-going upon approval of the grant by the ApeCoin DAO over the course of 6 months. This includes creating sponsored segments for ApeCoin DAO, which includes but is not limited to: Sponsored overlays for live shows, short segments about major ApeCoin DAO updates, interviews with past grant winners, short skits, collaborations with other ApeCoin DAO adjacent organizations.

Overall Cost | The total cost to implement the proposal.

• Phase 1: Fund giveaways for Live Game Shows ($40K USD)
• Phase 2: Support the crossing of the chasm ($55K USD)

Total: 95,000 USD (~18,969 APE)

[capetaintrippy]

@atareh.eth I like the AIP and love the show. Regarding “crossing the chasm”, what level of audience do you believe will be large enough to attract sponsorships that will allow you to become self sustaining?

[Vulkan]

Thanks for submitting this idea @atareh.eth! Are you able to share any additional information about how you plan to bring the fun to the DAO briefings segments? Would this involve game shows and other similar features as you’ve done in the past? Or do you have other things in mind?

As you’ve probably also heard, we’ve received a lot of feedback saying the DAO lacks a fun element and the content is sometimes boring. Interested to see the DAO change that.

[atareh.eth]

Hey Cap, thanks for the love and great question.

A great example here is looking at the landscape of other NFT media, the big one that sticks out is Overpriced JPEGs - they’re sitting at 3.2K subs on YT, and the podcast itself has been sponsored and funded by Bankless (I believe since day 1) - I would say at minimum, we would need to reach their level to start attracting sponsorships for NFT media (so about 3x from where we are currently)

But that’s just one type of sponsorship that we have in mind - the 10KTF event in LA is the other type that we started experimenting with late last year and are excited to bring to life in a couple weeks.

• atareh

[atareh.eth]

Hey Vulkan,

To answer that question, it might help to give a bit of context for The DAM is Right, the game show we did in November and how it started (short cut of it here)

That week on Monday, we learned that 10KTF had been acquired by Wenew, and on a twitter space that morning, Generalgordon.eth was generous enough to offer up three otherdeeds to giveaway on The DAM Show (also a surprise for us).

Instead of doing twitter picker contests, we decided to make it a cultural moment for our community, so we spent the next few days thinking about what we can do that’s more that just a giveaway - and so The DAM is Right was born. From the announcement of the Otherdeeds to us going live, there was abnout 2.5 days, in which we created games, overlays, layered music and planned the execution of the live show.

I tell that story because with anything we do, we are always thinking of how we can elevate content and make it bigger and more impactful - the same would be true of the ApeCoin segments we’d air on the show - whether they’d be funny/informational comedy skits or interactive live segments, we’re focusing on bringing fun.

I don’t have more specifics to share right now, but let me know if that context at least helps frame our POV when it comes to content.

[Vulkan]

Thank you! Appreciate the response! No worries on specifics, I totally understand. Excited to see an element of fun brought to the DAO if this proposal were to pass!

[Harry]

This looks fun @atareh.eth thanks for submitting this. I enjoy

The DAM show content a lot.

How can we make education more fun? Through playing games.

Do you have some case studies other channels to estimate the traction?

[atareh.eth]

Thanks harry - i like your work too.

As benchmarks, there was that daily gameshow called HQ trivia that went really viral - that’s a good example from a conceptual level,

but besides that, I haven’t seen much else. We do have our videos DAM is Right livestream, which peaked at around 150-200 concurrent viewers across 2 hours.

The goal for grant is to grow our viewership by giving us more resources to throw at the distribution problem. The engaging content is there, it’s now about scaling this up and gaining distribution.

Let me know if that helped

[ssp1111]

Trevor Grant

[atareh.eth]

Exactly! we’re working on some things behind the scenes but this grant would be the start of a lot

[capetaintrippy]

Appreciate the feedback. I want you all to be set up for success. If you think current funding is sufficient for that, I support it. I do think that as you get into more Yuga content, along with 10ktf, it will help build your following much faster. I believe it would be helpful for you to flesh out your plans a little more as to what success looks like for you here and what level of support you would need to truly be self sufficient, as well as the audience size to get you there. I don’t need this info to support on the AIP, but more internal for you and your team to discuss and figure out so you know what you are striving for.

[atareh.eth]

Yeah that’s totally fair - I think our expectation is that we don’t feel comfortable asking the DAO to fund everything, nor do we want to be reliant on it - we’ve bootstrapped for 7 months and thats been fairly sustainable for us to continue, but we’re at the point where we want to grow and expand more quickly

we’ll have some other avenues of sponsorships that goes beyond raw numbers / volume that I think will help sustain the operation as well.

Appreciate the feedback and going to discuss this with meby and diamond! and we appreciate the support!

[badteeth]

First off, I love the DAM show, great to see a proposal in here Atareh!

I certainly recognize the potential value of building on another platform, but I’m curious how your viewership metrics stack up against Twitter Space and Discord engagement for similar content.

The DAM Show is great, but I’ve seen some good projects fail when they don’t deliver content to where their audience is – any thoughts?

[capetaintrippy]

I personally love the format of the DAM show and much prefer it over another spaces. This may already be done but would be interesting to see the content also accessible through the various podcast platforms as well as the YouTube/ video version, much like they are doing with The Fvcking Metaverse.

[atareh.eth]

Lol not sure how I deleted this…

reposting

Hey Badteeth - thanks for the love!

Echoing off what @capetaintrippy said down below, our focus with YT over other places (Twitter spaces primarily) was to make visual content that’s easily indexable and therefore easy to find (Twitter spaces expire after a few months and are notoriously difficult to track down). The fvcking metaverse is operating in the same way where their focus is spotify/YT.

There’s also a lot of NFT content living on YouTube (while its still niche), and a good portion of our views come from YouTube’s own discovery (i.e. homepage placements, search), vs. discord and twitter.

But… for the Twitter space lovers, the DAM Show is now also producing and helping host New Tokyo News on Sunday (which is also live streamed on YouTube at the same time).

to answer your question capetaintrippy, The DAM Show is on spotify but deferred that for the timebeing until we get more bandwidth / resources to do that as well. I was pretty maxed out with our monday video episode, and the planning for the thursday livestreams - this grant is going to get us a lot more bandwidth to work the different platforms.

[Brazy]

We the DAM Show!

Exciting proposal @atareh.eth - and would be great to see your growth accelerate and include more content and discussion around the Yugaverse. What you guys have done so far is a great mix of engaging content (from games to prizes to project founder/guest discussions) and can tell you guys genuinely enjoy and have fun doing what you do.

Full support, wondering if you have any aspirational livestream examples for where you’d like to build towards in the future. We’re always here if you ever want to bounce any ideas as well.

Keep on keepin on.

[capetaintrippy]

I want to follow up and point out the importance of our ecosystem continuing to grow with these mediums. Yesterday, the DAM show hosted an impromptu live stream of a community member burning an epic genesis 10ktf item. Video live stream, imo, is a better community builder than audio in certain situations. This was a perfect example of that. During the livestream General graciously gave away a G Tag. @atareh.eth and other hosts did it game show style like they have proposed here. while this all happened quickly on stream, we immediately saw a jump in attendance when shared on Twitter about the giveaway, brining more eyeballs to the show and the ecosystem. Thought this was all worth mentioning since this is some of what is being proposed here. Now for some feedback:…

As this proposal aims to grow your audience and work towards being more self sustainable, I had a few ideas that might be useful. I think it would be interesting to have certain milestone giveaways to the audience for both audience size during certain live streams hitting a certain attendance level. I also think it would be interesting to have certain assets to give away when hitting certain subscription milestone numbers and these prizes known in advance for marketing purposes. I believe you all are in the 700+ subscriber range on youtube. first “low hanging fruit” milestone would be subscriber base hitting 1k and then go from there. ex: 1k, 2.5k, 5k, 7.5k etc.

Having said this, I don’t know how this will fit into your overall budget with what is proposed here. I want to see you all succeed and appreciate the thoughtful and conservative request of funds. in this situation, if the money is not there for the current budget, i would consider adding a little to help acquire some additional giveaway assets, or reach out to some projects and see if they would be willing to donate. Your shows success is a win for both you all and the overall ecosystem. you all do a fantastic and professional job with this show, and i only want to see you all continue to crush it from here.

[AllCityBAYC]

Was impressed hearing @atareh.eth speaking about this on Spaces the other day. Came across quite thoughtful/genuine.

Definitely on brand for the DAO.

[atareh.eth]

Hey Brazy! Appreciate the love man - hope things are well!

We have some ideas that we’re building towards internally, but might be a bit too soon to disclose them, still ironing out the kinks, but livestreams and live events are what we’re thinking!

[atareh.eth]

Appreciate the thoughtful reply Cap! It was great to see you in the chat on the livestream.

I think your idea of tying giveaways to metrics is brilliant - I’ve shared this with the team and we’re going to incorporate it.

With regards to sustainability and the overall budget - you’re making great points here. We definitely remained conservative with our ask seeing as there may be many that still don’t know myself, @Mebynetta or @DiamondhandzGMI too well - but i’m going to take you up on a bit of an expanded budget.

Have to be careful as too not get too overzealous, but I appreciate the push here and I think you’re right.

Thanks again for everything, we’re working hard and hope to help create more community moments for everyone!