AIP-398: ApeCoin Rewards App

Final AIPs Rejected AIPs
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PROPOSAL NAME:

ApeCoin Rewards App

apecoin app

PROPOSAL CATEGORY:

Brand Decision

TEAM DESCRIPTION:

I Founded Affiliate Window (https://www.awin.com) and exited to Axel Springer in Germany in 2012 with a turnover of more than $150m. Post Awin, I managed international music artist The Australian Pink Floyd from small clubs to over 140 arenas worldwide, working with both Live Nation and UTA (United Talent Group). I founded FanCircles to bring communities together with a common interest and provides Web 2.5 rewards apps for fans of music artists, TV shows and works with labels and artist managers. Clients include Cody Jinks, Neck Deep, UB40, Boy George, Awin.com, and TV’s Most Haunted (UK equivalent to Disney’s Ghost Hunters)
The project will be executed and run by my company Access Experiences in the UK of which I (Kevin Brown) am the CEO. You can see my profile on Linkedin.
As a company, we run both FanCircles.com and Access.xyz to cater to a multitude of industries with our SaaS platform solution which has been used by over 70 clients in the US and Europe with over 2 million users. The team consists of our CTO, Kostas Melas, who has been my CTO through the vast majority of my previous companies including Affiliate Window, as well as his team of 4 mobile developers. We also have a small team of account managers that grows with the number of clients. Access Experiences (a UK Company) will be the exclusive beneficiary of the funding from the DAO.

ABSTRACT:

The ApeCoin Rewards App will be available on iOS, Android, and as a web app and is designed to reward ApeCoin and BAYC holders with a range of rewards and benefits, while also providing visibility to MADE BY APES licensees. Holders who have at least one ApeCoin or a BAYC/MAYC are eligible for exclusive rewards. The app offers the ability to access POAP NFT drops, multimedia promotional content from partners, industry event promotional opportunities, as well as discounts and special offers in collaboration with Made By Apes licensees and at participating retailers across the US and Europe, both online and in real life (IRL). This emphasis on rewards and benefits aims to deliver continuous value and enhance engagement within the ApeCoin community and grow the awareness outside of Web3.

There’s no cost for users to use any feature of the app. The app is free to use and has the ability to gate content and rooms (Discord call them channels) via integration with WalletConnect.

BENEFIT TO APECOIN ECOSYSTEM:

The ApeCoin Rewards App directly supports the ApeCoin ecosystem by enhancing token utility and engagement among holders. By offering exclusive rewards, discounts, and promotional content, the app incentivizes the holding and use of ApeCoin, potentially increasing demand and value. It aligns with the APE Community’s core mission of fostering a vibrant community of creators and innovators in the web3 space by providing a platform that rewards creativity, participation, and loyalty. Furthermore, by integrating with MADE BY APES licensees, the app promotes visibility and collaboration within the ecosystem, embodying the values of boldness, equality, transparency, collective responsibility, and persistence. The next stage would be to talk more formally to each of these licensees regarding their potential participation in the program.

KEY TERMS:

  • Token Gated: Content can be open to any app user, helping onboard non-ApeCoin holders, or token gated to ApeCoin/BAYC holders.
  • MADE BY APES Licensees: Partners or projects officially licensed to create content or merchandise associated with the ApeCoin ecosystem.
  • Content Promotions Platform: Text content, video, and images are managed by our team, and users can interact, including commenting and sharing their content, in a safe, content-moderated space.
  • Partner Offers: Partners can provide users with discounts, offers, and exclusive information.
  • Web2.5: The app is open to anyone to use, hence we like to call this Web 2.5. Features and benefits for ApeCoin and BAYC holders are gated.
  • POAP (Proof of Attendance Protocol): Issue souvenir “tickets” as NFTs to the users’ connected wallet for selected events.
  • Gated Audio: Ability to add Discord chats and X Spaces chats to the integrated streaming audio player. Listen on the move, just like Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

PLATFORMS & TECHNOLOGIES:

  • Mobile Platforms: iOS and Android for native app development. The mobile apps are developed in their respective platform-native languages to ensure optimal performance, user experience, and access to device-specific features. For iOS, the development language is Swift. For Android C++. Native app development is chosen to provide a user experience on par with leading platforms, where speed, reliability, and seamless integration with device capabilities are paramount.
  • Web Application: A responsive web app for desktop and mobile use, ensuring accessibility for users regardless of their preferred device. The web application serves as an extension of the mobile experience, offering similar functionalities in a format accessible from web browsers.
  • Backend Infrastructure: The backend systems are built using PHP, a widely-used and versatile server-side scripting language that is especially suited for web development. PHP’s ability to easily integrate with various databases and its large community support make it a reliable choice for developing robust backend systems.
  • Database: MySQL is used as the database management system, known for its reliability, scalability, and performance. MySQL’s comprehensive feature set and its ability to handle large volumes of data make it an ideal choice for managing the complex data structures.
  • Hosting: The application infrastructure is hosted on Google Servers, leveraging the scalability, security, and reliability of Google Cloud Platform (GCP). This hosting solution provides the infrastructure necessary to scale the application seamlessly, ensuring high availability and minimal downtime.
  • Blockchain Technology: The app utilizes WalletConnect for secure in-app wallet connections, enabling users to safely interact with blockchain-based rewards and transactions directly from their mobile or web app.

STEPS TO IMPLEMENT & TIMELINE:

  1. Contract Finalization: Sign agreements for IP use and branding with ApeCoin DAO.
  2. App Development: Customize the existing FanCircles platform for ApeCoin Rewards App features (6 weeks). - £96,000 (£8,000/month) for account management
  3. Partner Onboarding: Secure partnerships with retailers, MADE BY APES licensees, and event organizers (ongoing, initial phase 4 weeks).
  4. Launch: Official launch of the app on iOS, Android, and web platforms. - £144,000 (£12,000/month) to operate platform
  5. Marketing and Promotion: Leverage ApeCoin and partner social media channels for app promotion (ongoing post-launch).

Total Timeline: Approximately 1-2 months from contract finalization to launch.

The platform is provided by my company FanCircles so there is no development as such to do. FanCircles is a SaaS model and runs over 70 apps for different clients from music artists to company “Intranet” apps. Each app has various features switched on or off depending on the scenario.

The costs of running the platform are split between the licensing, hosting & upkeep of the platform as both IOS and Android native apps as well as the webapp, and the resources required internally to source and maintain a content schedule within the app. This would include sourcing affiliate offers from major brands and most importantly supporting the Made By Apes brands by sourcing offers and promotional media from them to offer to app users.

Although not at all essential, it would be helpful and beneficial to have a point of contact within the Ape Foundation to talk with to benefit the foundation and app and to help and advise on the direction of the app content.

OVERALL COST:

The total budget for the ApeCoin Rewards App is £240,000 (approximately $288,000) for the first year (£144,000 for platform operation, and £96,000 for account management).

The funding term is 12 months; the author may submit a follow-up AIP should the project require further funding. This includes development, maintenance, partner onboarding, and marketing efforts. Costs will be paid quarterly, with the first payment due upon project initiation.

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Hey @Grains0x, could you expand on what the estimated $24k per month would include?

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Thanks for the question Vulcan. Firstly there’s the software licensing and 2 native mobile apps for both IPhone and Android, which are published in both Apple and Google play app stores, and of course a web app. Along with this come constant updates and development as well as user support.
Secondly is the account management side of things which in the case would be an account manager to maintain the content and direction of the app as well as sourcing and communicating with potential partners.
As far as the server costs, we include unlimited video and audio streaming and content hosting which includes user content, for up to 250,000 users.
Hope this helps answer the question. Feel free to ask anything else of course. Happy to clarify or give more information.

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Thanks for the quick reply, @Grains0x! Taking it a step further, is there a breakdown explaining how much of the $24k/month is going to each of these categories you have listed above?

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I’ll do this in GBP as the cost is £20k a month which is around $24k.
£12,000 is the cost for the platform per month. This is our standard price for platforms with up to 100,000 users, although in this case we are allowing for 250,000 at this price. This includes software maintenance of mobile apps, which because of the constant updates from both Apple and Google’s OS’s never stops. It also include hosting and streaming. Their are no additional “surprise” costs.

£8,000 is account management costs which will be a full time role split between two terms; account management and partnership management.
We have account managers that look after our clients and each platform’s content. Their responsibility is to maintain and generate content as build a content strategy. We find that the community leads the way in terms of statagy but build a client specific launch plan.
Partnership management in this case will be looked after by myself and a partnership manager. I’m part of the community so want to be part of this personally.

The software has been in operation for over 6 years now, tried and tested is multiple scenarios, and optimised and automated throughout. This allows us to keep costs to a minimum and concentrate on the community.

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I’d added detail on the benefits for MADE BY APES license holders. The platform will exposure to these project and their products and services and build an eco system for MADE BY APES to reach their target audience and beyond.

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Could you possibly give an estimate based on past & ongoing returns enjoyed by your other clients? Thanks.

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Thank you for the question. In this case, it’s difficult to measure as I believe it would only be fair to offer Made By Apes free marketing/advertising. Other revenues are derived from affiliate partnerships (I have a long history of building these, as I started and was CEO of Awin.com for 12 years). Partners are looking for new avenues to market, rather than cannibalizing the sales they would achieve without offering a commission, and an ApeCoin app is a strong candidate for generating new sales for partners as it’s a “closed” community. It’s very difficult to estimate as it depends on the number of platform users, but an example of commission earned from advertising would be to partner with Nike (Awin is their exclusive affiliate partner worldwide) and generate a top tier commission of 10% commission on basket totals. With an average basket value of $80-$100, this would generate $8-$10, 50% of which would go back to the DAO. Why would Nike work with us? Well, they are always looking for new partners that generate new sales in closed groups, and of course, I’m very close to the team at Awin, who will assist in approving the partnership. There are over 700 retailers that also offer commission on the Awin network alone, which can be strategically approached.

We of course will look at every viable partnership to build strong relationships.

Come back to me if you have any more questions.

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I like the idea. Seems realistic and valuable to me. Go on @Grains0x :+1:

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Thanks @Phantomblot. Appreciate you taking the time to read through the proposal.

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Hi @Grains0x,

The community feedback period for your proposal would be ending in roughly 24 hours.

  • If you’re content with the feedback received, your next steps are to finalize your proposal using the AIP Draft Template.

  • A moderator will reach out to the author to finalize the AIP Draft. Upon receipt of the final Draft, we will review and provide instructions on the next steps.

  • Are you ready to proceed to the next phase or do you wish to extend community discussion for another 7 days?

We look forward to hearing from you.

-@Facilitators

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Thanks for the positive feedback all.
I’ve updated the AIP draft to include missing information and to answer questions I’ve been asked, and I’m ready to move this to the next stage as a formal AIP Draft.

Thanks all, and I hope together we can make this happen.

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This topic was automatically closed after 7 days. New replies are no longer allowed.

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Hi ApeCoin DAO Community,

@Grains0x has completed editing their AIP Idea to be their AIP Draft.

This proposal has been assigned the AIP ID Number 398.

Follow this Topic as further updates will be posted here in the comments.

Kind Regards,

-@Facilitators

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Hi ApeCoin DAO Community,

Our team has reviewed and discussed @Grains0x’s AIP Draft and have sent a list of initial questions. We await answers.

Follow this Topic as further updates will be posted here in the comments.

Kind Regards,

-@Facilitators

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Hi ApeCoin DAO Community,

@Grains0x has responded to our questions and they are in our review once again.

Follow this Topic as further updates will be posted here in the comments.

Kind Regards,

-@Facilitators

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Hi ApeCoin DAO Community,

@Grains0x has responded to our questions and has provided consent to share them in this forum for the community.

1. Is the Ape Foundation expected to engage in any of the steps of the AIP implementation? If so, please specify the steps and elaborate on how it is expected to work.

Although not at all essential, it would be helpful and beneficial to have a point of contact within the Ape Foundation to talk with to benefit the foundation and app and to help and advise on the direction of the app content. Promoting the App to users via shared social media posts would be helpful but isn’t essential as Made By Ape licensees are incentivised to push people into that platform as this will benefit the whole ecosystem of the app.

2. Please revise your Steps to Implement and Timeline section. As specified by the AIP Draft Template, outline the steps to implement your proposal, including the associated costs, key performance indicators, personnel requirements, any expectations of the Ape Foundation, and other resources needed for each step where applicable.

The platform is provided by my company FanCircles so there is no development as such to do. FanCircles is a SaaS model and runs over 70 apps for different clients from music artists to company “Intranet” apps. Each app has various features switched on or off depending on the scenario.

The costs of running the platform are split between the licensing, hosting & upkeep of the platform as both IOS and Android native apps as well as the webapp, and the resources required internally to source and maintain a content schedule within the app. This would include sourcing affiliate offers from major brands and most importantly supporting the Made By Apes brands by sourcing offers and promotional media from them to offer to app users.

3. What are the key performance indicators which have been identified for your project?

There’s a growing number of Made By Ape licensees who need exposure and in return can offer exposure to the app. It’s in their interest to promote the app as a place to view exclusive offers from them as well as other licensees. This creates wide reach via social media marketing from Made By Apes licensees to onboard as many ape holders as possible. We think Made By Apes is the backbone for this AIP and makes viral marketing possible and effective with no costs. To be clear, the platform offers a marketing platform for brands without replacing their current sales channels - It complements them.

4. Have you secured any advance partnerships with retailers, MADE BY APES licensees, and/or event organizers who would be leveraging your app?

I’ve personally reached out to a number of licensees and the one issue they share is their reach. To extend their reach without costs to them is something they would be open to. The next stage would be to talk more formally to each of them. It would be useful to be able to access the contact emails of each licensee, if that is something you can help with, otherwise each can be contacted via their sites and Twitter. I have a list of their Twitter handles.

5. Do you have any estimated costs for users to use the platform’s features, or any premium features?

There’s no cost for users to use any feature of the app. The app is free to use and has the ability to gate content and rooms (Discord call them channels) via integration with WalletConnect.

6. Since your app would require token holders to connect wallets, what are the plans for security audits of the app?

For users to use the app they firstly register for an account with their email via the webapp hosted on a subdomain at apeapp.community.direct or similar. After this they connect their wallets by signing. There are no transactional authorisations required. On using the mobile apps the user will login and there is no need for further signing. The status of the user is maintained with their email account on the platform and checked every 24 hours. If the user no longer holds the required NFT/Token they will be downgraded to a standard user.

7. Would your expectation be to keep complete ownership of content produced from this proposal?

The content would not be owned by us, it would be licensed to us for use in the app, during the term of contract. For example if Bored and Hungry wanted to offer a discount code/QR code for Token holders this would simply be used in the app for the purposes of promoting their brand. Users also have the ability to post their comments, pictures and videos: This content would be licensed for use in the app when uploaded as per the terms of using the app which are available here: Platform User Agreement

8. Do your offerings comply with the most recent guidelines concerning Web3 apps on the App Store and Google Play?

As of August 2022 Apple and Google both stopped NFTs from unlocking features and benefits in app. There are no stipulations for users who connect outside of the mobile app, hence, we validate wallets via the web app and not within the mobile app. (For clarity, this is how gated channels work on Discord). There are also no stipulations on “airdropping” users NFTs/Tokens. The rules established by Apple and Google aim to prevent practices like NFTs unlocking game benefits, which could circumvent Apple’s so-called ‘Apple Tax’ of 30%.

9. Your proposal requests funding for 12 months of operational expenses. Will the project require another funding request after this period in order to maintain operations?

The project has an ongoing cost of £20,000 per month. There is scope for sponsors to cover this cost be that the continuation by the foundation, Horizon, Arbitrum as examples. We would hold conversations with potential outside sponsors but of course check with the foundation as to if they are appropriate for a partnership.

10. Do you provide consent to apply updates to the relevant areas of your proposal based on your responses to the questions above?

Of course.

11. Do you provide consent to share these questions and answers with the community in this forum?

Of course.

Edits have been made to this Topic, select the pencil icon to view these edits.

A DAR package is being worked on and upon completion this AIP will move into Administrative Review. Follow this Topic as further updates will be posted here in the comments.

Kind Regards,

-@Facilitators

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The concept resonates, offering practicality and worth. Please elaborate further; I find it promising and insightful.

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Thanks and appreciated. Fire away with any questions you have. I’m at NFT Paris at the moment so you (or anyone) wants to talk in person please free to message me.

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