PROPOSAL NAME:
Beyond the NFT: Renewal of NFT Lab Magazine’s Plan for Empowering ApeCoin’s Global Community
TEAM DESCRIPTION:
Proposal Authors: Jason Au, currently a NASDAQ listed company director, focusing on Fintech, diverse investment, and technology solutions. Jason also founded The Elite Apes, a group of Bored Ape Yacht Club owners from countries all over the world holding numerous high-profile professions and big-brand affiliations.
Team:
Editor in Chief: Hung
- Experience: Over 20 years of experience in publishing. Highlights:
- Editor of NFT Magazine in Hong Kong: “NFT lab”
- Chief Editor of “Car And Driver” Chinese Edition
- Editor of The Best-selling Car Magazine in Hong Kong: “Automobile”
- Editorial Director of “Autoworld” magazine in China
Illustrator and Web Admin: Iris
- Creator artist and illustrator for multiple NFT projects
- UI/UX designer for over 100+ websites
Photographer: Kevin
- Professional Photographer with over 20 years of experience for photo shooting, including product shots, high profile public events, video shooting and editing
- Photographer for NFT Lab magazines
Ambassador 1: Eric
- Over 15 years of experience as liasson manager for a prominent university in Asia, responsible for partnership and communications with universities within the Greater China Region
- Early BAYC investors and ApeCoin holders
- Web 3 Ambassador for MAGIC DAO
Ambassador 2: Kan
- Over 30 years of experience in tourism and hospitality industry, responsible for regional partnership development
- Early BAYC investors and ApeCoin holders
- Community Manager of Elite Apes
NFT Lab is funded and operated by the Elite Apes. Elite Apes is a BAYC community founded in July 2021 with over 150 early BAYC and ApeCoin holders. They are committed to driving the mass adoption of ApeCoin and BAYC awareness through media and education.
PROPOSAL DESCRIPTION:
NFT Lab Magazine is a well-established physical publication that has distributed over 40,000 magazines through 8 issues across 1,200 locations, reaching over 50,000 readers. After a year of operation, we learned that producing a magazine once a month is not feasible due to the rapidly changing market and the voluntary nature of community content contributions, which can lead to delays. To adapt, we have successfully shifted to bi-monthly editions with thicker pages (72-96 pages), enhancing the magazine’s prestige and allowing for more comprehensive content collection.
Building on the success of our previous AIP-314, which was well-received by the community, we are proud to announce that we have produced two years of Apefest editions. This proposal aims to continue promoting ApeCoin and Yuga ecosystem news and projects to both our existing audience and beyond. Our strategy includes generating content that spotlights community projects, ApeCoin DAO news, and Yuga initiatives, while also allowing communities such as MBA, Mocaverse, Pudgy Penguins, Azuki, Thank Ape and GWG to contribute contents upon selection.
We are excited to announce a partnership with TIMEOUT Portugal 2025 | Ultimate Guide To Where To Go, Eat & Sleep in Portugal | Time Out , which operates in 108 cities across 39 countries and has a global audience reach of 242 million across all platforms. This collaboration opens up possibilities for NFT Lab Magazine to be present worldwide for every Apefest in the near future. Its a remarkable milestone for a magazine that’s only 1 year old.
Additionally, we will introduce international shipping for a limited number of physical copies to our content providers, enabling them to promote their products and services globally through a tangible show-and-tell approach. Furthermore, we plan to implement token-gated content using ApeChain and $Ape, allowing exclusive access to our community and enhancing engagement.
Our online versions (as promised from AIP-314) are already available on multiple Asian news platforms such as “blockchain of the day”
https://botdnews.com/category/article/nftlab/
and as free downloadable e-books on the “Likerland” media platform.
By enriching the ApeCoin and APECHAIN ecosystem and utilizing token-gated content, we aim to drive mass adoption and potentially increase the value of $Apecoin and Yuga collections.
BENEFIT TO APECOIN ECOSYSTEM:
Currently, ApeCoin primarily revolves around Yuga Labs NFTs and their upcoming Otherside metaverse, but by promoting new use cases through NFT Lab, we can accelerate adoption for more real-world applications and mainstream acceptance in Asia. We will also promote other approved AIPs, MBAs and Apechain Dapps/Memes including becoming an official mentor and collaboration partner with the aid for physical exposure for other projects.
STEPS TO IMPLEMENT:
All the below timeframe are calculated based on fund approval. The project will last for 1 year upon funding approval.
Month 1: Renew the contract of the full time editor in chief (US$3,000 per month, subtotal: 12 x $3000 = US$36,000)
Month 1: Hire new part-time resources for illustration, photography, website administrations for content update (US$1,000 per month, subtotal: 12 x $1,000 = US$12,000)
Month 1: Hire 2 ambassadors to liaise with ApeCoin DAO Special council members (if they choose to opt-in), AIP proposal owners, and the BAYC communities for content sourcing (US$2000 Per month, Subtotal: 12 X $2,000 = US $24,000)
Month 1: Renew the contract with multiple platforms to continue hosting NFT Lab online version (US$1,500 per month, Subtotal: 12 X $1,500 = US$18,000)
Bimonthly publication (Month 2,4,6,8,10,12) [Bimonthly fee: US$11,500, Subtotal: 6 x US$11,500 = US$69,000]
• Printing costs
• Distribution costs
• Shelving
• International shipping
Month 4: Apechain and token gated implementation for online NFT lab publication (US$9,000)
Month 8 – 12: Prepare for the Apefest special edition in Year 2025 (share the human resources stated above, plus additional sponsors and grants to cover the printing and local distribution costs, like we have done in HK 2023 & Lisbon 2024)
Key Performance Indicator:
• Total number of publications (Minimum 6 per year, once very 2 months)
• Number of countries with NFT Lab magazines distributed
• Number of community projects covered in NFT lab magazines
• Number of readership , both printed and online version
• Number of stories covered for Apecoin DAO, Apechain, Yuga and BAYC/Apes related stuff
Since NFT LAB Magazine is already operational for one year from AIP-314. We have no further requests directed to the APE Foundation, thanks so much for your support.
REPORTING EXPECTATIONS:
There is a current X account @nftlabmag , we shall have a report announcement for every 2 months of the magazines that are in the market. All report and announcements remains on X for a duration of 12 months.
Online versions of the magazines links will also be published on the X account. (one month delay of the actual physical magazine)
OVERALL COST:
Total amount requested from the ApeCoin Ecosystem Fund = $168,000.
We are requesting $168,000 paid in $APE to support NFT Lab’s operations and expansion for one year. This increase from last year reflects a miscalculation on our part, (however, we continued to keep our promised delivery from our own pocket last year), as we learned from our previous operations. We also faced the loss of a printer sponsor, a significant drop in the value of $APE. for this term , the added costs of apechain implementation, token gated contents , international shipping and overseas collaborations.
Two tranches of funding have been requested:
1. $98,000 of the total upon approval.
2. $70,000 Five months later (when 3rd edition is ready to be published)
We appreciate your understanding and support as we strive to improve and continue our mission.