ThreadGuy Podcast Sponsorship

Withdrawn AIPs
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Hello

Long time lurker, first time poster. I’ve tried to read as many of the help documents as I could before posting this, but appreciate any feedback on my approach. I won’t be offended if you tell me I did something wrong as long as you help me do it better.

This ideation is in response to a recent post by ThreadGuy on Twitter in which he mentions sourcing sponsors for his podcast. I believe his podcast would be a huge “get” for the ApeCoin DAO as the DAO continues to work to improve overall visibility, vibes and increase engagement.

Link to tweet sourcing sponsors: https://x.com/notthreadguy/status/1787587237305028642

I’ve never written an AIP before but figured this would be the best place to start. I’m 100% looking for feedback, more experienced folks thoughts and pushback wherever possible. My goal is to keep this proposal as straightforward as possible. I also believe speed to be critical here as ThreadGuy could get snapped up at any moment.

Questions for the more experienced member:

  • Are there other AIPs for sponsorship that have passed or almost passed I should take a look at? (I did a cursory search, but if anybody has specific good ones I’d dive deeper)
  • What are best practices for funds when managing a sponsorship style AIP?
    • Do I have to personally take ownership of funds? Does the DAO payout directly to the sponsored individual/company?
  • Engagement Metrics:
    • Do we have any metrics on how many wallets vote for each AIP either personally or through a delegate?
    • Are there any specific metrics related to engagement on Discourse?
  • Reporting Expectations:
    • Any good examples of well received KPI tracking / reports?

Please use the AIP Draft Template below.

PROPOSAL NAME:

ThreadGuy Podcast Sponsorship

TEAM DESCRIPTION:

I’m ultimately unimportant to this proposal, besides being the person bringing this opportunity to the group and pushing it forward, but figure you’d still want to know about me.

  • Drew Crittenden, Drucritt, Product Manager, Startup Advisor, Consultant
    • I’m currently a Product Manager for a healthcare market research firm, having worked in product for 7+ years in a variety of different roles. Previously, I’d worked as a financial and technology consultant working with everything from large international banks, esports startups and AI streaming analytics.
    • My responsibility within this proposal would be for reporting of metrics, ROI and other administrative duties

Find me on Twitter or Discord - @drucritt

PROPOSAL DESCRIPTION:

ApeCoin DAO should sponsor ThreadGuy’s podcast. ThreadGuy is a critical part of the NFT and Web3 ecosystem. He’s gone from Twitter shitposter to media mastermind in a very short period of time.

This proposal would be over multiple podcasts to start, the next 10 episodes Powered by ApeCoin.

Update for clarity: This would NOT be a new podcast or sponsorship of ThreadGuy overall, but be focused solely on the podcast that he already does - Previous guests include Beeple, Nifty Nick and Garga coming up shortly. This would be an ad read, potentially some ApeCoin props in studio, etc.

BENEFIT TO APECOIN ECOSYSTEM:

ThreadGuy’s podcast gets approximately 225k views per episode. ThreadGuy keeps the vibes high and if he’s bought into an idea then the majority of web3 comes with him. 225k views would be 225k impressions for ApeCoin DAO in a positive light.

The ApeCoin DAO Snapshot currently has 27k members, increasing this number would be great to see more members involved.

The average AIP posted to the forum gets 10-20 replies, reminders directing people to the forum could amplify engagement.

Vibes are immeasurable, but my personal barometer is that vibes about ApeCoin DAO are low. Putting ThreadGuy in our corner would help turn the tides for many people.

DEFINITIONS:

ThreadGuy - Hype man, vibes extraordinaire with a side of shitposting - https://twitter.com/notthreadguy

STEPS TO IMPLEMENT:

  • 5/6 - ThreadGuy agreed he would be interested in pursuing a sponsorship by ApeCoin DAO
  • As Soon As Possible - Negotiate per episode fee and confirm overall cost expectation
  • Within two weeks of AIP passing - Create “ad read” material
  • TBD - Podcast dates
    • ThreadGuy has dropped 1-2 podcasts a month in 2024, I would expect our 10 podcast sponsorship to last through most of 2024.
    • We don’t want ThreadGuy to believe he’s tied to us for specific dates, but we’d work together to get some high-level understanding of what he’s hoping to accomplish in 2024.
  • Cost Timeline:
    • Payment for each episode would occur within one week of Podcast dropping and receipt of invoice from ThreadGuy ($5k outflow per episode)
    • Payment for episodes approved expenses would occur within two weeks of receipt of expense report and receipts (Up to $5k outflow per episode)
    • Administrative / Miscellaneous Expenses would be disbursed as used (up to $8k over lifetime of proposal).

OVERALL COST:

Total amount requested from the ApeCoin Ecosystem Fund = 88,000 $APE or approximately $110,880 at the current price of $APE ($1.26)

  • Proposed sponsorship cost per episode: $5,000 + up to $5,000 travel, hotel, studio time expense = up to $10k per episode or $100k total
    • Industry expert provided me the following details:
      • Average views per episode
      • Divide by 1000
      • Multiply by $25-40 depending on how popular the podcast is/engaged their audience is
      • Range: 225,000/100025=5,625 and 225,000/100040=9,000
    • I believe doing an initial fee with capped travel expenses allow us to cover this range in a fair and equitable approach for both parties.
    • Travel expenses would be collected after each episode has been created and would be reimbursed based on ACTUAL expenses
    • After the conclusion of our 10 episode sponsorship, leftover budget would be remitted to the DAO
  • $2k would be used towards ApeCoin SWAG, both given to ThreadGuy and present in studio (Prior to moving this forward, I’d expect to more solidify what would be purchased here)
  • $8k would be used for administration and miscellaneous expenses (reporting, other materials, etc.)
    • I am anticipating approximately 5 hours of administrative work per podcast episode at a consulting rate of $100/hr (510010=$5000) this would be a capped expense not to exceed $500 per episode.

REPORTING EXPECTATIONS:

One week after each podcast has dropped, I’d receive numbers from ThreadGuy related to engagement, views, etc.

Two weeks after each podcast I would create a report on engagement metrics both directly with the podcast, overall wallets on Snapshot and recent replies to AIPs on the ApeCoin Forum.

These metrics would be compiled into an easy to read report for the DAO and shareable on social media.

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Love this and will propose to take it a step farther.

Can we identify 2-4 podcasts/shows that fit a predefined criteria (happy to help ideate through what this might be) to sponsor with the goal of providing additional platforms for ApeCoin, the DAO, ApeChain and AIP funded companies?

Would be great to both expand reach for our collective efforts and promote the positive impact they are having while also supporting creators in the space that are helping propel it forward.

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Given ThreadGuy’s influence and the potential benefits outlined in the proposal, how can the ApeCoin DAO ensure a seamless integration of its sponsorship to maximize positive exposure and engagement?

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This was my thought on pre-defined criteria. Sponsorships come with conditions. Fail to meet the conditions, lose the sponsorship. It would require a contract between the creator and either the Foundation directly or a third part on behalf of the Foundation (similar to how I assume the F1 sponsorship was executed).

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yes. i’ve said we should do this before. glad we are taking action. if you don’t like threadguy for some reason get over yourself and recognize that he’s one of the most influential voices in web3 and he’s really good at what he does. and this isn’t a special council position, so it doesn’t matter if he’s a lawyer or not. it’s a sponsorship, and a good one for apecoin

let’s get lost involved to help with the details of forming an AIP

Q: have you spoken with TG about this? is he into it?

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Just realized I didn’t actually include exactly how I’m thinking the sponsorship would go besides bits and pieces throughout. I’ll update the post, but this probably kicks off some good conversation.

My initial thoughts are two fold.

  • There’s an “ad read” he does at the beginning of the podcast similar to how he does his Spaces (currently sponsored by Kraken).
  • We would also get him some ApeCoin SWAG, hats, shirts, whatever that we’d ask for him to display in the studio during the recording for those watching the video. Nothing overwhelming, but just to put the ApeCoin logo in front of viewers who might skip the intro for whatever reason. I’m hoping somebody has already created some of those items we can purchase.

Do you have any other thoughts in mind?

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I’d love some set time to use his platform to highlight ApeCoin, ApeChain or AIP company initiatives.

1-2 Spaces a month and 1 podcast a quarter (whatever makes sense).

Logos & Ad reads are a good start, but for $100k for the year, I would personally want more.

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I have spoken to him and he’s open to the idea of it.

I think creator’s who aren’t doing these types of proposals themselves are in an awkward situation. It’s a balancing act of their time for the reward. Working with influencers previously, they frequently want the entire scenario brought to them as a starting point that they can then react to, and for a DAO nobody has that initial power to say “this is how it will work”.

My thought process was

  1. Throw the idea to TG, TG says he’s open to it
  2. Throw the idea to the DAO, gauge the DAOs acceptance - Currently here
  3. Confirm with TG exactly how it would all work based on the current DAOs understanding of criteria
  4. Write AIP (would love to work with Lost once we get to that point)
  5. Whip the votes
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Just read through the idea, lots of good questions! I’m actually interested in learning how it would all work with a sponsorship situation myself. I would assume some signed agreements with very specific requirements to fulfill would be needed between all parties. Maybe the F1 sponsorship could provide some guidance for you. I’d like to know more about taxes also. If you receive funds, would you be responsible for taxes? I think a well defined payout structure would be beneficial also. Schedule a payout after each show has met the set requirements maybe? Who would need to kyc in this scenario? I’d like to know exact number of podcasts. Would we be able to choose which ones he promotes on? I could see the $5000 per episode to sponsor, but i don’t know about the extra $5k for travel etc… That seems like a little much. If threadguy is down to support apecoin i’d be down to support an aip if structured well enough!

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I’d LOVE to peak behind the curtain on the F1 deal, good call out I might try to take a deeper look there.

I’m not positive on taxes given I’m not paying myself, but that’s a great point. I would think I could take it into a holding wallet which would then disperse funds as needed.

The way ThreadGuy creates content is the podcasts themselves are a separate entity from other things that he is doing. Those other things might be created for Rug Radio or Probably Nothing. The target for this proposal would be specifically be his podcast series which for him is a passion project.

Understood regarding the cost, and definitely something to take into consideration.

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I think the negotiation might come down to the cost per podcast, it’s not necessarily hiring him to further leverage his platform. I think that would be awesome, but I don’t think that’s what he’s looking for. We’d be the presented by sponsor for the podcast series.

I’d initially mentioned $5k per episode with a $5k travel budget (TG recently mentioned the podcast with Garga cost him $4k in expenses).

What would look realistic to you? I’d used the back of the napkin math to try to use industry metrics based on his current views, and then take into account need-based costs.

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A few bits:

Views do not translate into forum/voting activity unless people are onboarded properly and given a very clear call to action.

How does threadyguy plan to diversify his guests? Most of the people in his content that are featured are men and its very crypto bro’ish. This may be attractive to those of us/some of you already participated in this corner of crypto but perhaps, a turn off to others.

If the goal is to bring in new people to the DAO, I’m not sure this proposal is very effective in addressing how this will occur in a meaningful and impactful way. Please provide clarity and any insights on this.

Lastly, would love to minimize this to a mini series or better yet a pilot to see what metrics and measurements/analytics we can harness and then, make a decision via a future AIP/proposal as to whether or not to fund a bigger project. Metrics should move beyond vanity metrics (ie views) and illustrate the ways in which the podcast will pull in new people, bolster relationships with current DAO members, amplify the DAO and so on.

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I would love someone from Marcomms to weigh in on this. I see this as a classic Sales & Marketing funnel tactic that is at the top of the funnel. You’re just going for awareness at this point, maybe some engagement.

I think the best we can hope for with tactics like that (as is the same with all awareness tactics) would be for someone to go to apecoin.com to learn a bit more. From there, it’s up to other engagement / conversion tactics to get those users to become active participants in the DAO, whether that is commenting, voting, proposing AIPs or joining a WG or SC.

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Great questions.

I don’t see us being able to change the audience that he attracts. I DO think there are opportunities to sponsor other podcasters who bring in a more diverse audience, I just wasn’t including them in this initial ideation. @VonFrontin has mentioned how he’d love to see us scale this to 4-5 other podcasts, I think each could come from a unique audience of which ThreadGuy would only represent one piece in the overall podcast marketing puzzle.

Given advertisements on podcasts are one of the most difficult marketing dollars to track awareness is the key and in my opinion positive awareness from working with / sponsoring somebody many folks see as one of the “good guys” in the space. I’d included snapshot registrations and engagement on the forum as potential mechanisms to track beyond just the metrics for the podcast itself. I’d also love to collaborate with MarComm on this to see if they have a standard approach for sponsorships and or how we could create one together.

Completely understand regarding the size, 10 seemed like a nice round number to start, and given how slow the DAO might move I didn’t want to shoot too small (1-3) and then have to created a brand new AIP in the interim. I’d definitely take into consideration a smaller approach, would just need to figure out how to do it logistically.

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I’d love to collaborate with somebody from MarComm on this! :grinning:

I think that the DAO should likely have a sponsorship standard for each top of the funnel channel like you mentioned. Something like - IF we sponsor a podcast these are the main KPIs we are looking for, this is our standard language, and this is our CTA. I’m happy to be involved as a stakeholder and that would certainly help streamline ideas like this one.

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I’m more curious about why he isnt here proposing this himself? He was here during last elections for Special Council, would have been a good fit and for the same amount ( $10,000 per month in $ape for Special Council )

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My personal opinion is that there is frequently a disconnect between creators creating, and creators doing things that make them money. This is where agents come into play for most “talent” related endeavors. I’m not saying I’m TGs agent by any means, and I’m doing this because I believe it’s beneficial to ApeCoin and as a holder of $APE. The AIP process is not a short endeavor, it requires iteration and moving through a stage gate process. I think most creators don’t have the attention span or desire to do this on their own.

ApeCoin doesn’t have a predefined marketing team with a budget to chase sponsorships, create their own content, etc. I’d love for this to be done by a group with an overall marketing strategy, tackling multiple sponsorships, but those types of AIPs tend to ask for too much at once which deters voters.

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Love to see people coming together to celebrate others. If we are thinking of opening this up to other podcasts/shows, I’d like to see @phibacka31 get involved in this convo as well.

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Appreciate the Tag here 12Gauge. Working on an AIP with a couple other creators that are here and wanting to flesh things out more.

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Really great answer and even more valid approach, but we’ve seen Apecoin DAO being fcked up by Agents before and I’ve personally seen artist and communities being fcked up agents and managers of the artist.
Guy is one example in the early days of Apecoin DAO, voted in coz he was Madonna’s agent or manager something, Bulls On The Block entire community got fked up by the artist’s manager and so on, the cycle will only repeat itself with such elements.

Not that my opinions matter or anything here coz people love seeing popular people doing their thing that barely impacts the DAO and its standing. Would be good if ThreadGuy himself comes in and ask coz he has been here before as well know very well known within voters and delegates alike already, but he left as fast as he entered the DAO back during elections so idk what to think of it.

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