Please describe your proposed solution.
Proposal Overview:
Rare Network is writing to propose a project titled "Facilitating SPO Travel & Media Production at High Value Blockchain Events Worldwide" which aims to support the development and exposure of Stake Pool Operators (SPOs) and their related brand or mission within the Cardano ecosystem. Each trip will allow Rare Network to produce media that will highlight each SPOs unique purpose, alongside providing education and evidence that helps show the overall value and experience of live blockchain events. We feel that this will not only strengthen the eco-system at the core community and key stakeholder level, but also show strength from the outside in as we travel internationally and represent the Cardano blockchain as advocates in various multichain settings.
Our organization, Rare Network, is seeking funding of $250,000 USD (875,000 ADA) to attend blockchain conventions alongside SPOs and organize side events to foster community worldwide. This initiative will contribute to the growth and success of the Cardano ecosystem by providing SPOs with media coverage and networking or educational opportunities. In turn, allowing SPOs to harness the power of live events through Project Catalyst at no cost, alongside an expert team to coordinate and gain coverage of each journey.
High Level Budget Breakdown:
<u>Live Blockchain Events Worldwide:</u> We will allocate $200,000 to travel to renowned large scale blockchain conventions, while simultaneously organizing community side events at global blockchain conferences. This budget will cover:
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SPO Travel and Lodging Costs: We will cover the travel and accommodation expenses for SPOs attending these events, ensuring their presence and active participation.
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Entry to Main Blockchain Conventions: We will cover the ticket admission expenses for SPOs attending these conventions, ensuring their presence and active participation.
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Side Event Venue Rental: We will secure suitable venues for the events, ensuring they are conducive to networking and educational activities.
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Side Event Production: We will allocate funds to cover event production costs, including staging, audio-visual requirements, and branding materials.
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Speaker Fees: We will invite industry experts and thought leaders to deliver keynote speeches and presentations, enhancing the educational value of the side events. Each side event the SPOs who take part in the trip will be highlighted to our guests.
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Food and Beverage Budget: We will allocate a budget to provide refreshments and meals during the events, fostering a conducive networking environment.
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Media Production Team: We will hire a professional media production team to document each convention experience and side event in order to capture highlights of SPO engagement and participation. This will allow SPOs to promote their pool during and after the trip with a variety of multimedia promotional content.
<u>Rare Evo Convention:</u> We will allocate $50,000 USD towards Rare Network's Rare Evo, our annual flagship multichain event with one of our many tracks focusing on SPOs. The budget will cover:
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Travel/Lodging + Complimentary Booths for SPOs: We will reserve a portion of the budget to offer free booths to selected SPOs. Each booth, normally priced at $5,000 USD, will include travel and accommodation expenses for the SPOs along with their team's VIP entry to the event.
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Breakout Space: We will provide a dedicated space at the convention venue for SPOs to gather, engage in educational activities, and exchange ideas.
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Food and Beverage Budget: We will allocate a budget to provide refreshments and meals at the breakout space to ensure a conducive environment for networking and collaboration.
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Media Production Team: We will hire a professional media production team to document and publish the SPO experience at Rare Evo.
Objectives:
<u>Education and Awareness:</u> By organizing community side events with a focus on SPOs, we aim to educate SPOs about the blockchain industry, emerging trends, and the potential of Cardano. These events will provide valuable insights and learning opportunities, enabling SPOs to enhance their knowledge and skills. Additionally, at these side events, SPOs will be presenting as educators themselves, shining light to the other attendees on the power of the community stake pool model.
<u>Networking and Collaboration:</u> Our project seeks to foster a vibrant SPO community by providing platforms for SPOs to network, collaborate, and build relationships with peers, industry leaders, and potential partners. The events will facilitate meaningful interactions and knowledge sharing, fostering collaboration and synergy within the SPO ecosystem.
<u>Promotion of Cardano:</u> Through media production and documentation of the events, we will promote Cardano's ecosystem and its SPO community to a wider multichain investor/enthusiast audience. The content generated during these events will be shared through various channels, including social media, websites, and community platforms, raising awareness and attracting new stakeholders to Cardano in general.
<u>Strengthening the SPO Ecosystem:</u> By organizing community events focused on SPOs, we aim to strengthen the SPO ecosystem within Cardano. These events will provide a platform for SPOs to showcase their projects, share experiences, and collectively contribute to the growth and success of the Cardano blockchain.
Previous Success:
We would like to highlight that Rare Network has successfully organized ancillary events or produced media while attending various blockchain conferences worldwide, including:
- The Cardano Summit (Wyoming & Lausanne, Switzerland)
- Blockchain Life Dubai
- Consensus
- Bitcoin Miami
- NFTNYC
- ETHDenver
- VeeCon
- The HiVe
- 3XP
- Decentralized Deciphered
These events have received positive feedback from attendees and have facilitated meaningful connections and collaborations. Our track record demonstrates our ability to attend, plan, execute, and deliver high-quality events and media that meet the specific needs of promotion of the SPO ecosystem and a clear ROI for those involved.
Conclusion:
We believe that allocating $250,000 from the Cardano Catalyst Fund 10 towards our "Facilitating SPO Travel & Media Production at High Value Blockchain Events Worldwide" project will have a significant positive impact on the growth and development of the Cardano SPO ecosystem. The funds will be utilized to organize community events worldwide, providing educational and networking opportunities, and avenues for collaboration for SPOs, including, but not limited to, producing media to promote the SPOs mission while storytelling alongside the travel at hand. We are excited about the potential outcomes of this project and greatly appreciate the time spent, consideration, and votes in our favor from the Catalyst community!
How does your proposed solution address the challenge and what benefits will this bring to the Cardano ecosystem?
This day in age, travel & lodging costs are at an all time high, making it impractical for key stake holders, specifically SPOs, to participate in high value blockchain events worldwide in order to see an ROI. Our project allows Project Catalyst to fund these costly trips to conventions, saving SPOs significant expenses (which could alternatively be used to fund their pool operation), while Rare Network coordinates the itinerary and related media production ultimately benefitting the SPO by promoting their stake pool's mission.
In parallel with attending major worldwide blockchain conventions, the project team will produce one side event per trip that will bring together a supplemental networking experience where we can bring focus to the SPO ecosystem, Project Catalyst, and highlight the latest trends in the world of blockchain. Beyond the media production, this will bring IRL attention an incentivize strengthening the SPO ecosystem, as well onboarding new participants to Cardano.
In addition to business travel, the actual participation as an exhibitor at a major blockchain events for project teams comes at great costs. For many SPOs, the marketing budget is very low or non-existent, making event participation impractical. A booth alone at certain events are priced above 5 figures. Rare Network will use a portion of the project's budget to arrange complimentary SPO related booths, VIP tickets, speaking tracks, breakout room sessions, and a luncheon at the next Rare Evo convention. Not only will funds cover the ability to exhibit or speak on a panel, but we will also cover travel and lodging costs for the exhibiting SPOs.
How do you intend to measure the success of your project?
Our project's success will be measured through various observations:
- View counts and exposure gained through media produced on each trip.
- Participating SPOs satisfaction levels through testimonials and trip summaries.
- Delegation performance upon the release of the SPO related media.
- Exposure and engagement from both the Cardano community and mulitchain communities whether it be in person or on social media.
- The level of applications per trip from SPOs who desire to partake in the project.
- Surveys surrounding Rare Evo in regards to the SPO participation such as exhibiting in a booth, main stage panels, break out room educational sessions or workshops, and networking opportunities.
Please describe your plans to share the outputs and results of your project?
Our project will share our results through a number of methods:
- Producing videos per event highlighting each SPO's mission and experience, the main blockchain event, and the side event produced by Rare Network per trip.
- Trip Summary Reports
- Twitter Spaces reminiscing on each trip involving the participating SPOs with AMAs.
- SPO Testimonials
We believe we will help shine a light on the power of attending and exhibiting in blockchain events. SPOs who do not have business travel experience will learn how to manage a trip properly and extract the most value from the experience itself. Trip by trip we will factor in the any of the feedback and lessons learned to the next trip to improve the overall experience and media produced.