[BIP-738] Request for Additional Marketing Funding to Maximize Balancer v3 Launch Impact

[JediRasta26]

PR with Payload

[BIP-738] Request for Additional Marketing Funding

Service Provider Name: Beethoven X - Marketing

Leader(s): Jedi Rasta, Naly

Pledge to abide by [BIP-629] Balancer DAO Service Provider & Grantee Standards: Yes

Introduction

Balancer v3 represents the most significant evolution in our platform’s history, showcasing unparalleled innovation in DeFi. To fully realize the potential of this milestone, we propose securing $60,000 in additional marketing funding. This funding will enable us to amplify the v3 launch through targeted PR efforts, creative marketing campaigns, and strategic amplification, ensuring the reach and impact necessary to position Balancer as a leader in DeFi.

Rationale

The v3 launch introduces transformative features that redefine DeFi innovation. While our current organic reach is effective for ongoing community engagement, it may not suffice for the market-wide impact required for this pivotal moment. By strategically leveraging marketing resources, we can:

• Secure Coverage: Establish Balancer’s presence in top-tier crypto media outlets, podcasts, and newsletters.
• Engage Key Stakeholders: Connect directly with industry thought leaders, influencers, developers, and institutional players.
• Expand Reach: Attract new audiences, including liquidity providers and developers, while strengthening Balancer’s position among DeFi natives.

The Role of PR

A strategic PR campaign amplifies internal marketing efforts by leveraging agency expertise and established media relationships. This approach maximizes cost-effectiveness and streamlines outreach, crafting a cohesive narrative that resonates across multiple channels.

Amplification to Drive Focused Engagement

An amplification campaign educates the market, enhances mindshare, and drives adoption by highlighting v3’s unique features in DeFi-native newsletters and outlets. These efforts expand awareness among liquidity providers and DeFi-native users, fueling the user acquisition funnel.

Creative Marketing for Enhanced Engagement

Interactive and gamified content will enhance community engagement and highlight the innovative features of v3 in a visually compelling and accessible way. By targeting both DeFi-native and new audiences, creative marketing will complement PR and amplification efforts to maximize the launch’s impact.

Funding Breakdown

To maximize the impact of the Balancer v3 launch, we have identified the following strategic outreach and creative marketing needs:

1. Full-Service PR Agency Engagement

• Scope: Comprehensive media management, including press releases, influencer collaborations, and strategic engagements over three months.
• Benefits:
  • Broad coverage across top-tier crypto publications and podcasts.
  • Industry expertise to craft tailored messaging and maximize impact.
  • Resource efficiency, allowing internal teams to focus on core priorities.
  • Expands Balancer’s mindshare among both crypto natives and non-native audiences.
• Estimated Cost: Up to $35,000.

2. Amplification Campaign

• Scope: Short-term amplification using targeted crypto-focused media outlets (e.g., Chainwire) and grassroots DeFi-native newsletters.
• Benefits:
  • Rapid dissemination to relevant audiences.
  • Timely announcements for maximum visibility.
  • Expands Balancer v3 mindshare among DeFi natives during launch.
• Estimated Cost: $15,000.

3. Creative Marketing Campaign

• Scope: Development of interactive and gamified content to enhance community engagement and showcase v3’s innovative features.
• Benefits:
  • Engages users through visually compelling and interactive content.
  • Drives awareness by highlighting v3’s unique benefits in a dynamic and accessible way.
  • Complements PR and amplification efforts by targeting DeFi-native and new audiences.
• Estimated Cost: $10,000.

Summary

Category	Allocation	Description
PR Agency Partnership	Up to $35,000	Comprehensive media management, press releases, influencer outreach, and strategy.
Amplification Campaign	Up to $15,000	Short-term amplification via Chainwire and DeFi-native newsletters.
Creative Marketing Campaign	Up to $10,000	Development of interactive and engaging content for v3’s launch.
Total Requested Funding	$60,000	Ensures impactful marketing and outreach for the v3 launch.
Unused Funds	N/A	Returned to the DAO by the end of Q1 for transparency and accountability.

Execution Plan

1. Secure PR Partner: Engage a full-service PR agency to lead media outreach efforts and manage key campaigns.
2. Execute Amplification Campaign: Deploy amplification strategies using Chainwire and targeted DeFi-native newsletters to enhance v3 launch visibility.
3. Execute Creative Marketing Campaign: Develop and distribute interactive content to highlight v3’s unique features, engaging both existing and new audiences.
4. Align Marketing Efforts with v3 Timeline: Synchronize all activities with the v3 launch schedule to ensure maximum impact.
5. Measure and Report: Post-launch, provide the DAO with a comprehensive report, including outreach results, engagement metrics, and budget utilization.

Funding and Allocation

The requested $60,000 will flow through OpCo, which will manage all payments and spending related to the Balancer v3 launch efforts, ensuring efficient use of funds. This funding will cover PR, amplification, and creative marketing initiatives. OpCo’s oversight will ensure that expenditures align with our broader financial planning and support for the Balancer ecosystem. Any unspent funds will be returned to the DAO by the end of Q1, reflecting our commitment to transparency and financial prudence.

The multisig 0x10A19e7eE7d7F8a52822f6817de8ea18204F2e4f will interact with USDC at 0xA0b86991c6218b36c1d19D4a2e9Eb0cE3606eB48 by writing transfer, passing 0x3B8910F378034FD6E103Df958863e5c684072693 as recipient and the amount 60000 as 60000000000.

Conclusion

The launch of Balancer v3 represents an unprecedented opportunity to solidify Balancer’s leadership in DeFi. By securing $60,000 for targeted PR, amplification, and creative marketing, we can amplify this milestone, engage new and existing audiences, and maximize v3’s impact. This funding supports a clear and strategic path to success, ensuring Balancer remains at the forefront of innovation and engagement in DeFi

[0xDanko]

I can confirm we have the bandwidth and capacity to handle payments from within Balancer OpCo, upon approval and transfer of funds from the DAO multisig.

Putting things in perspective, the DAO has allocated a lot of effort to push v3, so this $60k allocation sounds reasonable considering this has been our main focus for the past 12mo. Our total annualized burn is at ~$3,5mm, so if this is what we need to make an impactful launch, and giving the imminent launch, I’d support adding more coal to this fire - full steam ahead!

[Marcus]

I completely agree that securing additional budget for marketing and PR is essential for the successful launch of V3. These initiatives are critical to ensure we generate the necessary visibility and engagement for a strong rollout. The amount requested appears reasonable and well-aligned with our objectives.

While there is already a macro breakdown of the budget, having a more detailed timeline of the launch initiatives would be highly beneficial. It would provide clearer visibility into the key milestones, especially since we are very close to launching.

Overall, I’m fully in favor of allocating these extra funds to ensure the success of the launch.

[lazyguac]

Regardless of whether this $60k in funding is worthwhile, I think we need answers to some other questions:

1. With $30k in monthly funding and a year to plan budgeting around the v3 launch, why aren’t any of these costs from the current marketing budget?

2. Why did you decide to wait until ~2 weeks before v3 launch to post this BIP? Surely that makes the lead-time far too tight to have anything ready for v3 launch date, plus you have holidays after that. When do you expect to see results from this spend?

3. How much outreach has been done on your behalf before launch? Have you approached people in the Balancer community trying to source soft intros and earned media before deciding additional funding was necessary?

For context, I’ve been a part-time contributor writing and managing content for Aura since earlier in the year. I was hired by BEETs marketing on Oct 1st and worked with them until Nov 19th, when I told them I planned to submit a competing BIP to replace them as the marketing service provider.

From my perspective, there is far too little being accomplished at too low of a quality and too high of a price. I found a lack of desire to secure media manually and the lack of urgency, especially considering the lead time involved with media appearances, was baffling.

At this point in time, funding this request might make sense, but it feels very much like a “Please bail us out” rather than as part of a well-developed strategy.

The unfortunate state of affairs is that there’s currently (as of a week ago) no V3 launch plan besides X threads. By the time this BIP passes, if it does, and things begin shipping, we’ll already be into the new year.

While I’m still fleshing out many of the details of my BIP, I strongly believe money shouldn’t be spent frivolously. V3 launch is hugely important, with lots of people putting countless hours into it, and it deserves some capital allocation to make sure people know about it.

But I think we should delay this vote until after the v3 launch and competing marketing service provider proposals go live on the forums. I agree with the urgency of getting this proposal out asap, although it should have been done months ago. Because we’re unlikely to see any results until the new year anyway at this point, I think it makes the most sense to hold off on this vote temporarily.

[JediRasta26]

Hey @lazygauc, I see this is your first post on the Balancer forum, so will start by saying welcome to the conversation and community.

Thank you for raising your concerns. I appreciate the opportunity to address them directly, as clarity is essential for making the best decisions for Balancer’s success.

On Budget Allocation

Your question about why these costs weren’t part of the existing $30k/month budget is valid and deserves a clear answer. The current marketing budget is allocated toward ongoing efforts such as content production, social media engagement, partnership relations, live events, and foundational branding work—all of which are critical to maintaining Balancer’s visibility and credibility in a competitive market. However, the v3 launch represents a unique, one-time initiative that requires a dedicated budget to maximize its impact. Launches of this scale demand resources above and beyond standard operations to ensure their success, as evident in all major DeFi launches.

It’s also worth noting that the marketing team has operated with a modest team size of 3.5 FTEs during the last funding round up until your unannounced departure a few days ago. This structure reflects the lean approach we’ve taken to deliver consistent results while prioritizing efficiency.

On Timing

Regarding the timing of the BIP, I agree that earlier submission would have been ideal. However, finalizing the v3 product roadmap and corresponding marketing deliverables required close alignment with multiple teams. We deliberately prioritized quality and accuracy over rushing incomplete plans to the forums, which would have invited confusion or, worse, diluted messaging. Additionally, there has been contention in the past regarding expenditure, and it was only at Devcon that we collectively agreed this spending would be justified. Despite the timeline, our plans are robust, and the deliverables we’ve prepared—including teaser campaigns, launch articles, and animations—are well underway and ready to be deployed.

On Outreach and Earned Media

Outreach has been integral to our strategy. We’ve engaged partners like Aave and Morpho, collaborated with media outlets through our PR agency, and leveraged internal resources to secure introductions and amplify Balancer’s narrative. Naly, as a well-connected figure in the DeFi space, has reached out to key individuals who we believe bring value and increase amplification across not only the major outlets but also DeFi-native publications. The Education Fund is also designed to incentivize community-driven content around v3, expanding organic reach and engagement. Utilizing an agency ensures that no opportunities are missed—a standard approach for most protocols when launching major initiatives.

On the Allegations of Poor Performance

The claim that there is “no v3 launch plan” is simply untrue. Our launch strategy has been extensively discussed, with a clear roadmap that includes but is not limited to:

• Launch articles prepared for PR outlets.
• Co-marketing campaigns with major partners like Aave and Morpho.
• Visual and animated assets to highlight v3’s key innovations.
• Community activation through Twitter Spaces and the Education Fund.
• A comprehensive Marketing Landing Page designed to support user engagement.

These deliverables are either in progress or nearing completion.

While we had worked with you on content creation earlier this year, we were not satisfied with the quality of the work you delivered. Many ideas required significant review and revision, to the extent that we ultimately decided not to use them. This misalignment on standards also explains why we didn’t invite you into more internal groups, including Slack or give you permissions on Twitter.

On Comparisons and Competing Proposals

Healthy competition and alternative perspectives can drive improvement, but conflating criticism with constructive feedback is counterproductive. The suggestion that this BIP is a “bailout” disregards the months of preparation and execution that have gone into the v3 launch. Delaying this vote until competing proposals are submitted does not serve Balancer’s best interests. Instead, it risks undermining the momentum we’ve worked hard to build. Collaboration could have been a more productive route, as sabotage ultimately harms the protocol and its community.

The Bigger Picture

The v3 launch is not just another marketing initiative—it’s a pivotal moment for Balancer. Countless hours have been invested by all involved to bring this innovation to life, and it deserves the focused and strategic marketing plan we’ve developed. Delaying this vote would jeopardize not just the timing of our campaigns but also Balancer’s ability to make a strong, unified impression in the DeFi ecosystem.

We encourage the community to assess this proposal based on the deliverables outlined and the tangible work already underway. Our dedication to Balancer remains unwavering, and we are committed to ensuring this launch reflects the innovation and effort behind v3.

[lazyguac]

Could you describe your vision for the Education Fund, as you’ve mentioned it a couple of times as a key component of your v3 strategy? Also, could you provide more details on specific deliverables and timelines for this current BIP?

As of ~10 days ago, the plan was to ask for an additional $45-$60k/yr to fund community contributors via a questing platform, despite not having a clear strategy.

For the record, there have been mentions of both a Community/Ambassador Program and a Balancer U or Media Hub, in every funding proposal since April 2023. To date, the only thing delivered is a private channel in the Balancer Discord.

Links: Apr 2023 , July 2023, Aug 2023, Dec 2023, June 2024, Nov 2024

I do agree, though, that the working relationship between myself and BEETs Marketing was not constructive. I’d argue it’s due to a lack of skills, effort, and inability to ship. Of course, your view that my content was low-quality is valid as we have very different views of what content should look like and accomplish.

Regarding v3 launch roadmap:

• Launch articles prepared for PR outlets.
  What’s your plan if this PR BIP fails? Can you provide more details about what’s been written and who its been delivered to so far?
• Co-marketing campaigns with major partners like Aave and Morpho.
  This already happens with regular scheduled Twitter content
• Visual and animated assets to highlight v3’s key innovations.
  Excited to see
• Community activation through Twitter Spaces and the Education Fund.
  There isn’t yet a BIP for the Education Fund - are you planning on funding this out of pocket or requesting more funds? What’s the timeline?
• A comprehensive Marketing Landing Page designed to support user engagement.
  Wasn’t it Pon that did this, aka not BEETs Marketing?

Regardless, the framing of this as ‘sabotage’ is unfair. Despite the obvious disagreements, I offered to continue working with BEETs Marketing through the v3 launch - both sides agreed to end the relationship effective immediately.

To me, it’s absurd that we’re so close to v3 launch, and two of the key components of your strategy require extra funding and a last-minute BIP vote.

And to circle back to the original proposal. Part of the funding includes this:

Creative Marketing Campaign Up to $10,000 Development of interactive and engaging content for v3’s launch.

What does this mean? Videos? Infographics? Since you’re requesting funding, does this imply that these haven’t yet been created?

[Xeonus]

After consulting with various stakeholders, we agreed to move forward with this vote and let veBAL holders decide:
https://snapshot.org/#/balancer.eth/proposal/0x8de0f6df2dc1c832d43667dd51279900fc84969018347269a955639069717241