PROPOSAL: Marma J Foundation Marketing Initiatives August - September 2023
Section 1 - Project Information
Organization Name: Marma J Foundation
Establishment Date: The Marma J Foundation was established in August 2019, and began its engagement with the NEAR ecosystem in early 2021. Its mission is to leverage Web3 technology for social good, with a focus on creating and promoting educational resources on Web3 tools and the NEAR ecosystem.
Section 2 - Previous Funding
Other Sources of Funding: The Marma J Foundation has previously received funding from the NEAR ecosystem for various projects.
Some examples include:
- Approved Marmajchan VRM Project
- Approved Marketing Initiatives April 2022
- Approved The Road to NearCon - Marma J Hacker House
- Approved Social Media Content Creation for MARMA J CON
- Approved NEAR Foundation Grant for Marma J Gaming (Total of $30k)
To see the history of our approved proposals, please visit: Profile - marmajfoundation - NEAR Forum
For this specific proposal, The Marma J Foundation is requesting marketing funding for the period of August - September 2023.
Section 3 - Project URLs
Project Website: Marma J Foundation
Social Media Distribution Channels:
Region Support: North America (Canada and Antigua), and Global. Our project is not targeting a specific country for this proposal.
Section 4 - Applicant Information
Applicant Name: @bianca (Creative Director), on behalf of the Marma J Foundation
Link to Governance Forum Profile: Marma J Foundation Governance Forum Profile
NEAR Wallet ID: marmaj.sputnik-dao.near
Country of Residence: Canada
Twitter: https://twitter.com/itsmarmaj
LinkedIn: Marma J Foundation | LinkedIn
Past Involvement with NEAR ecosystem:
A snapshot of Bianca’s involvement within the NEAR ecosystem can be seen by visiting: Profile - bianca - NEAR Forum, as well as the links provided in Section 2.
Section 5 - Team Members
Our core team consists of six dedicated members with various backgrounds in the field of Web3, digital marketing, community building, and blockchain technology.
@chloe: The founder of the Marma J Foundation, Chloe is an active council member on the Marma J DAO and is the mastermind behind many of the foundation’s initiatives.
@bianca: As the Creative Director of the Marma J Foundation, Bianca directs all marketing initiatives and has a strong background in digital marketing, communications, and public relations.
@mecsbecs: The COO of the Marma J Foundation, Rebecca successfully led the organization of the first annual conference and hackathon, MARMA J CON. Her expertise in operations and project management plays a crucial role in the foundation’s activities.
@Earnest, @CryptoJoshi (Rui), and @Eli22: As council members on the MarmaJchan DAO, they offer support in various marketing projects and decisions, bringing their collective experience in creative, technical, communications, and marketing to the table.
Section 6 - Experience
The Marma J Foundation team brings together a combination of qualifications, experiences, and track records to this initiative. Our previous contributions to the NEAR ecosystem since 2021 have included a variety of projects, some of which can be found at the following links:
Chloe, The founder of the Marma J Foundation, Chloe is an active council member on the Marma J DAO and is the mastermind behind many of the foundation’s initiatives.
Bianca, our Creative Director, is an experienced digital marketer with a background in communications, public relations, and marketing. She has been instrumental in directing all marketing initiatives for the Marma J Foundation.
Rebecca, our COO, successfully led the MARMA J CON, which was the first annual conference and hackathon for the Marma J Foundation in Antigua. You can see a summary of the approved proposal from the Marketing DAO regarding MARMA J CON here.
Earnest, Rui, and Nicole are experienced council members on the MarmaJchan DAO, bringing their skills in creative, technical, communications, and marketing fields to support all marketing projects and decisions related to the Marma J Foundation.
Section 7. Project Goals
- Project Overview: Short High-Level Summary of the Purpose of the Your Project
- What Problem Are You Aiming to Solve?
- How Does This Project Help Solve the Problems You’ve Listed?
- What Are the Goals of This Project?
Section 7 - Project Goals
Project Overview:
For the period of August - September 2023, the Marma J Foundation is requesting funding to assist with our marketing efforts in bridging the gap between complex Web3 tools and platforms within the NEAR ecosystem and making them accessible to non-native Web3 users. Our goal is to simplify and explain complex concepts in a digestible manner and to facilitate onboarding processes to ensure active on-chain engagement.
Major Initiatives:
At the upcoming ETH Milan conference, the Marma J Foundation plans to expand its reach and enhance its initiatives by promoting two of its main projects, Marma J Gaming and MarmaJchan DAO.
Through this project, we aim to bring these showcase the power of artist collaboration on NEAR to a global audience, and highlight practical use cases of building and creating on NEAR through art and gaming.
To make these projects possible, we are requesting funding for our marketing-related activities which include:
- Guide (in the form of a blog) creation for each project, for a total of 2 blogs. The guides serve as a marketing tool for each project and also help further the goal of our project which is to explain Web3 processes in a user-friendly way and inspire others to build and create.
- Website page/section creation for each initiative
- Social media campaign to onboard artists for each initiative, as well as showcase and feature the results, and guides of how it was done
- Tools and design software associated with each marketing initiative
This project aims to break down the complexity of Web3 tools by producing user-friendly guides and marketing content. Through comprehensive guides, website updates, and social media campaigns, we aim to enhance understanding and simplify the transition for non-native Web3 users to engage within the NEAR ecosystem, as well as actively engage with active NEAR contributors.
The project has two primary goals: to improve the accessibility and understanding of Web3 tools within the NEAR ecosystem and to showcase the power of artist collaboration on NEAR at the ETH Milan conference. Through dedicated marketing efforts, we aim to inspire more active participation in the NEAR ecosystem.
Section 8 - Project Deliverables
Deliverable:
The Marma J Foundation aims to enhance its outreach and engagement within the NEAR ecosystem. This initiative involves developing easy-to-understand guides for Web3 tools, carrying out a robust social media campaign, and showcasing artist collaborations at the ETH Milan conference. The overarching goal is to simplify Web3 interactions and inspire active participation in the NEAR community.
Distribution Channel and Frequency of Posting:
The distribution channels include the project’s website and social media channels:
Frequency of posts: 3-5 week/ 12-20+/ month (likely more depending on community participation).
Blog posts on marmaj.org: For this specific proposal, there will be a total of two posts related to our initiative within the specified timeframe.
Content Format:
For each initiative, the content format and types will be as follows:
- 1 blog post, a minimum of 500 words, that highlights what the Marma J Gaming Pixel Party artist project is, how they can participate (this would also act as an onboarding tool as a contributor would need a NEAR wallet to participate), etc. Click here to see an example of a blog that includes a video guide.
- 1 blog post that highlights the MarmaJchan comic process, the reason behind the project, etc.
- 1 website page created under the MarmaJchan umbrella of the Marma J Foundation website (https://marmaj.org/marmajchan/), that showcases the comic (this may also feature a digital version of the comic for those who cannot attend the ETH Milan conference). Click here to see an example.
- 1 website section created under the Marma J Gaming page that features the project. This would be similar in look to the Marma J Pixel Party Spring/Easter event page.
- 3-5 social media posts/ week, primarily on the Marma J Foundation/Marma J Gaming Twitter accounts, that announces each initiative, showcases and features the results, and promotes the blog posts (educational pieces) as well as the website pages. Click here to see an example of a social post that announces a similar initiative.
Section 9 - Budget
Funding Breakdown:
Blog posts: $500
- $250 per blog post (total of 2 blog posts)
- Budget will be split between writer(s), editor(s), publisher(s), and graphic designer(s) (for all relevant graphic creation used in the blog post)
Website updates: $300
- $280 for website pages ($140/page x 2)
- $20 for website hosting and security fees ($10/month x 2)
- Budget will be allocated for website maintenance fees, as well as the designer who will be creating the two pages, as well as website hosting and security fees
Social media: $1012
- $900: Budget will be split between the 2+ social media managers ($450 each) for the Marma J Foundation social media channels for the management and content creation of each platform for two months
- $112: Paid marketing tools needed for social media content creation and management:
- $42: Adobe Illustrator ($21/month x 2)
- $40: Zoho Social $20/month x 2)
- $30: Descript ($15/month x 2)
Total Funding Amount Requested in USD: $1812.00
Wallet address: marmaj.sputnik-dao.near
Start Date and Length of Commitment: The project’s start date is August 10, 2023, and the project’s duration is two months (August - September).
The Marma J Foundation is grateful for the Marketing DAO’s support over the years and is excited to continue educating and onboarding individuals into the NEAR ecosystem. Thank you for your support!