• Forum has been upgraded, all links, images, etc are as they were. Please see Official Announcements for more information

Final Pre-Proposal: Circus City Sponsorship

How will you vote on this proposal?

  • Yes

    Votes: 8 100.0%
  • No

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Abstain

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    8
  • Poll closed .

Syntheist

Active member
This propsal is now live: https://www.dashcentral.org/p/CircusCity

gobject vote-many 5d6aee771d98af2483a5f8157e0fbda158fc2f0f2cf655be266c5d6caa6e3761 funding yes

This is the final statement of work which will form the basis of the Circus City proposal. I am happy to sign a contract with the DAO that this statement will be carried out and I have included my name and business address as proof that I stand behind this.

Verification:
Official website, I'm listed on the team there: http://www.bristolcircuscity.com/about/
Tweet from official account about proposal: https://twitter.com/CircusCity1/status/864494203765653506

Statement of Work

Edward Rapley On Behalf of Circus City
The Brunswick Club,
16 Brunswick Square,
Bristol, BS2 8NX
UK


Introduction

Circus City 2017 is proposing that Dash becomes the sole Commercial Sponsor of Circus City 2017, becoming the first blockchain to sponsor a major cultural and artistic event in the UK, we are seeking a total of 252 Dash across two payment cycles - June & July

The majority of the sponsorship will be spent covering the costs of the festival including paying additional staff, initially this would be in marketing and then by running a Dash sponsored bar. The wages of the core team are covered by the existing funding and any profit will go directly towards the artists who perform.

We will also promote Dash as a solution to people working within the international contemporary circus industry. As such part of the sponsorship will be used to run a Dash help desk and every artist in the festival who installs a wallet will be given their free drinks vouchers in the form of Dash.

The circus community is a culturally powerful network of first adopters and by supporting their festival Dash will be gaining the support and advocacy of people who work all over the world who will be carrying the message to the thousands of people they perform in front of just in time for the launch of Evolution.

Background

Circus City is an international contemporary circus festival that happens every 2 years. The next festival happens from the 12th to 29th of October in Bristol, UK. In 2015 the festival sold 6000 ticket and hosted 50 events and performances across 15 venues in the city: http://www.bristolcircuscity.com/about/

Bristol is the perfect city in which to promote Dash as it is a tech hub within the UK and it is also well versed in the existence of alternatives to fiat because it has a local currency, the Bristol Pound, with its own bank accounts and physical notes.

Being the first festival in the UK arts sector to be sponsored by a cryptocurrency will be a major talking point, Circus City already receives attention in the national press and this is likely to increase significantly as a direct result of the sponsorship.

Many circus performers work internationally and are faced with the problems and risks associated with being paid in multiple currencies. The circus community is one that could really be helped by adopting Dash because it provides a faster, cheaper and more private service than fiat or other blockchains.

Contemporary circus is very different from the world of the traditional big top. Inside the contemporary circus community the rapid adoption and creative adaptation of technology is commonplace. From programming through to hacking hardware there is a big first mover advantage, because being the only person who figured out how to do something can lead to years of work with that act. The circus community is a potent group of early adopters and vocal advocates for Dash.

Of course there are slight technical hurdles at present and a small amount of help is required for people to begin using Dash. This learning curve is far outweighed by the fact that Dash could solve everyday problems for artists who are already living transnational lives.

Austerity and the Arts

There has been a reduction in arts funding across the country including Bristol and this year the festival is seeking other sources so that it can reach a wider audience. In 2018 Bristol City Council funding for the arts will drop to zero and because the Arts Council uses a match funding system this will see Circus City lose £40,000 of its funding for 2019. We therefore need to explore entirely new ways to keep going.

About Me

I'm a theatre maker based in Bristol, where for the last 10 years I have worked to create and sustain artists’ collectives in the city, working with the local council and property owners to find buildings that are underused. I have been involved in creating and marketing 40 shows in that time and have helped establish 5 collectives that provide office and rehearsal space for artists.

I’ve been using blockchains since 2011 and I'm keen to bring the very clear benefits of Dash's technology and governance model to the communities I'm part of. I have been working with Circus City on their website and saw an opportunity for a beneficial partnership with Dash.

I can be contacted here or on the Dash Nation slack as syntheist.

Scope of Work

The festival has already received funding from the Arts Council England (£56,000) and Bristol City Council (£20,000), so it is guaranteed to happen.

All of the sponsorship would go directly towards paying the costs of preparing the festival, promoting Dash at the festival and then paying the performers. Circus City is executive produced by Theatre Bristol Ltd and due to the nature of the existing funding it is not run for a profit.

The timing of the cycles is related to the print deadline and festival launch in July.

We are seeking sponsorship from Dash in return for:
  • Primary placement of the Dash logo on all publicity
    Estimated audience reach in 2015: 100,000 people
  • The Dash logo will be visible on:
    • Video Trailer
    • Website (66,000 page views over Sept/Oct 2015)
    • Programme, flyers, posters (30,000 items produced in 2015)
    • 5 Vinyl Banners for roadside railings
    • 2 large static banners at the festival hub
    • 2 mobile banners for host venues
    • 2 commercial billboards on the M32 and Gloucester Road
    • Video documentary of the festival
In addition to the sponsorship we would like to actively promote and integrate Dash within the festival:
  • running a Dash info and help desk at the festival hub:
    • explaining the basics of Dash
    • Installing Dash wallets
    • signing up to exchanges
  • accepting Dash payments at the festival bar and merchandise stall.
    • offering individually limited sales of Dash at a 10% discount
    • offering a 10% discount on purchases using Dash.
  • helping each artist performing in the festival install a wallet and giving them 0.15 Dash as their 'drinks voucher' to spend at the Dash sponsored festival bar.
  • offering and supporting payment of ticket sales to artists in Dash (2015 sales: £60,000)
We will also conduct research into the use of Dash within the festival with a view to sharing this information at one of the largest gathering of circus producers in Europe:
  • Preparation of a detailed report on feedback gathered from the Dash info desk on first time user experience with Dash, wallet applications, exchange sites and as payments.
  • Assessment of the impact of the additional sponsorship on the festival’s marketing.
  • Recommendations for integrating Dash into future cultural events.
  • Presentation of this research to a seminar of 300 circus producers: http://subcase.se/artists/
The Dash sponsorship money will be used for the following purposes:

Cycle 1: Marketing

16 Extra hours for part-time Marketing Manager
27 Printing an additional 10,000 12 page brochures
7 Printing an additional 500 A3 posters
16 Distributing printed material
13 Internet advertising campaign
6 Graphic Designer for logo integration
30 Film maker documenting the festival
6 10% discount for using Dash at the Festival hub
5 Proposal repayment

126 Total

Cycle 2: Dash Promotion & Integration

35 Dash sponsored Artists' Bar
35 Staffing the Dash help desk during the festival (17 days + training)
15 Ongoing support for artists to receive their ticket sale payment in Dash (30 Days)
8 Data collection for the Dash intergration research project
15 Creation and presentation of the Dash integration research in Sweden
6 Discounted purchases of Dash 10% below GBP market rate.
12 5% contingency funding for unexpected costs

126 Total

Period of Performance

Cycle one will happen in June with weekly updates by me and the rest of the team at Circus City on dash.org/forum from June until the launch event in July

Cycle two will begin in July and extend until the presentation of the Dash & Circus integration research paper on November 17th with monthly updates outside of the festival and weekly updates during the festival.

Place of Performance

The work will take place in Bristol, UK apart from the presentation of the research paper which will happen in Sweden.

Work Requirements

Kickoff:
Design Phase:
  • Integrating the Dash logo into the design of all print, video and online promotional material
Media Phase
  • A press release will be written and sent to all national press detailing the sponsorship and highlighting the benefits of Dash as digital cash.
  • Circus City core team available for interviews
  • Printing all promotional material
  • Distributing all promotional material
Help Desk Preparation Phase:
  • Gathering resources, including videos to help introduce Dash to people at the festival.
  • Email to all artists with instructions for downloading, encrypting and backing up a wallet.
  • Training other help desk staff
  • Creation of questionnaires and research metrics for the report
  • Sourcing POS/wallet solution for the festival hub
Festival Phase
  • Running the help desk daily
  • Distributing Dash to artists
  • Running a Dash wallet/POS system at the festival hub
  • Writing up daily research based on responses at the help desk
  • Filming documentary footage
  • Selling Dash at a 10% discount
  • Offering a 10% discount for using Dash at the festival.
Research Phase
  • Compilation of research data
  • Analysis of data
  • Completion of written paper
Presentation Phase
  • Presentation of research at Subcase
  • Publication of the research on the Dash Forum and reddit
  • Releasing the festival documentary.
Schedule

The below list consists of the initial milestones identified for Circus City Sponsorship:

June 1st – Result from the DAO becomes clearance
June 7th – All design and print resources collected
July 1st – Printed material released and website fully updated
August 1st – Introduction to Dash email written and sent to artists
September 1st – All help desk resources and procedures in place.
September 14th - POS/wallet solution implemented
October 1st – Help desk team trained
October 12th – Festival opens.
October 29th – Festival closes
November 14th – Completion of report & Documentary Edited
November 17th – Presentation and publication of the Dash integration research & Documentary

Acceptance Criteria
The work will take place with weekly or monthly updates, including opportunities for the community to feedback on the process to ensure that it is clear the funds are being used correctly and the work is processing as detailed in this proposal.

If funded I commit to the fulfilment of this statement of work:
Edward Rapley
 
Last edited:
A well formed pre-proposal.
I may have missed it, but if not, please could you give a discount to customers making Dash payments at the festival bar and merchandise stall. Add this projected "loss" to your funding request.
 
A well formed pre-proposal.
I may have missed it, but if not, please could you give a discount to customers making Dash payments at the festival bar and merchandise stall. Add this projected "loss" to your funding request.

Certainly, I think a 10% discount would be a fine incentive.

Total sales bar and merchandise will be in the region of £15,000.

I estimate a maximum of £4000 will be in Dash of which we need to then cover £400 or 6 Dash rounded up.

I will add this to the proposal now.
 
give a discount to customers making Dash payments at the festival bar and merchandise stall

That could be a difficult thing to arrange, especially if they are outside vendors, and it's a disincentive for vendors.

Better would be to sell discounted dash at the help desk (say, 20% off the current exchange rate) and let vendors know that people will be walking around with discounted dash ready to spend. Gives vendors an incentive to accept dash.
 
That could be a difficult thing to arrange, especially if they are outside vendors, and it's a disincentive for vendors.

Better would be to sell discounted dash at the help desk (say, 20% off the current exchange rate) and let vendors know that people will be walking around with discounted dash ready to spend. Gives vendors an incentive to accept dash.

Why spend it? Just buy as much as you can and sell on an exchange for 20% profit.
The vendor is the company putting forward the proposal, isn't it, why would that be difficult to organise?
 
We will only be working with one external supplier which is the bar that will be hosting the festival hub. The rest of the merchandise will be sold by the festival itself so we can easily handle the discount as Acedian suggests.

I think that both of your ideas are valid and running a wallet where people can purchase discounted Dash is another way to encourage adoption. If they buy Dash from us with a 10% discount and spend Dash with us they will get a 20% discount and the festival will be covered by sponsorship.

I think that having 6 Dash will let us sell 60 at a 10% discount which is more than enough. Which would be an extra 12 in total.

I will definitely make contact with the Jaxx team and the other established wallet providers and POS systems as part of the proposal, i think the festival could be a showcase event for them too and it would be good to find a partner early in the process.
 
Why spend it? Just buy as much as you can and sell on an exchange for 20% profit.
The vendor is the company putting forward the proposal, isn't it, why would that be difficult to organise?

That would be a concern, however because the sales would be run by me personally and I'll be limiting the purchases each individual makes. Having the discount also apply on the use of the newly bought Dash means they are incentivised to use it. Although giving people their first experience of arbitrage might also have its benefits!

In this instance we are the primary vendor, but it is worth thinking about for future events where that might not be the case.
 
This looks cool and fits in with the idea that creative, techno-centric people are on the cutting edge. When normies see that interesting people are using Dash, FOMO sets in. This is exactly what is needed, because once you have that, everything falls into place. The amount of art and cool things in this will be interesting to see. I'd vote for this proposal if I was a MN owner.
 
Thanks for the support, I've been making a point of having conversations with people about cryptocurrencies for the last couple of months and the truth is the not one of them had any idea what bitcoin or dash are.

Even with WannaCry story all over the news and bitcoin being used to pay ransoms people aren't picking up on it. I think it takes first hand experience, for most people that means someone they know showing them or in the case of circus city having a team of people who will be enabling transaction to take place.
 
Back
Top