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Proposal: Adverts on Radiolab

Hi Syntheist,

Can you please advise how can I send you a private message (e-mail, etc). got some questions which need clarification.

Regards,
Ahmed
 
Radiolab Update 17/09/03
Overall Status
  • The audio slots have been recorded and will soon be running on Radiolab
  • The start date has been delayed by a US holiday.
  • I am awaiting confirmation of the campaign start date from WNYC
  • We are now shifting to tracking and reporting the results of the adverts
  • Updates will now be monthly with a report on visitor numbers.
Progress and Achievements Since Last Reporting Period
  • Audio recorded by Radiolab listeners from across the US, they sound great.
  • Arrival of the dollar payment to WNYC
  • Radiolab link on website created with tracking (thanks to moocowmoo)
  • First drafts of recordings for use by community podcasts.
Time
  • Begin broadcasting the audio adverts on September 1st - delayed by Labor Day holiday in US. The WNYC Ad-ops team will be back on Tuesday 5th.
  • The newsletter display adverts will be delayed until the 25th of September, due to the advertising schedule of WNYC.
  • Deadline for display ads to be submitted to WNYC: September 9th
Budget
  • My wages so far: 10 Days @ 1 Dash.
  • Wages are based on either fiat or Dash, contracted ahead of time, I chose to be paid a fixed amount of Dash at the time worth £145 a day.
  • Other people involved have opted for a fixed fiat amount. Because of this there may be more Dash to fund a further cycle of adverts.
  • Awaiting invoices from other people involved.
Risks/Issues
  • Late reporting: I wanted to be able to confirm the start of the campaign on Radiolab but it has been delayed. It makes me understand the temptation that others have felt to only report back with positive news or developments. However I now see that it is essential to report back even if it is to say that something hasn’t happened. Mitigation: stick to the reporting dates even when other deadlines slip.
  • Underestimating tasks: when working with partners either in Core or WNYC it is possible to underestimate tasks if you don’t talk with the person with the technical expertise. Mitigation: find out who is directly responsible for the task you need done and talk directly with them.
  • Local knowledge: I didn’t know about Labor Day and some US companies giving workers a long weekend. As a result I did not foresee that starting a campaign on the Friday before might be an issue. Mitigation: check proposed dates against the holiday calendar of the country you’re working with.
I am available to answer questions as @Syntheist on the Dash Nation Slack and dash.org/forum and via twitter @ed_rapley or at [email protected]

Next report, including visitor stats: September 30th
 
Interim Update

The headline is that we are not getting anywhere like the number of visitors I had hoped for: the impressions to unique visitors rate is 0.01% (the average for display ads is 0.35%) With audio adverts repetition is key, with 6 to 20 impressions leading to engagement, this means that the response to the adverts should increase over time.

We are roughly 1/5th of the way through the contracted impressions so there is still time for the stats to improve and we will be working with WNYC to see what can be done to drive increased visitors.

The hits we are getting a good quality, with 77% new visitors and a lower than average bounce rate of 77%.

My current take away is that Dash absolutely needs for an online advertising campaign that uses best practice to find the sites and channels which will have the highest click through and conversion rates and I am working with @dashdisciple to deliver this more comprehensive approach.
 

Attachments

  • 2017LCoombs.pdf
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I have created a page on Steemit.com to host the audio resources for anyone who wants to use them for their own podcast with two versions: UK formal and US conversational

I have also translated the scripts so you can record them in your own language:
https://steemit.com/dash/@syntheist/dash-digital-cash-community-advertising-resources

Languages covered:
Arabic
Bengali
English
French
Hindi
Japanese
Korean
Malay
Mandarin Chinese
Portuguese
Russian
Spainish
 
Radiolab Update 17/09/30
Overall Status
  • The adverts are being delivered and we are seeing a constant click through rate (CTR) for the campaign, bringing a high percentage of 1st time visitors to Dash.org
  • My original goal of 2% was based on search adverts, the kind of display and audio adverts we are running have a much lower average CTR of 0.35%
  • The adverts currently have a very low CTR and we are working to improve this figure.
Progress and Achievements Since Last Reporting Period
  • I have commissioned translations of the audio adverts into 11 languages
  • I have created 2 versions of each audio advert for use by anyone with a podcast supported or sponsored by Dash
Time
  • The project is running on schedule and WNYC are delivering the contracted impressions in a timely manner.
Budget
  • Wages: 7 Dash
  • Advert Creation & translation: 7 Dash
Risks/Issues
  • Right now the principle issue is that we have a lower than average click through rate. Mitigation: We are looking to create a second version of the display adverts and we are looking into the possibility of changing the audio scripts to focus on the freedom and opportunity offered by Dash.
  • Ultimately a more rigorous approach to online marketing is needed, with A/B testing and the ability to change creative on the fly. With the appointment of Mather & Ogilvy, the rebranding and brand guidelines that follow there will be an opportunity to unify and amplify the message about Dash. I’m committed to driving awareness & adoption of Dash through Adword campaigns that drive traffic towards other proposals funded by the Dash treasury. I am currently collaborating on a pre-proposal to make this a reality.
I am available to answer questions as @Syntheist on the Dash Nation Slack and dash.org/forum and via twitter @ed_rapley or at [email protected]

Next report: October 31st
Dash Radiolab Activity 28 Sept 2017.jpg
 

Attachments

  • Dash Radiolab Activity 28 Sept 2017.pdf
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Good stuff @Syntheist !

I'll look forward to getting more of your insight on this project too when we talk in person in a few weeks time.

(I've just listened to all the advert script recordings. They're excellent by the way.)

Keep up the good work. Advertising works thru repetition. Lets keep going.
 
Here is a breakdown of the sources of traffic for the radiolab adverts. Although the overall volume remains low the quality of sources of traffic is high.
Dash radiolab Oct.jpg
 
Radiolab Update 17/10/31
Overall Status
  • The adverts are still running on Radiolab and the website. They are still attracting a relatively low click through rate however there have been two spikes in visitors on the last two Thursdays.
  • WNYC has not responded to our recent emails.
Progress and Achievements Since Last Reporting Period
  • The traffic to dash.org has come from 100% first time visitors throughout October.
  • Two days with peak traffic: 25 direct visitors coming from the audio adverts.
    • We need to work with WNYC to discover the cause of these spikes and replicate them
    • I have contacted WNYC
  • I have created 2 versions of each audio advert for use by anyone with a podcast supported or sponsored by Dash
Time
  • Report delayed due to work on Circus City proposal, my apologies.
  • The project is running on schedule and WNYC are delivering the contracted impressions in a timely manner.
  • The campaign will end on the 30th of November and we will offer a full evaluation of the proposal within two weeks of this date in addition to the end of month report.
Budget
  • Awaiting invoice for Laura's wages.
  • My wages: 1 Dash.
  • If communication with WNYC is re-established we will look into the possibility of running our audio adverts on finance and business related programming.
Risks/Issues
  • Our ability to change the campaign is at the discretion of WNYC, the lack of communication on their behalf is problematic. Moving towards advertising platforms that allow us greater control of the content and delivery of adverts should be the next step of any following community lead advertising campaigns.
I am available to answer questions as @Syntheist on the Dash Nation Slack and dash.org/forum and via twitter @ed_rapley or at [email protected]

Next report: November 30th
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Final Radiolab Update 17/12/02
Overall Status
  • The Radiolab Campaign is now over and this is the last report for the project.
  • The campaign has delivered far lower levels of engagement than hoped.
  • Lessons can be drawn from the proposal which should be applied to future advertising proposals.
  • There is a budget surplus of 60 Dash that will be used as seed funding for an AdWords proposal.
Progress and Achievements Since Last Reporting Period
  • 4,202,384 impressions delivered
  • 633 unique visitors (ouch)
  • 94.22% new visitors
  • 78% bounce rate
  • $173.98 CPA
  • The highest rates of impressions were linked to appearing in the Radiolab newsletter, this drove all of the peak engagements.
Time
  • The proposal has now concluded as scheduled. The campaign was delivered by WNYC exactly as contracted.
Budget
  • There is a budget surplus of 60 Dash and 1064 USD due to the increased fiat value of Dash and tightly controlled costs.
  • Based on calls from the community and the results of this proposal I will be launching a pre-proposal for a large scale ($150,000+ pcm) AdWords campaign, working with a team that includes Lina B. Frank from Circus City as project manager.
  • The surplus from this proposal will be used as seed funding for this proposal and will be put towards the costs of the first month of operations if the proposal passes.
Conclusions

Core Was Right

I am fully convinced that Core did the right thing in hiring Ogilvy & Mather: Dash needs to adopt new key messages to reach a wider audience.

The creative content of the audio adverts received wide support from the community and suggestions for amendment were included in the final text which was also edited and approved by Wachsman PR, I am certain that the content was an accurate reflection of the features of Dash that are important to existing community members.

Based on 4.2 million impressions generating only 633 unique visitors it is clear that the process of drawing on the current community’s vision of Dash did not create compelling narratives for marketing Dash to people without an existing interest in cryptocurrency.

To communicate with a wider audience we need to create new narratives that resonate with people who have no knowledge of cryptocurrency. The best starting point for future campaigns will be the key messages, style guides and rebranding of Dash being created by Ogilvy & Mather and these should form the basis of future advertising campaigns. It is only by putting them to use that we will find which messages reach and resonate on the global scale that Dash operates at.

Adapt to Thrive

Being unable to change the content of the audio adverts during the campaign meant we were unable to adapt or test different messages. This hampered us significantly because we could not adapt when it became clear that it was necessary.

In the short term Dash advertising proposals should preference campaigns run on platforms that allow for quick changes of creative content to enable professional A/B testing and thus allow for the rapid evolution of both narrative and design. In the medium term we will have established the most effective key messages and can return to working with platforms such as WNYC.

The Medium is the Message

The highest engagements with the campaign came from the audience being exposed to multiple marketing messages across different formats in this case audio adverts, display adverts and inclusion in the email newsletter. Because of the novelty of Dash to anyone outside the cryptosphere it is essential to maximise the exposure of the brand through utilizing many different mediums.

Where relevant future campaigns should negotiate hard for exposure in multiple formats i.e. sponsorships should include messages being delivered across email, display, search results and mentioned by presenters where possible.

Mixed Messages

The two highest outlinks were YouTube, as a result of viewing the intro video and dashpay.atlassians.net and this represents a less than ideal situation as both of these do not present first time users with a clear path to understanding and adopting Dash.

While visitors will encounter the intro video if they click the title of the video it is not part of a playlist so therefore the next video to play will likely only be tangentially connected to Dash. It may be better to self host the video and prevent visitors leaving to youtube or to make the video part of a playlist, perhaps the Dash School series. Even if this is not done the video settings should be changed so that it does not display a selection of other potential videos at the end by unselecting the ‘Show suggested videos when the video finishes.’ option in the embed code on youtube, this action alone could significantly reduce the bounce rate.

The dashpay.atlassian.net site does not have a user focussed design and the information available there is extensive but far beyond the level of first time users. The priority should be keeping users on dash.org and having a clear user story and path through the site which enables a first time visitor to download the appropriate wallet. sign up with an exchange or find services that use Dash.

The Future is Bright

Beyond community members trying out the link in the first 3 weeks of the campaign almost every single visitor was viewing dash.org for the first time. This level of first time visitors points to the fact that globally the number of people that we have reached with the Dash brand and message is still tiny.

Dash is at the very beginning of its journey towards mass adoption, there is huge scope for further campaigns that provide exposure for Dash but only if we continue to work at it. This will involve as many painful lesson as it will soaring successes. The community needs to keep funding these efforts through the budget and proposal owners need to retain the courage to experiment and take the risks necessary to succeed. Changing the world was never going to be straightforward.

Signing Off
It has been a huge honour to work for the Dash DAO on both of my proposals and I have learned a great deal in the process.

My purpose in taking on this work is to spread the possibility of financial freedom across the globe by reaching mainstream audiences for the first time. Although the Radiolab proposal has not succeeded on the terms I set out with, I remain committed to learning from it and returning to work with renewed vigour on projects that support the Dash ecosystem and the cause of liberation.

I am available to answer questions as @Syntheist on the Dash Nation Discord and dash.org/forum and at [email protected]

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