[BIP-798] Balancer Foundation allocation for Marketing

Intro

Following the recent withdrawal of funding proposals for marketing service providers, the Balancer community has engaged in productive discussions regarding the optimal structure and strategy for promoting the protocol. The Foundation has actively participated in these conversations, gathering feedback from a diverse range of stakeholders and marketing professionals.

This proposal outlines a revised approach to Balancer's marketing efforts, shifting away from direct DAO funding of individual initiatives and towards a more strategic, Foundation-led model. This transition aims to prioritize long-term brand building while simultaneously driving measurable results aligned with community objectives.

Problem Statement

The previous marketing funding model, while well-intentioned, presented challenges in achieving consistent, impactful results. Direct DAO funding of previous providers lacked a cohesive strategy and often struggled to balance long-term brand development with immediate, measurable outcomes. The recent funding proposal withdrawals, with failure on reaching soft-consensus before vote, highlighted the need for a more structured and accountable approach.

Proposed Solution: A Foundation-Managed Marketing Fund

This proposal requests the allocation of $99,000 USD to the Balancer Foundation multisig. These funds will be earmarked for salaries/contractors, retroactively and beyond, with a new hire of a FT marketing professional for the next 6mo. So far, the Foundation absorbed marketing costs from previous savings, but we need a proper allocation to ensure effective continuation of all services.

In the following months, we will present a proposal for execution of a comprehensive marketing strategy, managed by the Foundation but overseen by long-term contributors and stakeholders, such as Maxis and BD, Balancer Labs, and BAL wrappers.

This Foundation-led model mirrors the successful approach currently employed for the Balancer frontend development. The frontend team, a critical component of the Balancer product, operates under a similar structure, receiving funding through the Foundation under direction of the DAO. This integrated approach ensures that frontend development is strategically aligned with the overall product roadmap and efficiently utilizes resources. Just as the frontend is an integral part of the product, marketing plays an equally crucial role in its success.

This unified approach maximizes efficiency, fosters collaboration, and ultimately strengthens the entire Balancer ecosystem:

• Strategic Alignment: The Foundation will implement a unified marketing strategy that aligns with the overall goals and vision of the Balancer protocol. This strategy will be informed by ongoing dialogue with community stakeholders and delegates, ensuring that marketing efforts reflect the collective priorities.
• Professional Expertise: The allocated funds will enable the Foundation to engage experienced marketing professionals, agencies, and consultants with specialized skills in areas such as branding, copywriting, social media management, public relations, and community engagement. This ensures access to top-tier talent and expertise.
• Accountability and Transparency: The Foundation will provide regular reports to the community on the progress of marketing initiatives, including key performance indicators (KPIs) and budget allocation. This fosters transparency and accountability in the use of funds (example of Product team community updates)
• Flexibility and Adaptability: The Foundation-managed model allows for greater flexibility in responding to evolving market conditions and community feedback. Resources can be strategically allocated and adjusted as needed to maximize impact.
• Long-Term Brand Building: While addressing immediate needs, this approach emphasizes the development of a strong, enduring brand for Balancer. This includes crafting a compelling narrative, enhancing brand recognition, and fostering a vibrant and engaged community.

Use of Funds

The $99,000 USDC allocation will be used to cover salary and contractor services, including but not limited to:

• Retroactive Collaborations (Jan/Feb): A portion of the funds will be allocated to compensate for marketing contributions during the period between funding proposal withdrawals and the implementation of this new model. This ensures that contributors are fairly compensated for their past work.
• Professional Services: The majority of the funds will be used to hire one full-time marketing professional.
• Discretionary budget: Allocation to freelancers for artwork, designs, campaigns etc.

Additionally, the new marketing team requests the remaining allocation from [BIP-738] and [BIP-612] to be kept under the Foundation for further enhancing the v3 campaigns, given the efforts were discontinued after the Marketing SP proposal was withdrawn.

Topic	Allocated funds ($)
Retroactive compensation	34,000
Professional services (1FTE) - 6months	45,000
Disc budget (design, campaigns) - 6months	20,000
BIP-738 unnalocated funds	18,968
BIP-612 unnalocated funds	7,034

Objectives and Key Results (OKR) Approach

Upon approval of this proposal, the Foundation will:

Objective 1: Maintain essential communications and social media management:

• Onboarding new marketing FTE/contractor.
• Partners engagement alongside BD team, onboarding chats and necessary meetings
• Copywriting for social media (X and Medium) and official comms (X and Discord);
• Engage with freelancers for artwork design in marketing campaigns
• Community management and moderation.
• Redirect Baller @danimim (user support, community engagement, mods, newsletter) under new to ad hoc marketing team

Objective 2: Develop a comprehensive marketing strategy:

• Taking from Balancer’s broader strategy and roadmap under development by Ecosystem Council (DAO + BLabs) and establishing clear objectives and KPIs.
• Propose additional marketing allocation with a comprehensive marketing plan presented to the community, request Treasury funds (as applicable).

Objective 3: Implementation of the marketing plan and transparency:

• Marketing activities will be rolled out across various channels, with ongoing monitoring and optimization.
• Provide regular updates to the community through regular reports on progress, budget allocation, and key performance indicators.

Conclusion

This proposal represents a significant step forward in the evolution of Balancer's marketing efforts. By shifting to a Foundation-led model, we can leverage professional expertise, ensure strategic alignment, and drive measurable results. We believe this approach will significantly enhance the visibility and adoption of the Balancer protocol, contributing to its long-term success.

Specification

If approved, The Balancer Foundation will allocate the resources above to the Balancer OpCo Limited marketing team. No additional transfers from the DAO Treasury are needed, and funds will be allocated from previous savings.