[BIP-632] Fund Beethoven X DAO - Marketing for July - December 2024

PR with Payload

https://github.com/BalancerMaxis/multisig-ops/pull/1071

Service Provider Name: Beethoven X DAO

Leader(s): Jedi, Naly, Vee

Pledge to abide by the DAO's Code of Conduct (or link to your own):

Pledge to abide by the Accountability Guidelines:

Introduction & Domains of Operation

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Over the past six months, the Beethoven X Marketing SP has strived to play an impactful role in supporting the Balancer DAO's mission to be recognized as a leader in AMM innovation.

Our efforts have been multifaceted, focusing on producing high-quality educational content, strengthening community engagement through social media, collaborating with key partners, and refining brand development and visual creativity. We have also supported core growth strategies and laid the groundwork for the successful launch of Balancer v3 in Q4 this year.

As we near the completion and release of the v3 codebase to the public, Balancer v3 offers a golden opportunity to redefine our position as a driving force in AMM innovation. Inspired by much of what was expressed in Fernando's recent vision post, we remain highly optimistic about Balancer's future and are fully committed to supporting the ecosystem to the best of our abilities.

As the current funding period under BIP-519 draws to a close, this proposal seeks an extension of funding for the continuation of marketing services from July 1, 2024, to December 31, 2024.

The following sections will discuss some of the key initiatives behind our efforts over the past six months as well as highlight future goals for the next half.

Key Initiatives & Success Metrics

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Education & Content

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Objective:

Driving awareness of Balancer’s core value propositions is the cornerstone of our content creation strategy. As such, we have continued to focus on educational content to enhance the understanding and adoption of Balancer’s core product market fit (PMFs).

Focus:

1. Yield Bearing Hub
   • With innovations in Liquid Staking Tokens (LSTs), yield-bearing stablecoins, and Liquid Restaked Tokens (LRTs), Balancer's technology has been crucial in optimizing liquidity for yield-bearing assets. We have focused on developing articles and educational resources to illustrate the benefits of Balancer’s technology in this area.

Key Content:

Yield Bearing Asset Thesis:

https://medium.com/balancer-protocol/balancer-the-yield-bearing-asset-thesis-f44489ba2deb

Balancer showcasing it’s PMF with the Liquid Re-staking Narrative: https://x.com/Balancer/status/1749779120450601256

https://x.com/Balancer/status/1759582409526521859

https://x.com/Balancer/status/1760673085131518220

https://x.com/Balancer/status/1768623354532253908

https://x.com/Balancer/status/1780991371966607684

https://x.com/Balancer/status/1788705818814394807

Brought the first Yield Bearing SOL asset to the Ethereum Ecosystem: https://x.com/Balancer/status/1785028800797175858

Showcasing innovative solutions for staked stablecoins: https://x.com/Balancer/status/1786391170194821623

2. 8020

• The 8020 initiative continues to drive significant value for the Balancer ecosystem. We have continued to develop educational resources to demonstrate the benefits of this model as well as collaborated closely with various projects to co-market and highlight their success stories.

Key Content:

ve8020 notion pack for partners: The ve8020 Initiative

Continued the ve8020 narrative on X: https://x.com/Balancer/status/1749001706430718356 https://x.com/Balancer/status/1749930025384853982 https://x.com/Balancer/status/1767500752740835777

3. Building on Balancer

• Balancer distinguishes itself as a platform enabling true AMM experimentation and innovation. We have strived to bring awareness to this by showcasing Balancer’s unique product-market fit (PMF) and highlighting the various AMMs built on Balancer by external teams

Key content:

Explaining the cold start problem: https://x.com/Balancer/status/1790455748016668699

Showcasing custom AMM adoption across DeFi: https://x.com/Balancer/status/1798414505325871318

https://x.com/Balancer/status/1801322082698961038

https://x.com/Balancer/status/1784942600925196680

https://x.com/Balancer/status/1796228354850570732

Breaking down new custom pools: https://x.com/Balancer/status/1785747336049930252 https://x.com/Balancer/status/1785748797340979451 https://x.com/Balancer/status/1793264880226640373

Partnerships & Strategy

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Objective: Balancer’s long-term success is intrinsically linked to the success of the protocols and products built on our platform. As such we have strived to build stronger relationships with key partners to amplify our ecosystem's reach, enhance Balancer’s product offerings, and drive collaboration.

Focus: By closely collaborating with partners to co-develop marketing campaigns, curate educational content, and ideate on community initiatives we have actively strengthened existing foundations and forged new connections within our broader ecosystem.

Case Studies:

1. Gyroscope:

   • The integration of Gyroscope’s E-CLP invariant into Balancer’s platform has been a significant milestone. This collaboration has facilitated over $1.1 billion in volume, demonstrating enhanced capital efficiency and validating Gyroscope’s innovative AMM model within Balancer’s ecosystem. Gyroscope has been a testament to the power of Balancer’s infrastructure, setting a solid foundation for other projects to follow.

   https://x.com/Balancer/status/1795891066626789774

2. Aura:

   • Aura plays a crucial role in the Balancer ecosystem by aggregating and boosting yield for liquidity providers who stake their BPTs. Building a stronger relationship with Aura's marketing team has been a priority over recent months, especially after the disbandment of Orb. Our collaborative marketing efforts with Aura aim to significantly strengthen our users understanding of the broader Balancer x Aura ecosystem, drive community engagement, and showcase the synergistic potential of working together in DeFi.

   https://blog.aura.finance/what-is-balancer

3. CowSwap:

   • CowSwap plays a crucial role in the evolution of AMMs by focusing on minimizing MEV and optimizing trade execution. Collaborating with CowSwap is an essential strategy for Balancer, with the potential to propel Balancer to the forefront of AMM innovation with a successful new product. Over the past few months, we have worked closely with the CowSwap team to create educational material regarding LVR (Loss Versus Rebalancing) mitigation strategies for AMMs as well as to develop a Go-To-Market campaign for the upcoming launch of CoW AMM on Balancer.

   https://x.com/Balancer/status/1793264880226640373

Design

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Objective:

To enhance the Balancer brand by creating a cohesive and visually compelling identity that resonates with our target audience, supports our strategic goals, and reinforces Balancer’s position as a leader in DeFi innovation.

Focus:

1. Brand Development:

   • With v3 almost ready for release, we have worked closely with Pon to help evolve the Balancer visual identity for the upcoming UI release and Z3N rebrand. This collaboration includes the development of a comprehensive brand style guide and asset library to be used across various content verticals, supporting contributors and partners, and ensuring a cohesive and impactful visual presence for Balancer's upcoming initiatives.

2. v3 Landing Page:

   • As part of the upcoming launch for v3, we have assisted with curating and developing content for the v3 landing page. This effort ensures the page effectively communicates Balancer's core value propositions and embodies Balancer's distinctive style.

3. Visual Content Creation:

   • Alongside the v3 launch, we have consistently supported marketing-related content with visual imagery. This effort complements the broader marketing strategy and helps to explain content in a more visually engaging way.

v3

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Objective: As we finalize and prepare to release the v3 codebase, the launch of Balancer v3 presents a prime opportunity to reassert our leadership in AMM innovation. Our primary objective is to present Balancer v3 in the most favorable light, offering thorough education on its key features, executing a comprehensive marketing campaign, and ensuring alignment with business development, design, and strategic partnerships.

Focus:

1. v3 strategy

• Our primary objective has been to ensure that all key elements behind Balancer v3 are aligned for maximum effectiveness. This includes defining Balancer’s value proposition for developers building custom AMMs, creating a framework for developer onboarding, and prioritizing critical focus areas. Key initiatives included crafting a compelling landing page with marketing and Pon, developing an informative pitch deck with Lipman, and formulating custom AMM liquidity strategies by Mike B and Tritium. By synchronizing these efforts, we aim to showcase Balancer v3’s unique strengths and drive its successful launch and adoption.

1. Go-to-Market (G2M) Strategy:

• Our Go-to-Market (G2M) strategy for the v3 launch has been coordinated to build anticipation and e...