Please describe your proposed solution

YouTube serves as an effective onboarding platform for both new and existing users in the blockchain space. For many, YouTube content is the first point of exposure to cryptocurrency/blockchain technology and quickly becomes a go to source of information throughout their blockchain journey. In this respect the YouTube algorithm is responsible for shaping a large portion of blockchain users outlook, preferences and activity. We already have brilliant Cardano content creators on YouTube, however penetrating this algorithm and competing against the marketing reach of paid 'influencers' from the Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana and SUI ecosystems is becoming an increasingly more difficult task. This coupled with the fact that price related content dominates user feeds, means we have an uphill struggle in educating/adopting new users that value things like decentralization, researched backed technology, security, true ownership and ultra-inclusivity. 'S₳PIEN' as a Cardano tech based YouTube channel focusses solely on tackling this problem head on…

S₳PIEN content and proposal strategy:

The strategy behind this proposal is for Sapien to continue producing a stream of high quality 'evergreen' educational Cardano documentary/infotainment style videos & market them to a wider tech/blockchain based audience via effective search engine marketing campaigns. Across a 6 month period 20 long-form Cardano video productions will be marketed through SEM campaigns. This includes videos already produced/currently in production along side future releases. Based on my proof of concept SEM seed test results (detailed within this proposal), with a relatively conservative marketing budget we can estimate channel growth between 50,000 - 75,000 subscribers after implementing the work outlined in this proposal. This will lay the foundations for accelerated organic growth and dramatically enhance the reach/profile of a channel dedicated to driving adoption of the Cardano blockchain through tech based thought provoking content.

The Cardano S₳PIEN YouTube channel creates long-form content surrounding:

• Cardano tech breakdowns
• Educational deep-dives
• Counter misinformation narratives
• Evolution of Cardano governance
• Bigger picture blockchain perspective
• The Cardano philosophy and mission
• The network state
• Other Cardano concepts for wider tech audience

Evergreen content

Unlike news updates or price related videos Cardano Sapien content is designed to not have an expiry date and can serve as educational material for the years to come. The content is evergreen, meaning there is a greater chance it will collect views and engagement over a much longer time-period. This timeless Cardano content will serve as a valuable source of well researched and structured information to help attract and educate new or existing users in the ecosystem. Furthermore, although the content is suited for a blockchain or crypto currency audience many of the video concepts and part of the marketing strategy will be aimed at a wider tech interested demographic to increase the adoption wins securing new users currently outside of this space.

In collaboration with 'Cardano Fans'

The scope and delivery outlined in this proposal is in collaboration with the Cardano Fans stake pool (CRFA) https://cardano.fans. Specifically working with co-founder and Cardano architect <span class="mention" data-denotation-char="" data-id="129178" data-index="0" data-value="<member id='24107' communityId='163'>matiwinnetou</member>"><span contenteditable="false"><span class="ql-mention-denotation-char"></span><member communityid="163" id="24107">matiwinnetou</member></span></span> who brings a wealth of blockchain knowledge, developer insights and industry expertise to the content creation process. Together we have been working on a stream of Cardano video concepts, many have already been published on the channel. This collaborative effort increases the video content quality, impact and adds significant value to the wider strategy of this project. Our collaboration on Cardano video concepts will continue throughout the implementation of this proposal and beyond. For full transparency, if successfully funded, Cardano Fans will not be paid contributors so will not receive any of the proposed funding. Instead the Cardano Fans stake pool will be promoted through each of the video's published. The work here has already started and so far 11 long-form Cardano videos surrounding the above topics have been produced:

Videos the S₳PIEN and Cardano Fans collaboration has so far produced:

• What makes Cardano the killer blockchain: A comprehensive breakdown of the key advantages and features of the Cardano blockchain
• Cardano for Bitcoiners series (6 parts and counting): A series dedicated to analyzing the myths and misconceptions about the Cardano blockchain
• Ouroboros Genesis: A breakdown of the research behind this ground-breaking protocol and how it achieves 'Bitcoin level' security in a proof-of-stake system
• Formally verified smart contracts: How Cardano's architecture enables formally verified smart contracts and comparison to Ethereum's EVM global state model
• Cardano and the network state: Exploring the 'network state' concept and how the Cardano blockchain could facilitate it
• Blockchain governance: Bitcoin, Ethereum and Cardano governance models explored and compared to the one Satoshi described in the original Bitcoin whitepaper

The channel is in the process of building an extensive Cardano content catalogue &amp; playlists surrounding a variety of adoption focused subject matters:

<https://www.youtube.com/c/S-PIEN>Search engine marketing:

SEM campaigns are an effective way to bypass the YouTube algorithm, increase the video's exposure and secure new subscribers who go on to watch future content organically. Views and engagement breeds more views and organic growth. A potential viewer is far more likely to click on a video that already has a higher view count. Often videos with higher views are perceived to be more quality or valuable in terms of the information they hold. This is a key area blockchain ecosystems like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana and SUI are capitalizing on. In using paid reach with huge marketing budgets to boost the videos visibility, they are able to obtain much higher viewership, video exposure and subsequently are benefiting from the perceived 'popularity' or 'relevance' of the content in terms of the blockchain ecosystems they represent. Currently new entrants or curious tech lovers are far more likely to be exposed to those ecosystems leading to lost opportunity for further Cardano adoption. This is something we need to counter.

A provably scalable adoption focused Cardano YouTube channel?

Implementing google search engine marketing campaigns on Cardano Sapien content has already proven to be a fast and effective way to scale the channel. I conducted a proof of concept seed test on 3 recent videos to assess the viability of this strategy and have detailed the results below:

$693 total spend (across 3 selected videos).

9010 total campaign views ($0.07 per view).

3413 total subscribers during the campaign period ($0.20 per sub).

2731 estimated subscribers direct from the campaigns ($0.25 per sub) *

*to account for the potential impact of organic growth during the live campaigns I have factored in -20% from the overall total.

From the data we can comfortably estimate the new subscriber acquisition is between $0.20 and $0.25 per subscriber. The most valuable areas of impact from SEM campaigns are:

• A low cost per view increasing the videos reach and organic click rate potential
• Bypass the algorithm and place the video content in front of a much larger and well targeted audience
• A low cost per subscriber which fuels growth as they start watching future releases organically in addition to already published content
• Significantly enhances overall video impressions leading to more eyes and views on Cardano related content

The results of the seed test are displayed below:

Project Impact

Over a sustained period (6 months) implementing search engine marketing campaigns will significantly raise the profile of the Sapien YouTube channel in both subscriber base and viewership. The success of the project can be quantified based on these metrics. As evidenced in my seed test, this will enhance the organic growth of the channel furthering the reach/impact of informative Cardano videos and feed into the projects future sustainability.

I have a proven track record in delivering impactful Cardano content and adopting new users to the ecosystem. This proposal will help fast track growth and enable the channel to become a credible beacon (in terms of size) to more effectively compete with the content creators of other blockchain ecosystems in the battle of acquiring new users. If funded and the growth estimations based on the seed test conducted come to fruition, the ecosystem will have another sizable YouTube platform that specializes in Cardano based tech content.

Beyond Project Catalyst

Sapien as a Cardano ecosystem YouTube Channel existed before and will continue do so beyond the framework outlined in this proposal. Whist the proposal focusses on a 6 month growth strategy, my content will continue to be released before and after its implementation. Furthermore monetizing the channel to become self sustainable outside of this proposal will be a byproduct of meeting these growth metrics and continuing the stream of Cardano content I produce.

Please define the positive impact your project will have on the wider Cardano community

Value

The ultimate goal of this project is to scale the audience and continue producing high quality impactful Cardano tech/adoption based video content. Sapien as a project intends on continuing to operate as a source of Cardano information and serve as an effective onboarding mechanism to adopt new users through detailed, well researched thought provoking content. My educational deep dive video concepts aim to counter misinformation narratives, deliver core Cardano tech breakdowns, communicate the Cardano mission and evolution of governance, all while delivering a much needed bigger picture perspective.

Measuring results

The impact and results of this project will be completely available in the public domain. Each video included in the SEM campaigns will be published on the Sapien YouTube channel and the growth metrics in terms of subscribers and views are publicly available. All releases and channel developments are communicated directly on the YouTube platform itself and through Sapien's official X profile. All SEM spends and channel growth results will also be evidenced in each of the project milestone reports.

What is your capability to deliver your project with high levels of trust and accountability? How do you intend to validate if your approach is feasible?

Project delivery

Sapien is already an established YouTube channel in the Cardano ecosystem with a growing subscriber base and content catalogue. My capabilities in delivering this project can be evidenced through the content already published on the channel and success of my recent seed test where I conducted search engine marketing campaigns for selected Cardano videos. I'm extremely dedicated to the Cardano cause and have been championing its technological capabilities and transformative potential through my video content for over 3 years.

Cardano Fans collaboration and contribution

Further solidifying this projects impact and potential is the valuable contribution of Cardano Fans in the content creation process. Our collaboration includes video concept brainstorming and regular content creation meetings where these concepts are explored in detail to create a well thought-out and strategic approach to the videos produced. Increasing the number of minds behind this process is an extremely valuable component and can be demonstrated through the work we have so far produced together in our collaboration.

What are the key milestones you need to achieve in order to complete your project successfully?

Milestone 1: Project milestones will be based on the following metrics:

• 5 videos produced and marketed through SEM campaigns
• SEM budget spend for each video (evidenced)
• SEM channel growth statistics (evidenced)

Milestone 2: - 5 videos produced and marketed through SEM campaigns

• SEM budget spend for each video (evidenced)
• SEM channel growth statistics (evidenced)

Milestone 3: - 5 videos produced and marketed through SEM campaigns

• SEM budget spend for each video (evidenced)
• SEM channel growth statistics (evidenced)

Final Milestone: - 5 videos produced and marketed through SEM campaigns

• SEM budget spend for each video (evidenced)
• SEM channel growth statistics (evidenced)

The final milestone will also detail the complete 6 month video releases (20), total SEM budget spend and total channel growth metrics for this period.

Who is in the project team and what are their roles?

Project proposer: Cardano Sapien (Cardano YouTube content creator)

YouTube Channel:

<https://www.youtube.com/c/S-PIEN>X Profile: https://x.com/Cardano_Sapien

Role and responsibilities:

• Video concept planning and brainstorming sessions
• Video concept research
• Script writing
• Video narration
• Video audio and visual production
• Video publishing and social media promotion
• Search Engine Marketing (building and managing campaigns)
• Project budget management
• Project milestone delivery

Co-proposer: Cardano Fans (https://cardano.fans/) co-founder and Cardano architect <span class="mention" data-denotation-char="" data-id="129178" data-index="0" data-value="<member id='24107' communityId='163'>matiwinnetou</member>"><span contenteditable="false"><span class="ql-mention-denotation-char"></span><member communityid="163" id="24107">matiwinnetou</member></span></span>

X Profile: <https://x.com/matiwinnetou>

Role and responsibilities:

• Video concept planning and brainstorming sessions
• Video concept research
• Social media video promotion

Please provide a cost breakdown of the proposed work and resources

SEM Video Campaigns (based on seed test completed) - ₳50,000

₳50,000 will be allocated to the SEM campaigns and divided equally across each video release. This works out to ₳2500 per video, approximately $875 of marketing budget per video campaign. Based on seed test performance we can conservatively estimate channel growth to the amount of 50,000 - 75,000 subscribers for the total allocated budget across the 20 video releases. The seed test and SEM campaigns outlined in this proposal were and will be delivered using 'Sprizzy' a YouTube video promotion service: <https://sprizzy.com/> The video ads created are displayed to a targeted audience directly on the YouTube platform.

SEM campaign setup and management - ₳10,000

₳10,000 will be allocated to cover the time for setting up and managing the SEM video campaigns. Each video advertising campaign will last approximately 1-2 weeks. This works out to ₳500 ($175) per SEM video campaign. Each video advert will be created and managed using the Sprizzy platform. Campaign set-up and management approximately 1 hour per day (7-14 hours per campaign).

Video production - ₳40,000

₳40,000 will be allocated to cover the cost for producing each video. This works out to ₳2000 per video, approximately $700 for each of the 20 video releases. The video production process takes on average 60 hours per video ($11.66 p/h). This includes video concept planning/brainstorming sessions, research, script writing, recording narration, editing visual frames, post production and publishing.

n/a

How does the cost of the project represent value for money for the Cardano ecosystem?

The costs outlined in this proposal represents value for money for the Cardano ecosystem in the following key areas:

• Delivers a low cost effective solution to scaling a Cardano tech/adoption focused YouTube Channel
• Significantly increases the reach and profile of informative adoption focused Cardano video content
• Funds the pathway for the project to become self-sustainable to continue its contribution in educating and driving adoption to the Cardano blockchain