Let’s take the lead on ethical marketing
When the Initial Coin Offering (ICO) hype hit fever pitch in 2017 projects were selling hopes and dreams as they if they were just around the corner, and this ‘blockchain’ thing was about to change our lives forever.
It changed many people’s lives for the better, and made a lot of millionaires – but not everyone’s. Thousands, if not more, globally were financially crippled by this market that had promised so much but yet was built purely upon fantastical promises and delusions of grandeur – company executives who believed their own bullshit.
They clamoured for more money, raising irresponsible figures that were simply not needed. And these poor souls poured their savings into this, not wanting to miss out on the bright future that was promised for the planet and their wallets.
Focus on the tangible
Now, this may seem dark and dreary, but I will always be a realist. If something stinks, don’t pretend it doesn’t. Try washing it. If it still stinks, throw it away. We as an industry need to start looking at deliverables and what lies just around the corner that will tangible in the short term, and start talking about that.
The fault of this hype cycle lies in many places, but one thing is for sure – no one who has run an ICO in the past two years can truly say that they didn’t gloss things up beyond what would fair and acceptable in a regulated sale such as an Initial Public Offering (IPO).
There are scores of projects with investors. And let’s not pretend they’re not investors as they put money in expecting a greater return than what they started with, who are craving liquidity and purpose for their tokens only to be told that aspect is now going to be on the backburner or even that the tokens may never actually hold a purpose.
Bitcoin has seen huge returns and there were many tokens that created millionaires overnight, in some cases. This has led to people looking for the next get-rich-quick scheme, and without regulation and proper education this creates an environment that is rife with easy targets for scammers and inflated hope of earning money.
Traditional markets are not saviours of the universe by means– look at fast-food advertising and big pharma in the US. They, too, prey on people’s desires and propensity to crave satisfaction at a chemical level, lusting for the release of endorphins from a perceived success. In the end, though, this leads to an emptiness and a constant need for stimulation that can make rational thought depart. This is also known as addiction.
Three phases of development
So, what’s next? Marketing and advertising a product is deeply rooted in the development and growth of a business right from the start. Brands come and go, get acquired and change with times very often, but every company will have a brand bible that they stay true to and follows their core ethics. Ethics can change too, but we’re in 2019 so let’s keep them in line with current times.
When you start a project, or even look back and assess where you are right now, it is important to look at business in three defined phases: the present, the near future (micro marketing) and fantasy (macro marketing).
The present: this one is obvious. Talk about and sell what you are actually doing right now. Not what you want to do – what you are doing. If you are yet to build anything tangible yet, get building. Let’s get away from the money-for-nothing mindset of ICOs past.
If you are building, and it’s early days, tell the world about what, and why, you are building. This is where you define your mission statement and couple it with a statement of intent that you can show – again, get building.
Micro and macro marketing
Micro marketing: this is the step beyond beta, the step where you can start to gain real traction. It is imperative to not be too grandiose in your plans and talk about areas that you can deliver on within the next six-to-12 months. From an investor perspective this shows that you can be level-headed and think rationally (something often overlooked), and it shows a potential user or customer what they can expect to have in their hands in a timeframe that they can relate to. The longer in the future this is, the more likely they are to look for alternatives. The caveat to this, though, is that if you promise the world and the first release is far below expectations then you will have a disgruntled customer base. This is the most influential stage of ethical marketing – you need to sell but not oversell.
Macro marketing: here you can let your imagination run wild, within reason. If you’re selling tokens for space travel, and your name isn’t Elon Musk, just stop. Elon, if you’re reading this, make it happen. It is this pillar of marketing that having a thought-leader or visionary (though I hate that nomenclature) for a founder can really pay dividends. Those who can see beyond the constraints of society and technology as it stands are those who will be influential in our progression as humanity. Henry Ford once famously said: “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.”
Finally, something to contemplate is: what is the purpose of your token, and do you really need it? When asking people to do something new, the user experience must be equal to or greater than what is currently accessible. Without it, you will not get mass adoption.
Alastair Band, founder, Verum Ventures (alastair@verum.ventures), in conversation with James Bowater
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