Polkadot in the Storm: Marketing Millions and Mounting Discontent
Polkadot’s recent financial report has sparked a firestorm within its community. The report revealed a hefty marketing spend of $87 million in the first half of 2024, with $37 million going towards attracting new users, developers, and businesses. However, the community is fuming, questioning the return on investment (ROI) for such a significant expenditure.
Polkadot Millions on Marketing, Invisibility on the Charts
Ignas, co-founder of Pink Brains, took a deep dive into the report, highlighting specific areas of spending and criticising Polkadot.
The report highlights questionable spending choices. Polkadot shelled out $10 million on ads and sponsorships, $4.4 million on influencers, and a whopping $4 million on digital ads. Despite this aggressive marketing push, Polkadot seems to have little to no brand recognition.
Polkadot spent $37m USD in outreach during the first half of 2024, targeting new users, developers, and businesses
— Ignas | DeFi (@DefiIgnas) July 1, 2024
• $10m on ads/sponsorships
• $4.4m on influencers
• $4m on digital ads
Yet Polkadot still seems invisible on X and elsewhere. pic.twitter.com/pk0haLvuNm
The spending spree doesn’t stop there. Ignas further breaks down the expenses, revealing a $6.8 million sports sponsorship deal with a soccer club, $1.9 million for sponsoring a race car driver, and a $1.3 million esports partnership. Influencer marketing wasn’t spared either, with a hefty $4.9 million allocated to this avenue.
Co-founder of Manta Network Dives into Discontent
The community’s frustration extends beyond just marketing spend. Victor Ji, co-founder of Manta Network, a former top project within the Polkadot ecosystem, took to social media to express his disappointment. Ji criticized the ecosystem’s alleged toxicity, lack of focus on user adoption, and, most alarmingly, accusations of discrimination against Asian founders.
As the founder of the previous largest (non-DOT) TVL and market cap/FDV project in the Polkadot ecosystem, I have to say that we do not want to engage with the Polkadot ecosystem and team at all. It is a highly toxic ecosystem that lacks any real value for web3, and it does not… https://t.co/YxAPF1CYC9
— victorji.eth ✨🌊✈️EthCC (@victorJi15) July 2, 2024
Ji went on to express his disillusionment with the Polkadot team’s alleged lack of support for builders within their ecosystem. He revealed that Manta Network, due to these issues, has entirely shifted its focus away from DOT and is no longer actively pursuing its Atlantic parachain project.
Enter ZachXbt: Throwing Shade
The drama took another turn when crypto-influencer ZachXbt entered the fray. He counters Ji’s claims, pointing out a prior incident where Manta Network allegedly dumped a significant amount of their token, MANTA, at launch without prior warning.
Source: X
ZachXbt further questions Ji’s stance on marketing practices, highlighting Manta Network’s past collaboration with a controversial influencer.
Polkadot’s Million Dollar Question
With a disgruntled community, a co-founder of a major project jumping ship, and questions swirling around marketing effectiveness, the platform finds itself at a crossroads. The hefty marketing spend has yet to translate into mainstream recognition, leaving many wondering if its flashy campaigns were a million-dollar miss.
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