Proposal “pr-2016-fall-pt1“ (Closed)Back

Title:PR - Fall Campaign Pre-Funding
Owner:babygiraffe
One-time payment: 134 DASH (3973 USD)
Completed payments: 1 totaling in 134 DASH (0 month remaining)
Payment start/end: 2016-07-06 / 2016-08-20 (added on 2016-06-28)
Final voting deadline: in passed
Votes: 756 Yes / 131 No / 0 Abstain
External information: www.dashwhale.org/p/pr-2016-fall-pt1

Proposal description

This is a cross-post from Dash Forum

As a core team, we committed to reserving at least 20% of the monthly budget for community efforts until at least one week prior to the budget cycle payments. However, as we are currently less than a week from the budget payments and it appears that a good amount of the budget is still unused, we are requesting some additional projects be funded from the remaining unused budget. The amount of unused budget remaining after today's other core team budget proposals is 133.98 Dash.

Our current public relations firm's contract - which is funded through the community-sponsored Dash World proposal - expires at the end of July. We anticipate the need for another PR contract in the fall, probably starting in September after the slow summer holiday period is over.

Although a firm and contract for September onward is not yet selected / signed, we would like to start pre-funding the expenses that will be needed in the August budget period to start another PR contract effective September 1st. In order to fund any contract, we will
obviously need an additional funding proposal approved by the network as this small "leftover" amount is insufficient to fund a contract. It is simply that since a small amount of the July budget is still unallocated, we thought it prudent to capture the unused amount toward savings for this future need (thus reducing the needed amount in August).

Requested funding is as follows for the July 6th budget cycle:
Total: 133.98 Dash

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Discussion: Should we fund this proposal?

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0 points,7 years ago
Also voted no. Having leftover DASH is a good thing. Needing to allocate all funding available is a government-type mindset.
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0 points,7 years ago
The reason for this proposal is not for the purposes of consuming all funds. We maintain a prioritized list of funding needs on an ongoing basis. This list is not unlimited, but rather defined by the needs of our strategy and business goals. Unfortunately, at this time funding is insufficient to meet all of our needs, to such an extent that core team members barely receive any salary (well below minimum wage).

If the community is not slated with projects to consume the funds we set aside for community ideas / efforts, we have identified high-value needs for these funds that the core team believes will be valuable for Dash. So we are being needs-driven and explicitly seeking to avoid the "government-type" spend-it-all mindset you reference.

Part of effective financial planning and resource management is planning ahead for expected expenses. We already know that starting in September our strategy will temporarily call for more resources than will be available in those month's budgets, but by planning ahead like this, we can reduce the strain on the September budget. That is the reasoning / rationale... not simply because it is there.
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0 points,7 years ago
Thanks for the explanation, and the reasoning behind it. This was the first time I initially voted against one your proposals, and have decided to change my vote. It makes sense the way you explained it. Keep up the great work!
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0 points,7 years ago
Thank you for the kind words and for supporting our strategy. We now have processes in place to much better plan and prioritize our financial needs, so you'll see more of the types of proposals that are planning ahead for future needs, and fewer "reimbursements" in which we are requesting funds that were already spent.
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1 point,7 years ago
Voting no for the "we think we will use this for" proposal.

I also want an extrovert with some communication or advertising knowledge managing a marketing proposal. Then we can enable some creative ideas and really get things moving. Maybe that is Dash World 2, Dash Nation Involvement, or a community micro project funding proposal.

I'll enjoy the 0.0007 % increase in value of my holdings by letting these funds go unused.
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1 point,7 years ago
To clarify, these funds are not to be used for a marketing campaign. They are slated for use towards public relations which generally are not "creative ideas" oriented tasks. PR firms help with placement of Dash stories in cryptocurrency, finance, business, technology, and mainstream media, help refine our messaging and content for different audiences, and help position Dash team members as subject matter experts to news / media writers (with which they should have good contacts). We also obtain the opportunity to network with other clients and contacts a PR firm has in the cryptocurrency ecosystem.

We have found these relationships to be helpful in the past at opening doors, including some upcoming business partnerships and opportunities to gain access to speaking engagements, etc. Therefore, we believe that engagement with effective PR agencies is an important part of our outreach efforts.

I hope that helps clarify the difference between traditional creative marketing vs. the value of a PR firm. Dash World is a combination of both, which might be part of the confusion.
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0 points,7 years ago
You convinced me. Wish this info was also available in the description, I can't always follow all the forum threads to remember what the PR team was actually good for. Btw when will the big flagship partnership be anounced?
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0 points,7 years ago
Yes, perhaps I should have clarified the expected roles of the PR firm. I am trying to balance being succinct and including enough information and I don't always get the balance right. But at least Q&A can close any info gaps.

Unfortunately, I don't know the date of the expected partnership announcement as I'm not directly involved. The plan has matured and we are now planning a series of activities surrounding the launch (e.g., video tutorials, press, bounties for breaking PrivacyProtect, etc.), so it might take longer than originally expected back when we were just thinking "press release and done". It's a big win for us, and we want to knock it out of the park.
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0 points,7 years ago
I'm starting to get an uneasy feeling about these pre-funding budget proposals that are popping up now,
they remind me of the catch-all proposals from Evan that were downvoted.

I gotta say the more come across them the more likely i'm voting no to them, specially if i dont see a necessity to them. Certain pre-funding proposals can just as easily be launched and voted upon within the superblock period they are intended for.
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1 point,7 years ago
Excessively vague. Voting no.
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0 points,7 years ago
What's not clear?
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0 points,7 years ago
This proposal actually says: "133.98-5 Dash for anticipated public relations activities possibly in September.

What it doesn't say is:
Who is leading it? Daniel? Tungfa?
What is it used for? Advertising, Shows, Travel, Dash Mugs, etc.
Who is it going to? Transform PR, Google ads for "What is dash?", more website work, another marketing firm. Nothing even suggested.
When? Possibly September but only a suggestion.

I get the idea of planning ahead. Just get a specific expense lined up when you submit a proposal. A non-core community member would never be able to get any yes votes for submitting a proposal like this.
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0 points,7 years ago
Sure. I'm sorry if it wasn't clear.
What is it used for? Funding the hiring of a public relations firm, starting in the fall.
Who is it going to? A public relations firm yet to be determined. I can tell you that we would seek to avoid a highly controversial selection. We have never hired a marketing firm, so certainly not "another marketing firm". Public relations are marketing are distinct activities.
When? We are aiming for a September start date, pending successfully signing with a firm by that date that we are satisfied with.

Across multiple posts, there seems to be a theme of concern that these funds will be used for purposes that the community will not approve of had they known the details of the firm being contracted (e.g., concern that we might hire a specific firm). This proposal only amounts to about $800. That is a small fraction of one month's worth of a PR contract and would be insufficient to hire a firm for even one month. Consequently, by setting aside these funds early, we have set this up in a way that the network is not relinquishing any final say over approving a detailed proposal for the remaining needed funds in the future (when the firm and contract details are known). Looking at September, we have a lot of activity ramping up on the development side and if we want to have the money for a PR firm as well, we need to start saving now. This is why we are planning ahead, yet in a way that the network retains the final say.
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0 points,7 years ago
Oh, and who is leading this? The PR selection process is a group decision... we will be interviewing and reviewing proposals as a team to reach consensus on the firm we are most comfortable will deliver the best results.
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0 points,7 years ago
Oh, I don't see a need to pin it down that much myself. It's earmarked for a purpose, and that's all I need to know (well that and that I agree with the purpose, and the idea of setting funds aside now) I know some people don't agree with saving up funds and would rather them never be created. At this point in time, I'm not of that mindset. Though I reserve the right to change my mind if money isn't spent correctly :)
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0 points,7 years ago
*or isn't needed :)
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