Marketing Bounty Refill May 2025
Executive Summary:
This proposal requests 1 200 000 DOT (6 × 200 000) to extend the Polkadot Marketing Bounty for six months. Over the past term, the current Marketing Bounty reduced expenditures by 72% - from USD 16.10 M to USD 4.47 M - while maintaining a 4% administrative overhead.
Governance processes saw 128 submissions reviewed and 44 recipients funded across ecosystem projects, agencies, and contractors in over 19 different countries. Strategic allocations to Marketing Infrastructure, Platform Integration, and Innovation delivered a 430% increase in social mentions and a push of services in marketing & communications that involved education, stablecoins & payments, lead generation, brand recognition, broadcasting, product placement and research.
Key partnerships include BLAST Premier (E-sports) and Serotonin (Full Service Agency) for the APAC region. Additionally, inter-bounty communication channels were established, creating a durable foundation for sustained ecosystem engagement.
Continued funding will underwrite the Polkadot App launch, AssetHub stablecoin initiatives, and further ecosystem campaigns, ensuring disciplined stewardship and measurable impact for all stakeholders.
We are also adding Mark Cachia from Scytale Digital to strengthen our investment strategy and Sergi Mata from Magenta Labs to drive business development outreach.
Comments (8)
Hey All.
Sharing a couple of recent AAG appearance related to this MB Refill.
May 29 - 00:16:40 - #236 - Marketing Bounty
May 22 - 02:01:30 = #234 - The App
Thanks For Your Consideration.
J.
❌ Structural issues in Polkadot’s communication
1. Inefficient use of resources
The budget cut was a major strategic mistake. I don’t understand how the funds currently being requested are being used, and the management appears clearly flawed. It is urgent to hire someone with real marketing expertise. At this point, I seriously question the qualifications of the current communication team. The Marketing Bounty Twitter account hasn’t posted anything since May 2nd — which is unacceptable for a marketing team.
📉 Disconnect between content and the retail audience
Despite a strong foundation — 600,000 YouTube subscribers and a technically engaged community on Discord, Reddit, and Twitter/X — Polkadot’s ecosystem suffers from a major disconnect between its content and what the broader public actually needs (especially beginners and curious newcomers).
The current formats — long technical livestreams, dense threads, abstract infographics — lack clarity, storytelling, and viral hooks (emotion, humor, pedagogy). Result: low impact despite high potential reach.
YouTube
Twitter / X
Instagram & TikTok
Twitch
Discord & Telegram
Reddit (r/Polkadot)
❌ Poor conversion: audience → users
YouTube
Website / Apps
🎯 Lack of “retail-first” content & storytelling
Education
Storytelling & human connection
❌ Strategy disconnected from adoption goals
Events & partnerships
⚠️ Urgent need: reconnect messaging to JAM’s real value
DOT is seen as dead or overdiluted. To fix this image:
Educational metaphor: radio vs. television
📺 Mass adoption & gaming: FIFA Rivals & Mythical
✅ Actionable recommendations