Promotion of Japanese Cardano Products

[GENERAL] Name and surname of main applicant

[GENERAL] Are you delivering this project as an individual or as an entity (whether formally incorporated or not)

[GENERAL] Please specify how many months you expect your project to last (from 2-12 months)

[GENERAL] Please indicate if your proposal has been auto-translated into English from another language.

[GENERAL] Summarize your solution to the problem (200-character limit including spaces)

Our main focus will be on promoting Cardano projects from Japan and creating successful examples of the use cases. Japan has clear laws related to cryptocurrency and is also the birthplace of Cardano.

[GENERAL] Does your project have any dependencies on other organizations, technical or otherwise?

[GENERAL] If YES, please describe what the dependency is and why you believe it is essential for your project’s delivery. If NO, please write “No dependencies.”

This project encourages other Cardano projects such as Paima, Socious, and other projects primarily based in Japan. Additionally, we will utilize a smart contract system for the distribution of promotion rewards.

[GENERAL] Will your project’s output/s be fully open source?

[GENERAL] Please provide here more information on the open source status of your project outputs

The main activity of this project is to promote the products that have already been launched. We will conduct a giveaway campaign to promote them. Everyone is welcome to participate in this campaign.

[SOLUTION] Please describe your proposed solution.

We will revitalize the Cardano project by launching a campaign for Cardano products, primarily targeting the Japanese market. We will also establish prizes for participants in Dapps and other initiatives. Our main focus will be on attracting Metamask users, new Web3 users, and ADA holders who are currently not actively using Dapps.

In Japan, there are key players in Cardano products, including dcSpark (+Paima, Milkomeda), Socious, and Zengate. Additionally, there are several Catalyst projects utilizing Cardano. Furthermore, a popular magazine company plans to launch a magazine featuring favorable articles about Cardano in February or March next year. Given the current situation, we plan to run a campaign focused on promoting products from Japanese companies and organizations. This campaign will include game contests with prizes, PR contests, and giveaways for users who have started using thier services. Additionally, we will offer small sponsorships to magazine companies and encourage them to engage in PR activities. Furthermore, we will organize small-scale on-site trial sessions.

At present, our campaign targets Paima-based games, Socious's escrow system, and NFT projects in Japan. We have chosen to focus on Japan because it allows for stricter management of legal and regulatory issues, as well as the ability to have direct communication and long-term collaboration with project managers. Even in overseas infrastructure projects, if the project can secure long-term credit, there is a possibility of providing support, even if the funds are divided to some extent.

 Background

What are the representative services offered by Cardano? This question holds great importance for Cardano in its current state. Naturally, the appeal lies in high-security staking that doesn't require locking funds. It is believed that Midnight and AtalaPRISM will emerge as notable names in the future. However, the number of Cardano wallets holding 100 ADA or more is relatively small, around 1.1 million, compared to Ethereum addresses with a similar value. This issue is not unique to Cardano, but the compatibility problem with Metamask is worth noting.

The proposer has used both Cardano's Dapps wallet and Metamask and has observed advantages and disadvantages with each. Cardano wallets are user-friendly for security, staking, and simple swapping. On the other hand, Metamask provides an excellent interface for complex operations and generating multiple transactions quickly. At the same time, there is a sense that understanding Cardano's Multi Asset Transaction concept may be challenging for those accustomed to Metamask.

However, overall, the difference lies in the operability between Windows and Macintosh. However, for new entrants, the most important factor is the expected profit based on the number of active users. To acquire new Cardano adopters, it is necessary to increase the number of active Cardano wallets and promote the availability of Metamask compatible services and cross-chain services, such as Milkomeda, to both users and companies. It is preferable to first promote the number of active users, followed by promoting it to the users.

On the other hand, Japan, known for its stringent security measures, was the first country to hold the ADA pre-sale, which resulted in the accumulation of many ADA whale holders in Japan. The legal regulations regarding crypto assets in Japan are also clear. While there may be some inconveniences, services developed in accordance with Japanese standards will not be abruptly banned. Currently, there is a global trend towards regulating crypto assets. Japan has had strict laws in place since the Coincheck XEM theft incident in 2018. Although this has hindered the emergence of Web3 companies, we can look forward to the future. As a result of policy changes, we are beginning to see some relaxation of the law. Under these circumstances, activities by Web3 companies that are already established in Japan or companies that have formed partnerships with Web3 companies are becoming more active.

Under these circumstances, we would like to attract investors to Japanese companies. However, we are uncertain about the extent to which we can expect investors to invest in specific companies within Cardano, a decentralized system. There is a problem. Additionally, there are differences in the technical direction of sidechains, including Milkomeda and Cardano itself. Nevertheless, in terms of increasing Cardano's popularity and allowing users to gradually gain experience with Cardano wallets, product PR, even if it is based on Milkomeda, will be beneficial for Cardano. We also believe that the activation of WADA and mADA will have a positive impact on Cardano as a whole. From this perspective, we propose promoting Cardano projects based in Japan, as there is a low risk of failure due to legal regulations.

[IMPACT] Please define the positive impact your project will have on the wider Cardano community.

This project aims to promote the adoption of Cardano by leveraging the existing products. This approach aligns with the suggested structure in Fund11. Promoting the products also allows for gathering feedback from Metamask users and new Web3 users, as well as identifying any issues with Cardano. Additionally, by supporting a Catalyst-based project, it not only promotes the Catalyst system itself but also showcases its outcomes, which is a significant advantage of Cardano.

In addition, creating immediate demand with Catalyst-based projects has a significant impact on Cardano while people wait for future releases of Cardano products, such as Midnight and AtalaPRISM.. This could result in an increase in active users and help mitigate the disadvantage caused by delays in practical development. Furthermore, we can anticipate that new Web3 users and Metamask users will transition to Cardano.

[CAPABILITY & FEASIBILITY] 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?

The proposer has extensive experience with Catalyst, including collaboration with local governments, partnerships with traditional industries, and collaborations with well-known magazine companies. Additionally, the proposer holds a Ph.D. and possesses a deep understanding of Cardano, an academic-based blockchain. They also have experience in pool management and have successfully launched new products using NFTs. Due to our direct and indirect interactions with key individuals involved in various projects, we are well-positioned to provide detailed consultation on promotions. Therefore, if the proposal is adopted, it will undoubtedly contribute to the scalability of the Cardano project, which has already gained trust through past Catalyst initiatives.

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

Preparation for the Campaign 1

Outputs

This milestone includes the following outputs:

1. Communicate with relevant stakeholders and choose Cardano project(s) in Japan to collaborate with.
2. Create a campaign brief outlining the goals and metrics to track.
3. Prepare promotional material, including social media posts.
4. Launch the campaign on social media and oversee fund distribution.

Acceptance criteria

The acceptance criteria for this milestone are as follows:

1. The list of Cardano project(s) in Japan to collaborate with is finalized and shared with the community via Google Drive.
2. The campaign brief outlining the goals and metrics to track is finalized and shared with the community via Google Drive.
3. The draft promotional material, including social media posts, is finalized and shared with the community via Google Drive.
4. The campaign is launched and the social media posts are published (accessible via public links). The funds are distributed.

Evidence of Milestone completion

The evidence of milestone completion are as follows:

1. The list of Cardano project(s) in Japan to collaborate with is finalized and shared with the community via Google Drive.
2. The campaign brief outlining the goals and metrics to track is finalized and shared with the community via Google Drive.
3. The draft promotional material, including social media posts, is finalized and shared with the community via Google Drive.
4. The campaign is launched and the social media posts are published (accessible via public links). The funds are distributed.

The aforementioned items will be compiled to one report and saved in Google Drive and we will share a publicly accessible link for the report. The report will include:

1. The list of Cardano project(s) in Japan that the project collaborated with
2. The campaign brief outlining the goals and metrics to track
3. The draft promotional material, including social media posts.
4. Links to the published social media posts are published (accessible via public links) as well as the amount of funds that are distributed.

Expected timeline for the delivery

Month 2

Cost

29,290 ADA

% Completion

15%

Execution of Campaign 2

Outputs

This milestone includes the following outputs:

1. Execution of the campaign
2. Analyze the results and compile a report.

Acceptance criteria

The acceptance criteria for this milestone are as follows:

1. The campaign is executed.
2. The report detailing the results of the campaign will be finalized and shared with the community via Google Drive.

Evidence of Milestone completion

The evidence of milestone completion are as follows:

1. The campaign is successfully executed.
2. The report detailing the results of the campaign will be finalized and shared with the community via Google Drive.

The aforementioned items will be compiled to one report and saved in Google Drive and we will share a publicly accessible link for the report. The report will include the details of the results of the campaign including the success metrics such as the number of participants.

Expected timeline for the delivery

Month 4

Cost

36,000 ADA

% Completion

33%

Preparation for the Campaign 2

Outputs

This milestone includes the following outputs:

1. Communicate with relevant stakeholders and choose Cardano project(s) in Japan to collaborate with.
2. Create a campaign brief outlining the goals and metrics to track.
3. Prepare promotional material, including social media posts.
4. Launch the campaign on social media and oversee fund distribution.

Acceptance criteria

The acceptance criteria for this milestone are as follows:

1. The list of Cardano project(s) in Japan to collaborate with is finalized and shared with the community via Google Drive.
2. The campaign brief outlining the goals and metrics to track is finalized and shared with the community via Google Drive.
3. The draft promotional material, including social media posts, is finalized and shared with the community via Google Drive.
4. The campaign is launched and the social media posts are published (accessible via public links). The funds are distributed.

Evidence of Milestone completion

The evidence of milestone completion are as follows:

1. The list of Cardano project(s) in Japan to collaborate with is finalized and shared with the community via Google Drive.
2. The campaign brief outlining the goals and metrics to track is finalized and shared with the community via Google Drive.
3. The draft promotional material, including social media posts, is finalized and shared with the community via Google Drive.
4. The campaign is launched and the social media posts are published (accessible via public links). The funds are distributed.

The aforementioned items will be compiled to one report and saved in Google Drive and we will share a publicly accessible link for the report. The report will include:

1. The list of Cardano project(s) in Japan that the project collaborated with
2. The campaign brief outlining the goals and metrics to track
3. The draft promotional material, including social media posts.
4. Links to the published social media posts are published (accessible via public links) as well as the amount of funds that are distributed.

Expected timeline for the delivery

Month 6

Cost

29,290 ADA

% Completion

48%

Execution of Campaign 2

Outputs

This milestone includes the following outputs:

1. Execution of the campaign
2. Analyze the results and compile a report.

Acceptance criteria

The acceptance criteria for this milestone are as follows:

1. The campaign is executed.
2. The report detailing the results of the campaign will be finalized and shared with the community via Google Drive.

Evidence of Milestone completion

The evidence of milestone completion are as follows:

1. The campaign is successfully executed.
2. The report detailing the results of the campaign will be finalized and shared with the community via Google Drive.

The aforementioned items will be compiled to one report and saved in Google Drive and we will share a publicly accessible link for the report. The report will include the details of the results of the campaign including the success metrics such as the number of participants.

Expected timeline for the delivery

Month 8

Cost

36,000 ADA

% Completion

66%

Preparation for the Campaign 3

Outputs

This milestone includes the following outputs:

1. Communicate with relevant stakeholders and choose Cardano project(s) in Japan to collaborate with.
2. Create a campaign brief outlining the goals and metrics to track.
3. Prepare promotional material, including social media posts.
4. Launch the campaign on social media and oversee fund distribution.

Acceptance criteria

The acceptance criteria for this milestone are as follows:

1. The list of Cardano project(s) in Japan to collaborate with is finalized and shared with the community via Google Drive.
2. The campaign brief outlining the goals and metrics to track is finalized and shared with the community via Google Drive.
3. The draft promotional material, including social media posts, is finalized and shared with the community via Google Drive.
4. The campaign is launched and the social media posts are published (accessible via public links). The funds are distributed.

Evidence of Milestone completion

The evidence of milestone completion are as follows:

1. The list of Cardano project(s) in Japan to collaborate with is finalized and shared with the community via Google Drive.
2. The campaign brief outlining the goals and metrics to track is finalized and shared with the community via Google Drive.
3. The draft promotional material, including social media posts, is finalized and shared with the community via Google Drive.
4. The campaign is launched and the social media posts are published (accessible via public links). The funds are distributed.

The aforementioned items will be compiled to one report and saved in Google Drive and we will share a publicly accessible link for the report. The report will include:

1. The list of Cardano project(s) in Japan that the project collaborated with
2. The campaign brief outlining the goals and metrics to track
3. The draft promotional material, including social media posts.
4. Links to the published social media posts are published (accessible via public links) as well as the amount of funds that are distributed.

Expected timeline for the delivery

Month 10

Cost

29,290 ADA

% Completion

82%

Execution of Campaign 3

Outputs

This milestone includes the following outputs:

1. Execution of the campaign
2. Analyze the results and compile a report.
3. Produce a close-out report
4. Produce a close-out video

Acceptance criteria

The acceptance criteria for this milestone are as follows:

1. The campaign is executed.
2. The report detailing the results of the campaign will be finalized and shared with the community via Google Drive.
3. The close-out report is completed and published on Google Drive.
4. Produce a close-out video completed and published on Youtube.

Evidence of Milestone completion

The evidence of milestone completion are as follows:

1. The campaign is successfully executed.
2. The report detailing the results of the campaign will be finalized and shared with the community via Google Drive.

The aforementioned items will be compiled to one report and saved in Google Drive and we will share a publicly accessible link for the report. The report will include the details of the results of the campaign including the success metrics such as the number of participants.

We will also submit the following

1. The close-out report is completed and published on Google Drive.
2. Produce a close-out video completed and published on Youtube.

Expected timeline for the delivery

Month 12

Cost

40,130 ADA

% Completion

100%

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

• Ranket : project management

Making Partnership

Negosiation to PR media

Catalyst report

[BUDGET & COSTS] Please provide a cost breakdown of the proposed work and resources.

Summary:

Executive summary:

Total Cost: 200,000 ADA

Milestone 1: 29,290 ADA

Milestone 2: 36,000 ADA

Milestone 3: 29,290 ADA

Milestone 4: 36,000 ADA

Milestone 5: 29,290 ADA

• Milestone 6 (Final): 40,130 ADA

Please find the details of the breakdown here:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1_Zg0OzFu51eKRnZTvyHc3btiG7eKuYon1Asb80__1fE/edit?usp=sharing

[VALUE FOR MONEY] How does the cost of the project represent value for money for the Cardano ecosystem?

When it comes to promoting their own products, projects often want to launch their own promotional campaigns. However, paying for promotion can lead to many problems. There is also a high possibility of disadvantages in the Catalyst voting if funds are used for promoting their own projects. This project aims to solve these problems.

Regarding the budget size, campaigns for projects like Astar typically start from around $3,000. There are also many campaigns for Solana and Ethereum with budgets around $100,000. For this reason, we have chosen a total budget of $50,000 as a middle ground. While the focus is on acquiring new users, existing ADA holders can also participate, so half of the budget will be allocated to Cardano community members. By promoting this 100,000 ADA campaign through the media, we can run an efficient campaign. Adjustments to the system will be necessary to facilitate the campaign, but by covering these costs, we can explore various standard designs, including PR for Cardano products. As for project management, a monthly fee of 3,000 ADA is deemed reasonable for project execution.

After reviewing the cost breakdown mentioned above, we will now explain why this project offers good cost effectiveness for Cardano. In current funding discussions like Catalyst, there is often a focus on large user numbers, such as access to 100 million users. However, it's rare to hear discussions that consider engagement rates. Taking Metcalfe's law into account, we can see that the square of the number of wallets holding 100 ADA or more equals the market capitalization of the Japanese yen. Based on this concept, we can estimate that acquiring 5,000 users with at least 100 ADA each would increase Cardano's market capitalization by 1%. Therefore, theoretically, it would be feasible to spend 10 billion yen to acquire 5,000 users. Of course, this is an exaggeration, and in reality, it is more reasonable to expect cost-effectiveness to be around 100 times the theoretical limit due to the relationship between distribution volume and market capitalization. In this case, aiming for an increase of 5,000 users with a budget of 100 million yen is sufficient, and even a 10 million yen project can be considered successful if it can acquire 500 active users. We believe that this project will set a realistic standard for promoting Cardano without setting unrealistic goals, and in that sense, we believe that the relationship between impact and budget will greatly benefit Cardano.

[IMPORTANT NOTE] The Applicant agrees to Fund Rules and also that data in the submission form and other data provided by the project team during the course of the project will be publicly available.