In 2025, we hope Polkadot will expand its successful partnership with Laura Shin and Unchained. This collaboration will showcase Polkadot and its related projects across Unchained's media platforms, including our Podcast, Newsletter, and Website. Through this partnership, Polkadot's messaging will reach a highly influential audience in the crypto space, including tech CEOs, CTOs, developers, hedge fund managers, family offices, VCs, traders, and other key players.

1. Context of the proposal

This proposal is presented by Laura Shin and Unchained for the Polkadot DAO, aiming to build off our strategic partnership that enhances the visibility and engagement of the Polkadot ecosystem. As a leading independent media outlet in the cryptocurrency space, Unchained seeks to leverage its platform to promote Polkadot’s initiatives, projects, and community efforts, thereby fostering a deeper understanding of its technology among a broader crypto audience.

2. Objective

Defining Success: Success will be measured through a combination of quantitative and qualitative metrics:

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs):

1. Episode Engagement: Deliver guaranteed impressions against all podcast episodes and newsletters that Polkadot will be sponsoring
2. Social Media: Deliver added value impressions from Laura Shin’s Twitter account to create awareness for Polkadot initiatives.
3. Audience Interaction: Enhance listener engagement through comments and shares.
4. Feedback Collection: Attain a positive satisfaction rate from listener surveys at the end of the campaign.

Quality Assurance: We will maintain high standards through regular content reviews, listener feedback mechanisms, and analytics assessments to ensure alignment with our success metrics.

3. Description

The primary goal of this proposal is to leverage both the Unchained Podcast and the Unchained newsletter as key marketing vehicles to promote the Polkadot ecosystem. By integrating Polkadot-related content into both platforms, we aim to educate our audience about Polkadot’s technology, projects, and community initiatives, thereby fostering greater engagement and understanding of the Polkadot ecosystem.

Target audience: 

Crypto Enthusiasts: Individuals interested in the latest cryptocurrency and blockchain technology developments.

Developers and Technologists: Professionals seeking insights into building on the Polkadot platform.

Investors (Retail, VC’s, and Family Offices): Those looking for information on investment opportunities within the Polkadot ecosystem.

CEO, CTO’s, Project Leads: The leaders of different crypto projects

General Public: Individuals curious about blockchain innovations and their implications.

Scope of the proposal

• Podcast Episodes: Each episode will have host-read ads by Laura Shin that cover specific projects or technological advancements within Polkadot.
• Newsletter Content Integration: Regular features in the newsletter that highlight Polkadot projects, summarize podcast episodes, and include educational articles explaining its unique technology and governance model.
• Cross-Promotion Strategies: Utilizing both platforms to drive traffic between the podcast and newsletter, encouraging our audience to visit specific Polkadot-owned and Polkadot affiliate websites.

Assistance we will need to carry on with the project: We will require scripts for the podcast's host-read ads and ad copy for the newsletter.

Currently, we are not collaborating with any other projects in the ecosystem

This proposal is designed for scalability.

By utilizing the Unchained Podcast and newsletter as marketing vehicles for the Polkadot DAO, we aim to create a synergistic relationship that enhances the visibility of the Polkadot ecosystem.

Milestones and Deliverables

The following table outlines the key tasks necessary to plan, execute, and follow up on the proposal for promoting the Polkadot ecosystem through the Unchained Podcast and newsletter, with a launch date of March 31, 2025. The plan includes featuring Polkadot in two podcast episodes per week (Tuesdays and Fridays) and weekly newsletter highlights. The costs are outlined based on the discounted rates for both the podcast and newsletter.

Milestone	Deliverable	Deadline	Cost
Proposal Submission	Submit proposal to Polkadot DAO for review	March 11th, 2025	-
	Receive feedback and approval from Polkadot DAO	March 18th, 2025	-
Content Planning	Develop a content calendar for podcast episodes and newsletter integrations focused on Polkadot	March 23th, 2025
	Finalize content strategy without guest speakers from Polkadot	March 30th, 2025
Production Phase	Record and edit the first series of podcast episodes	March 30th, 2025
	Draft and finalize newsletter content related to Polkadot	March 30th, 2025
Launch Campaign	Publish the first podcast episode featuring Polkadot content/ad reads by Laura Shin	March 31st, 2025
	Distribute the first newsletter edition highlighting Polkadot as the title sponsor.	March 31st, 2025

Ongoing Production (Weekly)

Task	Frequence	Cost per week
Podcast Episodes Featuring Polkadot	2 episodes/week	7,000 USDT (discounted from 9,000 USDT)
Newsletter Featuring Polkadot Content	4 newsletters/week	1,000 USDT (discounted from 1,500 USDT)

Annual Cost Breakdown

• Podcast Costs: $8,750 per week x 52 weeks = 455,000 USDT
  • Polkadot Dicounted Pricing: 7,000 USDT per week x 52 weeks = 364,000 USDT
• Newsletter Costs: 1,500 USDT per week x 52 weeks = 78,000 USDT
  • Polkadot Dicounted Pricing: 1,000 USDT per week x 52 weeks = 52,000 USDT
• Total Annual Cost: 455,000 USDT +$78,000 USDT = 533,000 USDT
  • Polkadot Dicounted Pricing: 364,000 USDT + 52,000 USDT = 416,000 USDT (117,000 USDT discount)

Milestone Packaging in 50,000 USDT Increments

To meet the requirement that every milestone is at most 50,000 USDT we can break down the annual budget as follows.

Milestone #1A: 6 weeks (March to April) Covers the first six podcast episodes (6 weeks) and newsletters (6 editions). Total Cost: Podcasts: 7,000 USDT x 6 = 42,000 USDT Newsletters: 1,000 USDT x 6 = 6,000 USDT Total for Milestone #1A: 48,000 USDT

Milestone #2A: 6 weeks (April to May) Covers the first six podcast episodes (6 weeks) and newsletters (6 editions). Total Cost: Podcasts: 7,000 USDT x 6 = 42,000 USDT Newsletters: 1,000 USDT x 6 = 6,000 USDT Total for Milestone #2A: 48,000 USDT

Milestone #3A through #9A: Each milestone will be 6 weeks

5. Team

Registered Company: Laura Shin Media, LLC

Address: PO Box 4668 #24974, New York, NY 10163

We ran over 100 host-read, integrated ads for Polkadot on the Unchained Podcast. Below are two examples. Additionally, we delivered over 10 million audio and video impressions for Polkadot through this sponsorship.

• Pre-Roll: https://youtu.be/GZJz5bRxXFQ?t=117
• Midroll: https://youtu.be/GZJz5bRxXFQ?t=2446

We are one of the top-rated and most trusted media outlets within the crypto community. We have been a Polkadot media partner for one year.

Team Members

1. Laura Shin
   1. Role: Founder and Host of Unchained Podcast
   2. Contribution: Laura leads the overall strategy and content creation for the podcast and newsletter, ensuring that all materials are informative and engaging. With her extensive background in crypto journalism, she will provide insights and in-depth interviews with the most influential personalities within the blockchain ecosystem.
   3. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurashin/
   4. Twitter: https://x.com/laurashin
2. Mohammad Ali
   1. Role: Sales Lead
   2. Contribution: Mohammad brings extensive experience in advertising and marketing, focusing on developing strategies to promote advertising content effectively. His expertise will help drive audience engagement and expand Polkadot’s reach through targeted marketing efforts.
   3. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mohammadali2/
3. Juan Aranovich
   1. Role: Managing Editor at Unchained
   2. Contribution: Juan oversees editorial content and research for the podcast and newsletter, ensuring high-quality information is presented to the audience. His background in economics and finance will contribute to deeper analysis of the crypto ecosystem. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juanpabloaranovich/
4. Scott Williams Jr., CPA
   1. Role: CFO at Laura Shin Media and Unchained
   2. Contribution: Scott provides financial oversight and strategic guidance for the campaign, leveraging his finance background to ensure budget management and effective allocation of resources throughout the project.
   3. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottwilliamsjr/