The adbank 2021 Roadmap
Find out what we have planned for the next twelve months
As adbank enters its third year, many pivots and changes have taken place. As with any project, pivots along the way are the key to finding success. We have had some (but not enough) success so far.
With almost 100k users of BLADE it is clear we are onto something with the Task Marketplace!
However, the tech was not built with the purpose of executing only tasks for the Task Marketplace. For this reason the big push in 2021 will be around developing an improved BLADE/adbank platform to better meet the needs of the Task Marketplace. Additional tasks will all be able to be completed on a mobile app!
With the increased focus on what is working we will be reducing other non-essential activities.
If you have any questions, join our Telegram community where you’re able to ask questions and meet the team. Join Our Community Here.
Summary of adbank’s progress in 2020:
You can find our last big roadmap update here. In this post, we outlined what has been achieved so far, and the goals for 2020.
2020’s goals were:
- BLADE user growth to 100k
- Effective CPM over $2.50
- Task Marketplace Tested and Rolled Out
- World’s First Ad Creative Case Study
- New adbank website
You can see the 2020 roadmap for BLADE here:
You can view all of our monthly and quarterly updates on our blog here.
Jon (CEO) Outlook:
In 2019 our target for active Blade users was 10,000 — and we surpassed that by a wide margin with over 28,000 users. For 2020, we pushed for a significantly larger goal of 100,000 users. While we didn’t quite reach that goal, we came extremely close at over 94,000 users at the end of 2020. We really turned up the dial and got over 68,000 new users in just one year! That’s over a 300% increase in BLADE users from 2019.
Some of our other goals did not get met, challenges are to be expected but 2020 delivered some very different challenges with a global pandemic. However, the team handled them all very well and I am excited for what is to come in 2021!
2020 Opportunities — aka Challenges:
- COVID-19 presented some unique challenges and the team produced two services built on the adbank tech: Essentialgoods.org and relay.digital
- Tech stabilized with GAS issues resolved for now
- Regulation focusing in the vape market where we have ECig operating has forced some significant business changes in that market
It is worth discussing briefly the challenge around the CPM. CPM is “CPM means “cost per mille” or, more modernly, “cost per thousand”. Mille is the term used for a thousand impressions in the ad business.” This means how much are we able to charge an advertiser to show an ad to BLADE users, our hope was this would be in the premium CPM range of $5 to $15. The reality is VERY different. The more we can charge the more you the user of BLADE will receive, the more tokens need to be purchased the more the entire ecosystem is fuelled by BLADE!
Right now the CPM we can charge advertisers as demonstrated by our performance campaigns is very low and in 2020 we had several key results focused on addressing that issue.
2020 Highlights:
- Explosive user growth in 2020! Check out the dashboard for a live user count here.
- Partnership and Successful beta test with Skeinera
- BrandBuilders case study
- Three Blockchain Projects to Look for in the Upcoming Months — bitboycrypto.com
- Impacts of Blockchain Technology on the Online Advertising Industry — businesstelegraph.co.uk
- Mention at ceoblognation.com
- Feature at martechcube.com
- Mention at CoinNewsSpan
- Task marketplace successful at driving value for customers
- ZDNet.com mention
- Interactivecrypto.com mention
2021 What to Expect (our OkR’s for 2021):
We are going to be focusing on three main objectives that will add value to the token & ecosystem:
- Focus on What’s Working:
a. Tighten our focus on the key areas that are working like the Task Marketplace. Tech will be purpose built for the Task Marketplace.
b. Relay.digital will be shut down. Ecig will be sold.
c. BLADE user growth: continue our strong performance for what has been working to date and really drive the user count.
d. Once per Quarter Mainstream Coverage — Ensure we generate some mainstream coverage
2. Get Ecosystem Working
a. Sell more social boost $x/month. Add additional services
b. Improve Tech for Task Marketplace — The team has an depth development plan created for Task Marketplace 1.0 update
c. Investigate and Implement uniswap integration (if possible)
d. Tech Stable
3. Extended Runway
a. Reduce overhead with cost-effective alternatives: Email marketing & Upwork expenditures.
b. ECig clean transition
The three key results for 2021 are about leveraging the explosive growth we’re seeing with the Task Marketplace and dial down areas of the adbank ecosystem that are not top priorities right now. First, we will be winding down or selling some key areas like Ecig Media as well as re-working the tech so it’s precise for what we’re now using it for. Second, the team will be focusing on driving up the CPM to the audience we have with the Task Marketplace and BLADE. Third, this will result in an extended runway into 2023. All together, these efforts will add value to the token & ecosystem, which is our #1 priority in 2021.
Key Areas of Business Activity:
Tech:
2020 has been a big year for us and there were many big tech updates throughout the year. Catch up on the top updates here:
- Relay.Digital — Built on the adbank platform to test a B2B offering that would help companies stay connected with their remote workers
- Gas Costs — ETH gas costs really hurt the platform in the middle of the year. It forced a 6+ week outage which has been resolved and the plan for 2021 is to develop a more robust solution.
Team:
You can see everyone on the team on the website at adbank.network and you can read about the final re-org in this blog post. Once we have reached an amount of active daily users on BLADE, we will bring on a dedicated Sales Lead with industry experience and shift resources back to sales. For now, the team is working on aggressive user acquisition strategies.
Financial / Runway:
Our runway model projects well into 2023 at the current run rate/value. By reducing costs in key areas, we are able to focus on top performing areas like the Task Marketplace.
Sales & Marketing:
We are thrilled that BLADE is now live for both Chrome and Firefox, and with extensions in place, user acquisition is now the top priority in driving the success of the adbank project. We have been seeing truly amazing user adoption and because BLADE users are Task Marketplace participants, we are seeing the Task Marketplace become the key focus area of the adbank ecosystem.
Highlights from 2020:
- Partnership and Successful beta test with Skeinera
- BrandBuilders case study
- Three Blockchain Projects to Look for in the Upcoming Months — bitboycrypto.com
- Impacts of Blockchain Technology on the Online Advertising Industry — businesstelegraph.co.uk
- Mention at ceoblognation.com
- Feature at martechcube.com
- Mention at CoinNewsSpan
- ZDNet.com mention
- Interactivecrypto.com mention
The 2021 roadmap:
BLADE:
Promotion, Marketing & Technology
The monthly referral promotions have continued to deliver exceptional user growth. We will continue to run the referral promotion so that our loyal BLADE supporters can earn extra ADB rewards.
Marketing efforts for BLADE and adbank will continue with the focus being on user acquisition for both BLADE and the Task Marketplace, which are both parts of the greater adbank network. Not sure how adbank, BLADE, and the Task Marketplace work together? Find out in this blog post:
BLADE tech is live for both Chrome and Firefox. The team will be undertaking a streamlined update to the tech in Q1 to provide an improved user experience for the Task Marketplace. Any fixes will be implemented as needed throughout 2021.
The team will also be exploring a BLADE browser extension for Microsoft Edge. The team will explore the possibility in Q2 and will execute in Q3 if possible.
The Task Marketplace:
- In Q1, the team will sell an accelerating number of Tasks which will in turn, drive the token ecosystem. The team will also begin Investigating a Uniswap integration. The Uniswap integration — if possible — is slated to be complete by the end of 2021.
- In Q2, the team will test new higher value offerings made possible with the new platform, which will in turn drive the token ecosystem.
- In Q3, we will onboard a salesperson to sell increased value tasks.
Artificial Intelligence:
Our AI is complete and patents have been submitted. In Q1 we will review our patent reply options. In Q2, we will then hold for additional funding & patent approval. You can find out how the AI works and see the patent documents in this blog post:
Bug Fixes:
Nothing is ever perfect, so we plan to have the resources available to quickly fix any bugs or issues that surface throughout the year.
Stay up to date on everything the team has been up to on the blog.
