CryptoBranding, Assuring Your ICO's Success

More and more startups choose the ICO path rather than IPO. Though ICO is often characterized with lack of regulation, bureaucracy in fund raising, 2017 was a metrological year for ICO's.

According to Forbes Magazine, the month of April raised $103 million in ICO's, the month of May ended at $232 million, June $462 million and July $574 million. Following this massive exponential growth on a monthly basis, the virtual currency market sky rocketed from$7 billion in January 2016 to $130 billion in September 2017. With such acceleration it's worth taking a few minutes to understand a crucial element of optimizing ICO's.

As we all know, the exchange of currency in ICO is conducted directly between peers without any mediating establishment such as the NSDAQ or Dow Johns to give transactions their financial value. Often the company itself issues its own virtual coin, as did serial ICO entrepreneur, Moshe Hogeg with his company YO! Due to the lack of an establishment to mediate and provide tangible value to the coin, it is up to the company itself to do just that. If that's the case, then the value attributed to a virtual coin is in the hands of the company. Therefore, it's important to understand the responsibility and importance of creating and generating an encompassing value through branding.

Here are some tips to consider when preparing for an ICO:

What's your message?
It's mostly likely that in an ICO oriented branding process you will encounter two main audiences: those who understand ICO and may have even been through one or two and those who don’t. The second group may be aware of virtual currencies but lacks understanding of the basics such as the difference between Blockchain and Bitcoin.

Since we do need to convey our messages to two very different audiences, it's important to correspond clear-cut messages simultaneously to these two audiences. If FinTech companies is among your targeted distribution channels, diving into the heart of things will not be an issue. This will not be the case with non- expert audience.

Tell investors your story and why they should invest in you
Storytelling in a ICO is crucial. Your story will provide true value for your investors and will untimely convince them to invest. In a world of virtual currencies, your story will provide the tangible aspect in the ICO process. In other words, tell the reason for investors to invest in you. According to Forbes Magazine 69% of all Millennials believe in social values and involvement, so do many investors. Providing a social cause to your story can certainly help a lot.

Is your website up to date?
As an CEO leading an ICO chances are will probably be lead in different directions whether by journalists, investors or analysist. Make sure your brand story is consistent and is updated in detail on the company's website. The company's website serves as a backbone of information for all external sources. An updated website will eliminate any misunderstandings, lack of clarity or inconsistency.

Data, Data and more Data
The more data you provide your investors, journalists, analysts etc. the greater the presence you establish for your company. The greater accessibility you provide to your data, the greater the control you'll have over what is written about the company and the greater the exposer you'll receive.

Obtaining a tangible grasp in a virtual market
Obtaining a tangible grasp in an evasive market requires greater physical presence. Here are some tips for extending your presence:

• Build a community - your crated community will help get your name across
• Leverage social media – social media plays a major role in the distribution of messages and presence
• Video, video and more video – product videos, corporate videos, testimonials all those will strengthen and validate your presence.

These were just a few tips and thoughts when preparing for an ICO. At TitanBrandWise we work with businesses to define, create and nurture, effective cross-platform branding experiences that grow businesses, engage customers and raise awareness.