This piece is a highlight from our "Points Done Right" series, a leading effort by Intract to build a web3 points playbook for sustainable dApps growth. Learn more at the bottom of the article.
In a remarkable feat of collaborative innovation, the Intract x Linea DeFi Voyage carved a niche in the DeFi ecosystem, registering in a span of 6 weeks from Nov 7 - Dec 20, 2023.
500 million+ USD in Total Value Locked (TVL)
Engaging 3 million wallets, with 95 % of them getting verified instantly.
Partnering with more than 80 DeFi projects
Total Txn Volume > 1 Billion USD
Potentially one of the largest brand activations in web3 till date, out team of 15 at Intract was at the forefront of this extravaganza- rich with learnings around quest design , growth marketing & community excellence. We decided to draft some of our insights for the Jump community of marketers & media professionals to discover the power of quests, learn from our experiments & craft brand activations tailored to their own brands’ objectives.
Designing the Qest: A User-Centric Approach
At the heart of the Linea DeFi Voyage was a meticulously designed quest system that prioritised user engagement, education, and seamless user experience (UX). With a coalition of over 80 partners, the ecosystem activation focused on providing enriched user interaction through multiple facets:
User Empowerment: Participants were given the freedom to select from a variety of projects to complete on-chain actions, along with the flexibility of undertaking bonus tasks, thereby fostering a sense of agency and engagement.
Educational Depth: The program featured detailed guides covering DeFi concepts, tailored for beginners to grasp foundational aspects, as well as offering optional deep dives for those seeking advanced knowledge.
Thematic Consistency: Each phase of the voyage was designed to piece together the entire DeFi journey, from basic actions like bridging and swaps to more complex operations such as lending and borrowing, ensuring both breadth and depth in learning.
Optional practical tutorials: The quests were embedded with bite sized video tutorials to familiarise users with dApp interfaces & the key nuances behind complex actions such as liquidity provisions or leveraged trading.
Real time community support: The quests were supported with real time performance updates (”high failure rates, please check back in a few hours”) to cater to potential down times on dApps & their task verification infrastructures.
On-Chain Rewards: Unique to this program were the Linea Voyage XPs, soul-bound tokens that served as non-transferable, on-chain representations of participants' reputations and achievements. This potentially led to a wider speculation of early adapter rewards.
Gamification & Chill: Daily quiz based check-in streaks consistently engaged users via Linea trivia, building good web3 habits in turn.
Proof of Humanity: Through a combination of complex multi week task criteria + Verax protocol’s inclusion into week 6, our quests were able to weed out airdrop hunter bot accounts before LXP distribution.
Multi-Channel Growth Marketing Strategy
To ignite user growth for the quest, our dedicated teams at Intract and Linea embraced a holistic multi-channel marketing strategy that was pivotal in enhancing user retention and conversion throughout the campaign's lifecycle.
Crypto Twitter: At the forefront was the strategic use of Crypto Twitter, where we launched a series of engaging teasers and meme contests to capture the audience's interest. This initial buzz was followed by in-depth campaign analyses, interactive AMAs with DeFi partners, and metric recap posts, creating a continuous loop of engagement and information sharing.
Web3 Press Release: Recognising the power of traditional media in the digital age, the Linea team secured coverage by leading web3 outlets, including twitter space with Bankless and various crypto newsletters, right at the campaign's outset. This press release strategy ensured that we hit the ground running, gaining immediate visibility and credibility within the community.
Web3 Ad Networks: Experimenting with web3 ad networks, notably placing ads on block chain explorers & web3 centric publishers was an interesting bet to tap directly into the ecosystem's core audience. Our estimates reveal a typical CPC of 5-20$ from these channels on an average (huge variation potentially due to ad creative).
Web3 Creator Network: The most significant uptick in the DeFi Voyage came through the strong buzz created by crypto influencers across Twitter, YouTube & Reddit channels. Our initial direct collab with marquee crypto educators set the tone for an inspired network effect among smaller, regional micro-influencers. As per our estimates , ~75% of all the traffic on our pages was driven from creator social media channels.
Why we did not pursue referral loops?
The idea of integrating a referral-based LXP distribution was considered but not finalised in our growth plan , majorly due to concerns around sybil behaviour & such incentives biased towards social influencer over on-chain actions (the core focus of the campaign).
Key Takeaways & Way Ahead
Web3 points system has almost become ubiquitous in the industry , especially since the introduction of Blast L2 in early 2024. We're now seeing such engagements span across various categories types like wallets, NFT markets, restaking & others.
However, there are some important challenges to consider when implementing this growth strategy: how do we keep users interested for long, avoid just attracting those looking to make a quick profit, and encourage all stakeholders involved (like developers, users, and influencers) to contribute?
At Intract, we've spent nearly a year exploring "community points" to help with these challenges, working with some of the top names in the field (like Polygon, Linea & Starknet) and over 200 apps to see how community-focused design can make a difference.
To expand on these ideas, we're hosting the "Points Done Right" talks – a series of online discussions with community builders, influencers, and everyday users on creating effective web3 points system. If you're keen to join the conversation, drop me a message on X or Farcaster for a potential feature (latest talk here). And if you wish to tumble down the rabbit hole, check us out at Intract Business.