Currently, I’m totally into a process of rebranding for a cryptocurrency project I work on. Despite the greatness of overall idea, my second immediate thought was "This project needs a rebranding to survive in long-term". Later it came to me that repositioning should be done in addition regarding the exploded number of new coins. This story began a year ago. Let’s talk about fundamental things that can help one to root in the market. So, why having a brand in crypto is important? The market was doing good. Seemed like we all were going to the moon. I started to look at competition. Of course, I went to , rolled up my sleeves and started from the number 2 on top. Well, not that number 1 is obviously not a competitor ( ), but a bit too high ambition and, maybe, an unnecessary one. Coinmarketcap says in a voice of a Bitcoin maximalist, lol After reviewing the first 500 positions I could distinguish around 25 projects which explained who they are, why they exist, what they do and how. I didn't even question economical viability, only the key strategic message availability. That 5% of the market are mouse's tears. Is it bad? Is it good? Definitely, it is good. Hopefully the market will conduct several purge cycles to achieve some clarity among players and cryptocurrencies quantity will be significantly reduced. Below are the few tips based on own experience and pure intention to make nice things more available to people. We'll focus on positioning and identity as core venues of communication. Crystallize Your Positioning It is quite far for mass adoption if we can’t speak a real understandable language with an average Joe. But first, give yourself an answer — what do you do and why? It is easy to hit someone with a question "Why do you need a blockchain?" and . Freeze it, break it, burn it, kill it. No one said it’s easy. If you have this answer, you’re a winner ( )! Simply, anyone should be able to detect what is the specie you are. watch them wither in a labyrinth of explanations If you can’t find an argument WHY and WHAT — leave it. joke Next step is to envelope your answer in 1–2 sentences. That will be your positioning which should transform into 1 comprehensive sentence, preferably as shorter as possible. That will be your key message, an essence of god's thought and the only thing that should stay in a memory of your victims ( ). sorry, users In the market of uncertainty where near possible role is to be an altcoin ( ), find yourself a bigger cause of existence ( ). sometimes automatically turns out to be shitcoin tagged I mean, for your cryptocurrency project, but don't forget to take care of yourself too Start from communication strategy if you feel lost. Not that I want to mess up the classical flow of strategy creation ( ), but this document is a fundamental guide about what you are going to say. Market, competition, audience, trends and problems analysis will be your analysis base. Gather insights. Look where you fit in. Make a value proposition for the end user. Find the right words to deliver it. Hint: business, marketing, communication, digital, then social media… Don't fool people. If you don't fit the market need masking it with the help of cool words, upgrade your initial product idea first. Warn: Power of Identity All heil beauty comes in the form of identity! Well, we know communication is not only verbal but visual ( ). and can be broadcasted via any other possible medium of informational exchange This is just wrong. Without identity, actually, you can't proceed with branding. But the main confusion comes from another word — rebranding, which is a marketing strategy in which a new brand identity is created. I like to compare the consonance of words " " and " ", because it is really like creating one: giving a name and sound, shape, color, specific patterns and dedicated visual associations. To my surprise, for many identity and branding are the same thing. Identity is a part of rebranding and depicts mental and functional associations with the brand. Wrapping up your assets via the creation of more emotional associations is branding. identity entity Filling up an identity brief once took around 5 hours for me. Basically, it is a great refining and detecting gaps tool. After you have an essential message for the audience, try to clearly define the next points (but not limited to): What are your brand advantages for users? Find up to 3–5. What exactly distinguishes your brand from the competition? 3–5 characteristics. If it is possible point to the main. What are your brand values? Find up to 3–5. Which words are forming your brand tag cloud? Does it sound like you want to look in ones eyes? Semiotics is a science. Strive for scientific approach. You better be aware about the general identity creation process, but let this work for professionals to do. Keep yourself disciplined and independent from your inner hype. It’s not about you to like the final result, but the perception of end users. Handy to check it with focus groups. Hint: Always check what is hidden beyond semiotics and meaning to avoid misunderstandings. Warn: Why is this important? Take a look at Tether. From the plain sight, it is something… unclear. Did you ever try to decode Tether identity? Have fun with me below. Tether Example I never paid much attention to existence, probably, because I never traded anything in $USDT pair. It was an accidental discovery the other day when I went down the rabbit hole looking at $BTC charts. Maybe, not a news for you that 87% of $BTC is traded vs $USDT excluding derivatives. Well, I made myself a service to read more about Tether in Twitter to estimate the general mood about it. I also googled a bit and found out that previously it was named Realcoin. Tether But Tether website and media outlets don’t tell anything about this great event. What’s the deal then, why Tether? Kudos for getting rid of “coin" tail! Teth — Theta — T At the beginning, it seemed like Tether's T and Theta are totally not connected. But appears that Theta, Greek letter, is a derivative from Teth, Phoenician letter, consonant with the brand name. ( : , : ; uppercase or , lowercase (which resembles digit with horizontal line) or ; : ; : ) is the eighth letter of the , derived from the . In the system of it has the value 9. Theta UK /ˈθiːtə/ US /ˈθeɪtə/ Θ ϴ θ 0 ϑ Ancient Greek θῆτα thē̂ta [tʰɛ̂ːta] Modern θήτα thī́ta [ˈθita] Greek alphabet Phoenician letter Teth Greek numerals Phoenix Trace The Phoenician alphabet is the oldest known in the world. Curious that so called high societies prone to cults like the phoenix bird. Remember that owned by Rothschilds magazine cover with world-dominating currency in the form of a coin hanging on the neck of phoenix and fiat money burning around? A phoenix depicted in a book of legendary creatures by (1747–1822), Wikipedia FJ Bertuch The phoenix bird is widely associated with Phoenicia civilization known for its expensive purple dye for upper classes. In ancient Greece and Rome, the bird, phoenix, was sometimes associated with the similar-sounding , a civilization famous for its production of purple dye from conch shells. Because the costly purple dye from Phoenicia was associated with the upper classes in antiquity and, later, with royalty, in the medieval period the phoenix was considered “the royal bird”. Phoenicia I'd say, that's a funny start of coincidences. Theta and Death? Theta is not your typical friendly letter. In ancient times it was associated with death and used to mark dead people. A attacks his downed opponent, a , with a dagger in this scene from a mosaic from the Villa Borghese, Wikipedia retiarius secutor In ancient times, was used as a symbol for or , whereas the eighth letter of the Greek alphabet, theta, was considered the symbol of . Tau life resurrection death Ropes for Animals Let's move forward. There should be some positiveness in this pool of despair. What's with the word itself? Does it mean something nice? Wiki said NO once again. 1. a , etc. that something in whilst allowing some . rope cable holds place movement 2. ( ) the of one’s , etc. by extension limit abilities resources Limit of one's abilities is definitely not something we like. But more let's look at more ridiculous finds. Tether is a derivative from "tethera", which translates as number 13 and used in… sheep counting. (Borrowdale sheep counting) , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , … yan tyan tethera methera pimp sethera lethera hovera dovera dick yan-a-dick tyan-a-dick tethera-a-dick methera-a-dick bumfit yan-a-bumfit tyan-a-bumfit tethera-a-bumfit methera-bumfit giggot Also, if you have scary beasts it's always nice to have tethers. Not sure who tethers whom IRL, though. The Wild Man: Medieval Myth and Symbolism, By Timothy Husband, Metropolitan Museum of Art Tag Cloud I'm not done yet. Where is Theta symbol used? According to Wiki: Well, it's all about our brain and the mechanism of seeing things. Astronauts, for example, don't see space in 3D while being on a spaceship. To them, the limitless sky appears to be limited because it has no horizon for a brain to stick and project a picture ( ). Plane angle in geometry, 2D. see Char Davies’ Immersive Virtual Art and the Essence of Spatiality by Laurie McRobert "The reserve ratio is the portion of reservable liabilities that depository institutions must hold onto, rather than lend out or invest. This is a requirement determined by the country’s central bank, which in the United States is the Federal Reserve" ( ). The reserve ratio of banks in economic models. see Investopedia Regarding the passage of time, the "time decay" ( ). The quantity representing the sensitivity of the value of the derivative price. see Wikipedia Enough to form a specific brand tag cloud including such words as death, rope, sheep, limits, banks, derivatives… Why and how one could choose an identity with negative associations we don't like in crypto? Going back to identity, once again . the whole story confirms that one should always check is there something behind the semiotics and meaning Note: I do not claim this is a true meaning that was intentionally assigned, simply because I don't sit at Tether HQ, but you can make own conclusions about the need for caution and accuracy when working on brand. Additional thanks to , and for support on the closing topic. If you want to say hi or discuss this article, feel free to leave comments or ping me on or . Cheers! Thanks for reading! @SwoleOffCrypto @seweso @drwasho Twitter LinkedIn
