PATRON: GIVING ORDINARY PEOPLE CELEBRITY BENEFITS THROUGH BLOCKCHAIN.

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Table of Content

1 – Introduction

2 – PATRON
2.1 – What is PATRON?
2.2 – PATRON user-types
2.3 – PATRON and Blockchain technology
2.4 – PATRON Business model
2.5 – PATRON live and impact on influencers

3 – Benefits of PATRON
3.1 – Benefits to Influencers
3.2 – Benefits to Sponsors
3.3 – Benefits to Followers

4 – PATRON coin (PAT)

5 – Applications and Use Cases
5.1 – Application and Use case in Fashion industry
5.2 – Application and use case in Local aviation industry.

6 – My video on PATRON

7 – Conclusion

1 - INTRODUCTION

“Veni, vidi, vici”, a Latin phrase translated as “I came. I saw, I conquered”, and which is arguably considered as the greatest slogan of all time, is attributed to have been coined and circulated on a placard throughout Rome by Julius Caesar after achieving victory in his war against Pharnaces II of Pontus at the Battle of Zela. Circulation of this slogan together with other publicity stunts such as emotionally appealing speeches, writing and publishing of books containing military victories, and so on, were the vehicles through which Caesar was able to promote and advertise himself to the Roman populace, acquiring followers in the process.

According to Roman history, Julius Caesar was a man of humble beginnings, who strategically advertised his way to the top, primarily through self-promotion and self-advertisement. He was so good at this that he was considered a master of self-promotion. We can’t deny the fact that he was a military genius, but he made sure to leave no stone unturned in his quest to get every Roman citizen aware of his victories.

Like Caesar, a lot of individuals have been able to rise from humble beginnings, to become people of great influence, taking advantage of the power that Social Networking Services (SNS) make available. During Caesar’s dispensation, he took advantage of communication channels such as public speeches, quote-crested placards, and publication of books, to rise from a ‘nobody’ to a celebrated leader. However, in our dispensation, ordinary individuals have taken advantage of social media communication channels such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, and so on, to reach more than 3 billion people connected to the internet. These individuals are called influencers.

Not intending to disregard the bravery and brilliance of Caesar, however according to Roman historical facts, it was common for generals to inflate figures related to the number of casualties they had inflicted during battles, in order to boost their popularitySource. There was no way of proving the genuineness of the casualty figures these generals had claimed. In the same way, influencers can go through various means to acquire followers, some genuine and others dubious. There is no way for sponsor companies to be certain that their products and services are reaching the right audience and not just a crowd of dormant followers with little or non-existent social media presence, or no interest whatsoever in the product/service being offered. There is no way for them to be sure of the effectiveness of their marketing campaigns.

This bottleneck has been a hindrance to the development of the ad campaign and media industry. There has been no calculated approach to knowing how effective influencers are at driving sales and hence profits for sponsoring companies. As a solution, there is need for a blockchain based platform that will securely enable sponsor companies make targeted and calculated marketing, thereby maximizing their advertisement budget, while also financially rewarding influencers in the process.

That platform is the PATRON platform

2.0 – PATRON

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Of what benefit is advertising canned minced meat through an influencer whose followers are majorly vegetarians? Although numbers are important in marketing, but numbers alone are not sufficient to give the best outcome. As in the case of the Roman generals discussed above, the declared number of casualties alone is not sufficient in deciding which general is a hero or not. There has to be a mechanism such as parading of captives to prove claims made by the numbers.
In the same way, the number of followers an influencer possesses is not enough factor to determine who will be effective at promoting products/services. There has to be proof that the followers are ideal for the product being advertised. The nature of the followers has to be put into consideration, since it has a huge part to play in deciding the direction their purchases will go as illustrated in the example of selling canned minced meat to vegetarians above. This nature of followers can be in the form of availability on social media channels, personal tastes, and so on.

This proof will be made available through a blockchain based platform called PATRON. It is founded upon the blockchain technology primarily because of blockchain’s reputation as a highly secure technology for financial transactions.

2.1 – What is PATRON?

PATRON is a blockchain based platform that tokenizes the ability of influencers to influence the purchase behavior of their followers. PATRON takes advantage of the qualities of social media industry (e.g. Facebook), and those of sharing economy concept (e.g. Airbnb), to bring about effective ad campaigns and marketing programs. In more specific terms, PATRON is a market place where influencers (ordinary people who have influence over their social media followers) can take part in sharing economy, that is marketing the product of sponsoring companies to their followers, and consequently being rewarded financially by those sponsoring companies.

2.2 – PATRON user-types

Having given a definition to the PATRON blockchain, it is pertinent that we also explain all the parties involved in the PATRON blockchain. The user-types in the PATRON network are as follows:

Influencer (Host): From the story of Julius Caesar given above, we can say that Julius Caesar was an influencer. He had followers whom he acquired by selling and promoting himself to. He promoted himself as a hero and acquired followers as a consequence. He had the ability to influence his followers to act in a particular way. Bringing it to our day, an influencer is a person who has a social media following, and is able to influence the behavior of his/her followers. For example, a person who has a particular amount of active Instagram followers is considered an influencer.

Sponsor (Guest): Most influencers have real connection with their followers. They acquired them by producing contents that followers find very beneficial. Because of this, followers are much more attached to these individuals than to brands, and hence have a higher chance of being influenced by these influencers. Companies take advantage of this deeper connection by signing contracts with these influencers to advertise their products/services. This companies are referred to as Sponsors.

Followers (Fans): Just as there is no leader without followers, there are no influencers without followers. Followers are the people whom influencers influence to purchase products and services of sponsors. They benefit from the content that Influencers produce, and hence have a higher chance of being influenced to make purchases

2.3 – PATRON and Blockchain technology

Someone might ask, why does PATRON need to operate as a blockchain?

Blockchain technology puts the control of financial resources in the hands of only those involved in the transaction. It gives influencers the opportunity to directly connect with sponsors. Through blockchain’s escrow technology, the place of third-party escrow services is eradicated, hence giving influencers and sponsors total control of their funds, yet within a highly secure environment. Until both parties are satisfied, the funds will be held in the escrow.

Also, blockchain technology has a record keeping system that can’t be altered, which means that all the receipts and information regarding all transactions are stored securely in the blockchain, away from hack and alteration.

Finally, blockchain technology keeps data of users private. This means that only the influencer and sponsor have access to the data of those involved in the transaction. No third-party can have access to this information, unless been given permission by those who own the data.

2.4 – PATRON Business model

The PATRON Business model is built upon two pillars:

• Social Networking Service (SNS)
• Sharing economy

• Social Networking Service (SNS): Prior to the creation of the social media industry, only celebrities had the opportunity of having an influence over a following. Sport stars and screen divas captivated and won the affection of their audience through their talents and acts, and hence could easily influence their purchase decisions, hence compelling sponsor companies to scramble to acquire them as brand ambassadors for their products. However, with the birth of the social media, ordinary individuals who previously could not command a following, now have been empowered through Social Networking Services like Facebook and Instagram, to have fans whom they have built some level of connection with. By offering services that their followers derive some level of value from, they acquire the loyalty and affection of these followers, and hence can influence their purchase decisions.

• Sharing economy: If you have ever used an Uber, you will understand the concept of sharing economy. Sharing economy is a system where ordinary individuals are paid to lease their products or services for a given period of time. For example, an Uber is a private individual who is paid for rendering transportation services for a period of time. In line with the sharing economy concept, an influencer can be paid to render advertisement services to his/her followers for a given period of time. This contract which is usually between the influencer and a sponsoring company, and can be a one-time, monthly, or annual contract.

Combining the concepts of Social Networking Services (SNS) and Sharing economy, PATRON is able to provide value to both influencers and sponsors, and indirectly to followers, since influencers will be compelled to create better content for their followers in order to keep their loyalty. All these lead to the overall development and advancement of the ad campaign and media industry at large.

2.5 – PATRON live and impact on influencers