Radix recently partnered with Penrose Partners to thoroughly assess our marketing and strategic approach. This focused on understanding how marketing and other factors over the last two years have impacted results, and what changes we should make moving forward for better results.

At the start of their audit, they quickly came to two initial hypotheses: firstly, that Radix’s marketing efforts alone might not be enough, and secondly, that technical delays could be harming our brand's trust and reputation.

Findings

Encouragingly, Penrose Partners noted some strengths in our current marketing approach. They’ve pointed out that Radix has successfully maintained strong community engagement, especially through platforms like Discord, Telegram, and X. Our paid marketing efforts have also demonstrated effectiveness, significantly boosting website traffic and new wallet downloads around major campaigns, particularly the "Token Trek" initiative, which notably correlated with increased trading volume despite a modest budget. This indicates a promising pathway in incentivized, ecosystem-focused marketing campaigns.

However, these efforts have been constrained by limited resources. With only a small marketing team (4 compared to an industry average of 16) and budget, the ability to consistently execute impactful campaigns has been limited.

The audit revealed several challenges that extend beyond marketing execution.

Most significantly, frequent shifts in strategic objectives and persistent technical delays have significantly hindered Radix's momentum. This inconsistency has negatively impacted brand perception, contributing to the lowest visibility among our competitors, including Solana, Aptos, SUI, and NEAR Protocol. Limited listings on top-tier exchanges have further constrained market reach.

While already well documented as a major area for improvement by the community and team, token accessibility and liquidity were also pinpointed as pressing issues, with existing payment methods and bridging solutions introducing substantial friction for new users.

Recommendations

Penrose Partners recommends strategic adjustments to address these challenges, proposing an increase in operational resources, particularly expanding the allocation towards marketing and growth functions. It also suggests prioritizing liquidity solutions and securing broader exchange listings. Marketing-wise, the report urges clarity in brand identity, increased investment in strategic partnerships and events, and more consistent outreach efforts.

Lastly, exploring strategic partnerships or alignments with other Layer 1 platforms could significantly amplify our ecosystem growth and technology adoption.

Next Steps

The Radix Foundation is actively evaluating these recommendations to address core challenges strategically and holistically.

Many of these findings support internal and community views over the past few years and were highlighted when the Radix Foundation outlined its proposed key priorities for 2025, including enhancing user and developer engagement, improving token accessibility, and securing high-value partnerships to bolster ecosystem growth.

Specific larger programs, such as the recent proposal on the Radix incentives program, also align with these findings by focusing on adoption by repurposing the stable coin reserve for long-term points-based incentives and a partnerships/growth fund.

By sharing these initiatives and findings transparently, we aim to engage the Radix community in understanding the complexities and collaborative efforts required for sustained growth and success.

In the upcoming period, we will assess which actions are viable and how to prioritize them effectively. While we work through this, we invite the community to provide their valuable feedback and ideas. Your input is essential to ensure the community and the foundation align with the broader goals and steps forward. You can read an overview of their findings here.