Inside Baseball of Building a Crypto Brand | Austin Federa & Ekram Ahmed

Empire

In today's episode Austin Federa (Head of Strategy at Solana Foundation) and Ekram Ahmed (CMO of Celestia) - break down what actually works in crypto marketing. They discuss why Web2 marketing principles fail in crypto, reveal how Solana and Celestia developed their distinct narrative positions, and explain what most projects get wrong about crisis communications and community building. The conversation covers everything from the "modular vs monolithic" narrative war to why marketing agencies rarely work in crypto. Thanks for listening!

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Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction

04:54 Crypto vs Web2 Marketing

10:29 Creating a Brand in Crypto

36:44 Building Narratives

43:56 Genius of Modular

52:07 When to Pivot?

58:09 Hiring Marketers

01:09:58 Crisis Management

01:19:21 Value of KOLs

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Disclaimer: Nothing said on Empire is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely our opinions, not financial advice. Santiago, Jason, and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.