Q1 - Name of your Grant
Creator Activation Campaign - King of the Block & Magic Realms
Q2 - Total Grant Amount
We are requesting a total of $12,800 USD to be allocated across a 9-week campaign. This budget is strategically structured to maximize direct rewards to creators while ensuring professional execution and high-impact reach for the campaign.
| Category | Amount (USD) | Justification |
|---|---|---|
| Direct Creator Prize Pools | $4,800 | This allocation will be used to acquire the LAND & $SAND for the community prize pools. It directly rewards participation and incentivizes high-quality UGC for the two “King of the Block” and the two “Magic Realms” events. |
| Campaign Management & Hosting | $4,400 | Covers the operational costs to ensure successful event execution, including event coordination, community moderation, targeted promotions, holding live steams and managing submissions and judging. |
| Design & Content Creation | $3,400 | Production of high-impact marketing assets (launch video, social media graphics, contest guides) to maximize campaign reach and attract a broad range of participants. |
| Operations & Admin | $200 | Covers minor administrative and server costs required to support the campaign infrastructure over the 9-week duration. |
| Total Request | $12,800 |
Q3 - Specific
This project requests a grant to execute a high-impact campaign that serves as a powerful onboarding engine for new creators into The Sandbox ecosystem. Our strategy is twofold: first, we will convert casual players and non-creatives into first-time UGC creators using our mobile and web-based AI-powered tool Magic Block. Second, we will establish a strategic talent funnel to attract experienced builders from the vast Minecraft and Web3-native Hytopia communities with Magic Palette.
Our project’s uniqueness lies in its ability to elegantly bridge gamers and Web2 users to The Sandbox ecosystem. By participating in familiar, gamified contests, creators will be guided through the process of creating UGC content for TSB, setting up a wallet to receive on-chain prizes ($SAND and LAND NFTs), and interacting with The Sandbox Marketplace. This provides a rewarding first step into the world of true digital ownership, directly addressing the grant’s goal of increasing Web3 adoption.
The Problem: The Sandbox’s continued growth requires a constant influx of new creators, but two major hurdles exist: the technical barrier to entry for non-builders and the challenge of attracting established talent from other platforms.
Our Solution: We will launch a multi-faceted campaign and contests centered around our AI-powered and generative tools - Magic Block & Magic Palette https://magicpalette.io/, that simplify Block and Level Design creation. This campaign will feature four flagship contests designed to be instantly appealing to both new and experienced builders.
The Activation Plan: Our Core Contests
Our primary channel for the campaign and the announcements will be X, with visual content on Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. All contest details, submissions, and community discussions will be managed through our dedicated Discord server. As an additional channel we would love to post the contests announcements and the winner entries also here on the DAO Forums if moderation gives green light for this.
Contest Format 1: The “King of the BLOCK” League
This 4-week-long contest is designed for sustained engagement, rewarding consistency and skill. It is highly accessible even for non-builders and players who never touched TSB creators’ tools, thanks to the AI- and Mobile-first approach of Magic Block. We will hold this contest 2 times in the upcoming weeks and funnel it into a recurring event if it becomes a successful format.
- Concept: A weekly challenge where participants create a single, unique Block based on a theme, using our newly launched and free Magic Block tool.
- Mechanics:
– Each week for 3 weeks, a new theme is announced.
– Everyone can generate or design a Block design with our AI-powered texture generation and Magic Block’s intuitive layering system in seconds
– Participants submit one Block design per week.
– Submissions are judged on creativity and quality, with points awarded to the top entries. A public leaderboard tracks scores to fuel competition. - Prizing: The creator who accumulates the most points will be crowned the “King/Queen of the BLOCK” and receive a grand prize of 1 LAND and a share of $SAND with $SAND prizes for the follow-up placed participants.
Contest Format 2: The “Magic Realms” Creative Plot Challenge
A high-impact, team-based event where builders create block-based scenes on dedicated plots, encouraging ambitious, collaborative projects. We will hold this contest 2 times and funnel it into a recurring event if it becomes a successful format.
- Concept: A timed, team-based building competition hosted on dedicated LAND within The Sandbox. Hosted by SAND RUSH with a live stream event directly on The Sandbox to activate live community participation.
- Mechanics:
– Teams of 1-3 builders are assigned a standard plot size (e.g., 48x48 Blocks).
– They are given a theme and a fixed time frame (e.g., 14 days) to construct a complete block-based scene in voxels that will be combined with Magic Palette into a large Block-based scene published on SAND RUSH LANDs.
– There will be a live stream hosted by us (and if possible in collaboration with TSB Media team), where a jury of top builders will rate each entry during a live event.
– This format showcases the power of using Magic Palette for level design and Magic Block for generating custom Block textures for The Sandbox. - Prizing: Winning teams will receive a significant prize pool of LAND and $SAND, rewarding their collaborative effort and ambitious creations.
Q4 - Measurable
| Milestone | Key Deliverables | Timeline | Alloc.% | Allocation (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Campaign Launch | - All marketing content produced (video, graphics, guides) - Campaign officially launched on X and community channels - Discord server fully configured for participants. | Week 1-2 | ~45% | $5,800 (This covers payment for completed Content Creation ($3,400) and releases the Prize Pool ($2,400) for the upcoming Contests in Season 1) |
| 2. Contest Season 1 Completion | - King of the BLOCK League 1 is successfully executed - Realm Rulers Challenge 1 is successfully executed - Winners are announced and all prizes are distributed (using funds from M1) | Week 2-4 | ~36% | $4,600 (This covers payment for the Campaign Management of Season 1 ($2,200) and releases the Prize Pool ($2,400) for the final Contest Season 2) |
| 3. Contest Season 2 Completion | - King of the BLOCK League 2 is successfully executed - Realm Rulers Challenge 2 is successfully executed - Winners are announced and all prizes are distributed (using funds from M2) | Week 5-8 | ~17% | $2,200 (This covers the final Campaign Management costs for completing Season 2) |
| 4. Final Reporting | - Publish a report, detailing all KPIs and the impact of the campaign | Week 9 | ~2% | $200 (This covers the Operations & Admin costs for the project) |
Q5 - Accountable
Our project is driven by our dedicated team at SAND RUSH with proven experience of 4 years working in The Sandbox ecosystem, deep knowledge in tool development tailored to TSB, community management, and strategic growth within the UGC creators industry. We did build highly immersive TSB XPs for Web3 brands like CyberKongz and executed one of the first Community-Driven SIPs with SIP6 -Magic Palette, which was supported by more than 99% Yes votes.
| Name | Role | Relevant Experience | Contact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pepe Hiller | Project Lead & Strategy | Product Management, Community Building, Gaming & Web3 Growth | X LinkedIn |
| Lloyd D. | Lead Developer | TSB Creator Tools, Full-Stack Development | X |
| Alex A. | Marketing & Event Coordinator | Content Creation, Digital Marketing, Social Media | X |
Q6 - Realistic
This initiative functions as an Onboarding Engine. For many participants, especially from the Minecraft community, this will be their first practical experience with The Sandbox and Web3 technology. The process is simple and effective:
1. Engage: Attract builders through highly accessible and familiar contest formats.
2. Onboard: Incentivize first-time content creators to upload content to TSB Marketplace and guide contest winners to set up a Web3 wallet to receive their on-chain prizes ($SAND and LAND NFTs). This act serves as their first, tangible experience with digital ownership.
3. Activate: Encourage new asset owners to use their $SAND on The Sandbox Marketplace, list their creations and complete their first full loop in a Web3 creators economy.
In terms of numbers, we aim for the following activations through our 4 contests
-
King of the Block (Edition 1) 15-25 Block Design submissions each week / 45 - 75 New Block designs in total
-
Magic Realms (Edition 1) 8 - 15 Participating Teams with 1-3 Team Members each/ Populating up to 4 LANDs with new community builds
-
King of the Block (Edition 2) 20-30 Block Design submissions each week / 60 - 90 New Block designs in total
-
Magic Realms (Edition 2) 12 - 20 Participating Teams with 1-3 Team Members each/ Populating up to 5 LANDs with new community builds
Q7 - Timely
We have developed a condensed yet highly effective 9-week timeline. The campaign is set to launch in early July, with all contests running through to the end of August. This structure provides a consistent period of community activation while giving creators a structured and reasonable timeframe to produce their best work. We are confident in this schedule and will aim to deliver the final report to the DAO end of August.
| Phase | Timeline | Month |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Content Production | • Weeks 1-2 | June/July |
| 2. Contests Round 1 | • Weeks 2-5 | July |
| 3. Contests Round 2 | • Weeks 5-8 | August |
| 4. Final Report | • Week 9 | August 30th |
Q8 - Disclosure
All grant funds will be professionally managed by SAND RUSH Ltd, a registered Swiss company with a proven history of delivering significant value to The Sandbox ecosystem. Our track record demonstrates our capability, reliability, and commitment to enhancing the platform.
Key Credentials & History:
- Successful DAO Grant Delivery (SIP6): We executed on one of the very first community SIPs of the TSB DAO with SIP6 -Magic Palette. We delivered the project on time and significantly over-delivered on the scope, providing more features and value than initially promised.
- Core Technology Contribution: Our team developed foundational technology that was officially acquired by TSB for direct integration into its native software, including VoxEdit, underscoring our deep technical alignment with the platform.
- High-Profile Productions: We have successfully executed large-scale Metaverse experiences on TSB for iconic Web3 brands, including two major productions for CyberKongz within The Sandbox.
- Swiss Governance & Stability: As a Swiss-founded and based company with over three years of operational experience, we provide a stable and professional legal framework for the management of this grant.
Co-Founder and CEO of SAND RUSH Ltd - Pepe Hiller
X → @voxelgem
LinkedIn → Pepe Hiller
Further Disclosure:
- There was media coverage from Lanzer on Magic Palette on the SANDDAO Part I, Part II and Part III
- We did submit this proposal last week already in the Web3 Grant section, but on recommendation of the Web3 grant manager @yuelwolf, we have now moved this request to the “Community Engagement” section, since our project has a better alignment with the goals of this grant program.
How did you hear about the Sandbox DAO Grants Program?
- We have been participating actively in the TSB DAO since day one.
Looking forward to seeing this creator activation campaign commence!
