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

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! - - Start your day with crypto news, analysis and data from Katherine Ross and David Canellis. Subscribe to the Empire newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire?utm_source=podcasts Follow Ekram: https://x.com/ekrahm Follow Austin: https://x.com/austin_federa Follow Jason: https://x.com/JasonYanowitz Follow Santiago: https://twitter.com/santiagoroel Follow Empire: https://twitter.com/theempirepod Subscribe on YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/4fdhhb2j Subscribe on Apple: https://tinyurl.com/mv4frfv7ww Subscribe on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/wbaypprw Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ - - 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 - - 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.