Arbitrum DAO has spent millions on incentives in hopes of attracting more users. However, the gains didn’t stick, according to one Web3 marketing studio.
Arbitrum (ARB) DAO recently came under criticism for its ability to retain users. On April 4, Pink Brains, a marketing studio specializing in crypto and Web3, outlined issues with the network’s incentive programs.
Arbitrum DAO has poured millions into incentive programs (STIP, LTIPP), aiming to bring more users, TVL, and volume into the ecosystem.
But many of these programs had one thing in common:
📉 The gains were short-lived. Metrics dropped soon after the campaigns ended.
— Pink Brains (@PinkBrains_io) April 4, 2025
The agency pointed to several core issues, including a lack of off-chain marketing, weak tracking of key performance metrics, and minimal analysis of potential return on investment. A recent survey cited by Pink Brains revealed that only 21% of protocols knew their customer acquisition cost.
“The gains were short-lived. Metrics dropped soon after the campaigns ended,” Pink Brains on incentives programs.
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Even more notably, none of the respondents were aware of their users’ lifetime value—a fundamental metric in evaluating the success of any marketing campaign.
Arbitrum DAO should track ROI: Pink Brains
To remedy this situation, the agency proposed that projects that receive funds should set clear performance indicators. The goal of this approach is to discover what type of incentives work best, and to measure the ROI for the protocol. The agency highlighted that these measures a part of a recent Arbitrum DAO proposal, which did not pass.
Arbitrum first launched short-term incentive program, a one-time distribution of 50 million ARB active projects in January 2024. However, to provide a more long-term support, the holders approved the long-term incentives pilot program.
Arbitrum’s total value locked dropped from its all-time high of $3.454 on December 14 to its current level of $2.422 billion. The token itself is down 86.94% since its all-time high of $2.40, which it reached on January 12.
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