Imagining the possible and the impossible are at the core of how we create the future. The connection from Percival Lowell to HG Wells to Wernher von Braun is one example of how imagining has affected the future. The Martian Trust connects space enthusiasts’ playful interests to space exploration.
Your Stake
Each member of The Martian Trust has a stake he or she uses to affect governance and to engage with the community of members. Stakes vary by the amount of money a member has provided to the Trust. One way for a member to add to his or her stake is to buy a product or service that is bundled, or co-branded, with The Martian Trust. Part of what the member pays for a co-branded item is transferred to the Trust and credited to the member’s stake.
Consumer Power, put to Work
Product bundling and co-branding are ubiquitous; for example, an offer to rent a car once you’ve purchased airfare, a discounted meal at a restaurant when you present a ticket stub from a sporting event. When two organisations find mutual benefit in bundling their wares, they can reach a co-branding deal. The Martian Trust sells participation in a space programme. There’s a potential co-branding deal with any product or service popular among space enthusiasts.
Build the Brand, grow the trust
Space enthusiasts play computer games, lots of them, and often the pricier ones. Computer gaming is a $100 billion per year industry. Space enthusiasts also buy toys, tours, clothing … pretty much everything that everybody else buys. Martian Trust co-branding will start in sectors with strong space-enthusiast interest and then spread as the membership and the Trust’s brand spread.
We have the money. Let’s put it to good use.