Under After

An animated cat newscaster spokesperson for a liquid staking protocol.2024

Mr. X

Liquid Collective launched in October 2022 as an enterprise-grade liquid staking protocol supported by Coinbase, Kraken, Figment, and Staked. The challenge: communicate complex protocol and ecosystem developments without hype, informing a busy audience while building brand recognition in a crowded market.

Under After created Mr. X, a professional newscaster who happens to be a cat. The character served as brand ambassador for Liquid Collective's monthly newsletter video program, delivering objective updates on protocol metrics, validator performance, ecosystem partnerships, and industry developments. Over a year, Mr. X maintained journalistic objectivity while dropping staking puns on his monthly news program.

The character combined institutional professionalism with personality. Mr. X reported facts, cited sources, and avoided promotional language. The talking cat format created memorability without sacrificing credibility, and cat puns provided levity ("the long tail of adoption"). The monthly series ran from March 2023 through December 2023, covering protocol growth from 2,247 ETH to over 36,000 ETH staked.

Mr. X in retro news studio with mid-century modern design and city names scrolling

Under After developed the concept and complete character world: technical stack, brand voice guidelines, backstory, go-to puns, a news program cold open, inset news graphics, and Mr. X's news studio design. The character was built as a puppet in Adobe Character Animator, with animation and video production in After Effects. Each monthly video opened with Mr. X at a desk reviewing news articles on monitors, then transitioned through protocol updates, ecosystem developments, and upcoming events.

Mr. X reviewing The Defiant article about $17B liquid staking market on studio monitors

The visual environment featured mid-century modern design with vintage television monitors, retro furniture, and the Liquid Collective logo illuminated in the background. A scrolling ticker displayed city names (Toronto, New York City, Mexico City, London, Berlin, Zurich, Luxembourg), reinforcing Liquid Collective's global institutional audience.

Mr. X studio environment showing mid-century modern furniture and broadcast setup

Mr. X also hosted live community events, including a May 2023 AMA on ETH staking featuring CEOs from Obol, Alluvial, and EigenLayer and representatives from Rocket Pool and Coinbase. The character maintained a consistent brand presence across Twitter (@mrx_lc), newsletter updates, videos, and virtual event appearances.

Mr. X reporting 672% growth in staked ETH over 60 days Mr. X presenting Q3 2023 metrics showing 900% increase in total deposited ETH with 765 validators Mr. X analyzing TVL growth chart showing 43% increase over 30 days Mr. X wearing Liquid Collective holiday sweater for December year-end newsletter

Services: Character Design, Brand Identity, Video Production, Animation, Art Direction, Community Engagement

Run: March 2023 to December 2023 (10 monthly updates)

Tools: Adobe Character Animator, After Effects, Photoshop, Midjourney

Context: Work performed while Mark Forscher served as Chief Marketing Officer at Alluvial at zero additional cost (no work was outsourced). Melissa Nelson (Content Marketing Manager) collaborated by leading research, scriptwriting, cat puns, and event programming.