NEWSLETTER #78/ AUGUST 13, 2017
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POT OF GOLD FOR ADVERTISING?
One of the most fertile areas for advertising growth in the next few years is likely to be the cannabis industry. It is also going to be a fascinating case study in marketing.
Medical marijuana is now legal in 29 states. Recreational use is legal in 8 states plus D.C., Puerto Rico, and Guam. Legal marijuana has been reported to be the fastest growing industry in the US. It outsold Girl Scout cookies last year and is on target to outsell ice cream in 2017. In North America, cannabis is projected by some to be a $20 billion business by 2020.
While annual growth is projected to be in the 25% range for the next several years, there has probably never been another product category with as vexing a route to brand building. Every state has different laws regulating cannabis advertising. One little example of the hurdles facing marketers is the potential confusion regarding TV advertising:
- Regardless of state laws, cannabis is a federal no-no, and airwaves are licensed by the federal government. It's going to take a bold TV network to risk the wrath of the feds by running ads for pot.
- On the other hand, Congress has passed laws forbidding the Justice Dep't from interfering in states' medical marijuana laws.
- On the other hand, federal licenses for airwaves are controlled by the FCC, not the Justice Dept.
It can't help but be a mess.
One company apparently not afraid of the feds is Virgin America. Above is a scene from a spot for an app called Wikileaf currently running on Virgin America domestic flights. The airline industry is also federally regulated and it will be interesting to see if the feds give Virgin any trouble. Click here to watch the spot.
Meanwhile, the creation of brands around cannabis will also be fascinating to watch.
There are already hundreds of brands trying to differentiate themselves. Here is an example of a company called Society Jane (founded by my former business partner, Sharon Krinsky) that has created a successful brand around a concierge-like medical marijuana service for women.
43% Of Mobile App Ad Impressions Found To Be Fraudulent
The parade of fraud in online advertising is unrelenting. A recent study of over 1 billion ad impressions from over 1,000 mobile apps by Aki Kinetic and Marketing Science found that overall 43% of mobile ad impressions were fraudulent. I will be providing more specific info on this study as well as studies on viewability and ad blocking later this week on my blog.
Digital Marketing Drivel
Someone tweeting under the name "Douchebag Strategist" has captured the tone and vibe of digital bullshit artists beautifully. Here are a few of his/her tweets:
- True responsive organisations are platforms for post-mixed reality convergence
- What does Internet of Experiences mean for wearable tech?
- Core insight: new moms crave post-data utility
- The winning brands of the future will be all about community experiences in a super VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous) world
- The biggest challenge of our times is solving of omni-channel branded experiences
Go to any marketing conference and you are likely to hear a continuous stream of nonsense like this. In marketing today, it's hard to tell the satire from the powerpoint.
Thanks to the great Dave Trott for making me aware of "Douchebag Strategist."
And speaking of Digital Marketing Drivel, my blog post this week entitled "Proof I'm An Idiot" was one of my most popular of the year.
Shameless Self-Promotion
This article in today's New York Times is a nice prelude to my new book. It starts out "Google processes more than three billion search queries a day. It has altered our notions of privacy, tracking what we buy, what we search for online — and even our physical location at every moment of the day." Look for an announcement around Labor Day.
