Industry News: Bureau of Cannabis Control Just Published: Notices On Cannabis Advertising & Promotion

The following press release and materials were originally published September 17, 2019 by the Bureau of Cannabis Control based in California:

To All Interested Parties,

The Bureau of Cannabis Control (Bureau) recently published two notices outlining the existing statutory and regulatory requirements for all advertising or promoting of commercial cannabis by licensees and non-licensees in the state of California. Failure to comply with the requirements for advertising may lead to significant financial penalties, as well as suspension or revocation of a license.

Both commercial cannabis advertising notices can be found on the “Licensees & Consumers” page of Bureau’s website, or on the “General Resources” page of the California Cannabis Portal. The notices may also be accessed by clicking the links below.

Notice Regarding Advertising of Commercial Cannabis:

https://bcc.ca.gov/about_us/documents/19-290_advertising_cannabis.pdf

Notice Regarding Advertising of Commercial Cannabis by Non-Licensees:

https://bcc.ca.gov/about_us/documents/19-289_advertising_cannabis_nonlic.pdf

What This Means For Your Brand:

The ever changing political view towards cannabis can sometimes feel like it’s taking a step backwards, but not in this case it just means that prospective cannabis entrepreneurs must invest in serious planning. Here’s a few times on how to create and executive a clear marketing plan while still adhering to restrictions and limitations.

Know Your Customers By Knowing Your Numbers

The most important thing a company can do in order to accurately target new and existing consumers is to understand who its current customers are and how they are interacting with the brand.

This means finding ways to capture customer demographics not just emails at applicable touchpoints a customer has with a company, both online and IRL. These kinds of interactions include purchases, brick and mortar visits, social media interactions, website visits, and participation in loyalty programs or other offline events.

Understand the Power of Market Research and Lookalike Audiences

In order to grow your business you will need to reach people who are not yet your customers. Constant market research and studying “lookalike audiences” enable you to identify and market to people who most closely resemble your best existing customers.

By tracking real-world cannabis behaviors, like purchase history and dispensary visits, and marrying these attributes to a larger demographic profiles, including financial and lifestyle attributes, you can use your current customers to identify prospective customers through advanced lookalike modeling. By reaching people who are most similar to your best existing customers, you are much more likely to find new customers in a much more efficient manner than trying to reach the entire online universe.

Optimize, Optimize, Optimize

As you begin to run your digital advertising campaigns targeting your different audience segments and lookalike audiences, you will start to collect enormous amounts of data on how effective and efficient these campaigns are.

Measuring the success of these campaigns requires the ability to track engagements beyond simply clicks. It is necessary to receive full attribution data on your media so that you can understand if your ads are driving sales. Once the proper measurement is in place, experimenting with slight changes to your targeting parameters, ad design, and calls to action can have significant impacts on how effective your digital advertising campaigns are.

By collecting and comparing data from all these minor variations you can identify the optimal combination of ad attributes and targeting parameters to dramatically improve the performance of your campaigns and reduce your customer acquisition cost. 

Looking to streamline all of the above? Schedule a complimentary consultation today to create a clear, compliant and successful marketing plan for your business: ely@elyagency.com or 805-201-8050.

What's A Terpene?

Organic compounds that provide aroma and flavor in cannabis and a variety of other organisms, including plants. Terpenes are responsible for the aroma and flavors of cannabis, and influence its effects by interacting with cannabinoids. Terpenes are formed inside cannabis trichomes, and their relative presence is directly affected by both the spectrum and intensity of light exposure.

Scientifically speaking, terpenes are defined as “a large class of hydrocarbon compounds constructed from five-carbon isoprene units that are combined to produce a great variety of skeletons.” These basic molecular “skeletons” are “then acted upon by various enzymes to add functionality and altered oxidation,” processes that ultimately lead to the wide variety of effects produced by terpenes.

Currently, there are at least 20,000 different terpenes in existence and the cannabis plant has more than 100 of these terpenes. Many terpenes that are produced by the cannabis plant are also found elsewhere in nature. However, there are a couple of terpenes that are in high concentrations in cannabis plants.

Here are the ones to know in regards to cannabis:

Myrcene terpene

Myrcene, which can also be found in mangoes, is the primary terpene found in cannabis plants. In fact, some plants can have up to 65 percent of their terpene profile made up by myrcene alone. The presence of myrcene often determines whether a specific strain can be considered an indica or sativa. Plants with more than 0.5 percent myrcene are said to be indica. Myrcene is responsible for giving marijuana its distinctive aroma. Myrcene has relaxing properties as well as anti-inflammatory properties. Strains that are high in myrcene are Skunk XL, White Widow, and Special Kush. 

Limonene terpene

The second most abundant terpene found in cannabis, limonene can also be found in various citrus fruits and is responsible for the citrusy smell. However, it may not be present in all cannabis strains. Limonene has powerful anti fungal and antibacterial properties, and its great smell means that it is a common additive in household cleaning and cosmetic products. Limonene can also help to bust stress and enhance mood. Strains high in Limonene include Sour Diesel and OG Kush as well as Super Lemon Haze. 

Pinene terpene

This terpene’s name says it all, really. Pinene is found most abundantly in the pine tree and is what gives pine needles its distinctive smell. Found in two varieties, alpha, which is responsible for that wonderful pine aroma, and beta, which has a scent like rosemary, dill, or parsley. Pinene is a strong bronchodilator, but also has strong anti-inflammatory and antiseptic effects that have been used for centuries in herbal medicines. Pinene can be found in strains like Strawberry Cough and Blue Dream.

Linalool terpene

If you’ve ever used lavender for its relaxant effects, then you’re familiar with the terpene linalool. Linalool is widely known for the stress-relieving, anti-anxiety, and anti-depressant effects. Linalool can help to balance out the anxious side effect sometimes produced by THC and this makes it an ideal terpene for the treatment of anxiety. Linalool is present in strains like Special Kush, Amnesia Haze, and OG Shark. 

Caryophyllene terpene

This terpene, which has a spicy, woody, peppery scent, is also found in black pepper and cinnamon. Studies indicate that this one small terpene is capable of performing the big job of treating anxiety, depression, and inflammation. Caryophyllene is found in such strains as Super Silver Haze, Skywalker, and Rock Star. 

Humulene terpene

While many other strains help to increase appetite, which is beneficial to those who have conditions which nausea and loss of appetite are a factor, strains that contain humulene may actually help to decrease appetite. Found in hops, cloves, and basil, humulene has also shown anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties in research. Strains which contain humulene include Liberty Haze, Girl Scout Cookies, and Sour Diesel. 

As said, cannabis contains some 100 known terpenes, all of which produce their own effects. Combined with the cannabinoids and other terpenes, the future of cannabis may just be in the cultivation of strains rich in certain terpenes and cannabinoids to create strains tailored to produce certain effects. 

Terpenes and cannabinoids are two compounds found in cannabis that when used together help produce a synergistic effect. Selecting strains based upon the terpenes’ effects can help you to achieve the result you desire.

Sources:

https://www.analyticalcannabis.com/articles/the-difference-between-cannabinoids-and-terpenes-311502

https://weedmaps.com/learn/dictionary/terpenes/

Ely Agency Featured In CNN Living - Press Archieve

Today’s Feature Friday is from the early days of Ely Agency when our primarily service was event planning but the articles’ key points are universal and timeless for most private events, not just weddings.

With the right innovative thinking there’s usually a way to save money on an event’s production budget. From skipping printed flyers, choosing more affordable wardrobe options for staff/BAs, and more there’s always a way.

Read the full article by Kat Kinsman on CNN here.

Newsletters Will Always Be A Powerful Marketing Tool

Sending out a regular newsletter may not be a revolutionary idea but it is an important part of every brand’s marketing and pr strategy. Newsletters serve multiple purposes all in one hit by keeping your visitors and customers updated on news, exciting topics, updates and promotions while maintaining and building brand royalty.

Major Perks To Sending Newsletters Out Regularly

• Reward existing royal customers while finding new ones: Customers have been shown to be more likely to purchase from a newsletter from a brand they already trust and have bought from in the past. Additionally if rewarded for forwarding and/or sharing newsletters with their social network, customers often will follow through with the ask.

• Low cost: Thanks to its email, a digital email newsletter is financially much cheaper than a printed paper version and the subsequent mailing.

• Short-term implementation: If the mailing has to be sent on a specific date, you need much less time to prepare for it than with a print version. Even a spontaneous newsletter is possible.

• No middleman necessary: You can direct the recipients of your newsletter straight to your website or your online store via a link. This means you can immediately track the success of your campaign with visitor and sales statistics!

• Easy Accessibility: Because many people read their emails on their smartphone, you can reach them almost always and anywhere with your newsletter.

Contact us today for a free consultation on how newsletters can help your business grow!

What's A Boilerplate?

Although often overlooked, the company boilerplate is an important part of any PR campaign.

A company boilerplate is usually one paragraph of text about the company that goes at the bottom of all its press releases, media alerts and often call sheets that are sent to all parties involved with a social media/marketing campaign. This text describes the company, its purpose, and often, its size, presence, and chief locations.

The boilerplate text is standardized, i.e. it is used on every press release with little to no change. You might make a few minor tweaks for different releases, but the overall text remains largely the same. If a company changes its boilerplate copy, it’s usually just to update some facts.

The usefulness of a boilerplate:

• Saves time: Every press release requires an about section. Having a polished and proven boilerplate text ready saves you tons of time when you’re drafting a new release.

• SEO: The boilerplate text is repeated across all your press releases which are subsequently published by hundreds of sites. Adding your target keywords in the text ensures that your business name gets associated with said keywords. You can also add keyword-rich links in the boilerplate for added SEO benefits.

• CTAs: You can add targeted CTAs in your boilerplate and direct all traffic to a relevant page.

• Easier searchability: Journalists researching your business can search for your boilerplate text and find all press releases from your company. Alternatively, adding relevant keywords to the press release ensures that journalists can find your release when searching through a press release database.

Examples of boilerplates:

HAKUNA SUPPLY

Hakuna Supply is Rooted in Thousand Oaks and was sprouted in 2016. Grown with our problem free philosophy, we believe in transparent customer service and giving back more than we take. From our products to our team members which include veterans, students and individuals of diverse backgrounds, we are all about embracing our differences to create a better environment.

For more information visit, www.hakunasupply.com.

THE CANNABIS WEDDING EXPO
The world’s first Cannabis Wedding Expo conferences + community is now in Las Vegas,, Denver, Los Angeles and San Francisco.  The interactive, educational, day-long expo is open to the public, offering inspiration and resources for couples who wish to incorporate cannabis into their wedding day and event celebrations — all in a deal-making environment — focused on the digitally engaged couple. The CWE was launched in Denver in 2016 and continues to expand into new markets every year.

For more information visit, www.cannabisweddingexpo.com.

Hakuna Supply In Triathlete Magazine

Matthew Kadey, MS, RD shared his views and preferences on CBD for athletes in the September print issue of Triathlete Magazine.

Upcoming 420 Events!

Check out a couple of events our clients are having this month

Join Ashlee Langas, Founder of The Wavvy Cloud and Sacred Storytelling on 4/20 for evening of cannabis, yoga, storytelling and excellent humans gathering together.  

Doors open for the evening at 4:00pm at which point cannabis will be available for those that would like to participate, followed by the infamous Stoned Yoga with esteemed instructor Ashlee Langas at 5:00pm.  Stoned Yoga is for everyone regardless of your experience with yoga or cannabis.  

Following yoga the space will be magically converted and Sacred Storytelling will be presenting a night of stories based on our theme for the evening, Dazed and Connected hosted by Belinda Woolfson.  Expect stories that will make you laugh and cry, as 4 storytellers take the stage.  There will also be an opportunity for an audience member to share a story, as we will be pulling one name out of a hat at some point during the show!  And as always there will be incredible live music throughout the night!

TICKETS: http://consciouscityguide.com/dazedandconnected

The Hakuna Hemp Cafe will be popping up at Kushstock Festival in Adelanto, CA on 4/20 from 12PM-11PM. The festival will also feature a glass blowing competition and live demonstrations. The contest has no entry fee and there will be three different competitions with themes chosen by the public. Participants will have 5 hours to create their best work. GA and VIP tickets are available.

TICKETS: https://kushstock.life/tickets

Be a part of a special evening produced by Blaze N Jane’s in honor of 420. Thirty of the cannabis industry’s top influencers and media representatives will converse for an intimate seven course Mediterranean inspired meal prepared by Chef Pedro himself. Email hello@elyagency.com for VIP ticket and/or sponsorship info.

What's CBD?

Cannabidiol (CBD) is a naturally occurring compound found in the resinous flower of cannabis, a plant with a rich history as a medicine going back thousands of years. Today the therapeutic properties of CBD are being tested and confirmed by scientists and doctors around the world. A safe, non-addictive substance, CBD is one of more than a hundred “phytocannabinoids,” which are unique to cannabis and endow the plant with its robust therapeutic profile.

Many people are seeking alternatives to pharmaceuticals with harsh side effects – medicine more in synch with natural processes. By tapping into how we function biologically on a deep level, CBD can provide relief for chronic pain, anxiety, inflammation, depression and many other conditions.

Extensive scientific research - much of it sponsored by the U.S. government - and mounting anecdotal accounts from patients and physicians highlight CBD’s potential as a treatment for a wide range of maladies, including (but not limited to):

• Autoimmune diseases (inflammation, rheumatoid arthritis)

• Neurological conditions (Alzheimer’s, dementia, Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, Huntington’s chorea, stroke, traumatic brain injury)

• Metabolic syndrome (diabetes, obesity)

• Neuropsychiatric illness (autism, ADHD, PTSD, alcoholism)

• Gut disorders (colitis, Crohn’s)

• Cardiovascular dysfunction (atherosclerosis, arrhythmia)

• Skin disease (acne, dermatitis, psoriasis)

Source: https://www.projectcbd.org/cbd-101/what-is-cbd

What's A Press Kit And What's It For?

A press kit, often referred to as a media kit in business environments, is a pre-packaged set of promotional materials that provide information about a person, company, organization or cause and which is distributed to members of the media for promotional use. Press kits are often distributed to announce a release or for a news conference.

Press kits are typically used for:

A media kit often accompanies a media release

• Product launches

• New company launch

• Mergers and acquisitions

• News conferences

• Announcements of special events, industry trade shows or exhibitions

• Accompany a press release or media release

• Notify the media of any newsworthy event within a company's sphere of activities

Check out examples of Press Kits we’ve created in the past for clients:

Schedule a consultation with us today to review and revive your brand’s current press kit today! Don’t have one? We can get started today!