Are We Sleeping On The Women In Cannabis Media?

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Recently, 420MEDIA CEO Kerri Accardi sat down with Tracy Lamourie for MJ News to discuss the exciting launch of her groundbreaking new venture A New Cannabis Channel. 

Here’s a peek into that conversation:

TRACY LAMOURIE: You have been doing some amazing things in the media and the cannabis space, and now you are combining the two in a way that I don’t think people are seeing just how groundbreaking it is!

KERRI ACCARDI: Maybe that’s because we didn’t Press Release our every move!

TRACY: Right! But now you are finally ready to let some of the secrets out! Can you tell us a little bit about the exciting things you have got going right now?

KERRI: Absolutely! I’m the founder of 420MEDIA, a full-service marketing and content creation agency.  Over the past 6 years we have been documenting the legalization of cannabis in the US. Currently we are in the process of launching a cannabis TV channel across ROKU, Apple TV, Firestick TV, Android TV, two mobile apps and online, with original programming, including a docu-series.

We are bringing education through entertainment with unprecedented opportunities for targeted advertising to cannabis and CBD companies.  We are super excited to take a very fragmented space and streamline the information to the mainstream while showcasing products and services in a way the public has yet to see.

There are so many people that they hear about CBD or they hear about the benefits of cannabis,  but they don’t know where to find a product or even worse they try a product that’s called CBD and it doesn’t work and right away they’re judging CBD as nonsense, but when you read the bottle it’s really hemp seed oil or something that doesn’t have CBD in it at all.

We really want to help guide people seeking knowledge. At the end of the day, we all have an endocannabinoid system with receptors for the plant on a molecular level. I don’t think the majority of people really understand that – and when they do it’s going to be a game changer.

TRACY: Absolutely- you’re talking education, you’re talking entertainment, the business of cannabis, literally anything relating to cannabis you will find on this channel. I know to bring something like this together doesn’t happen alone and you really have been able to gather an incredible team, some big names not just from cannabis but from the advertising world, from the world of marketing, from the world of media – you are bringing them all together, can you tell us about some of the people you have behind you and some of their experiences before joining you on this groundbreaking project in the world of cannabis.

KERRI: We have a phenomenal team that has come together absolutely from the mainstream industry. We have Emmy award winners; we have advertising executives – in fact the person who is creating our logo created one of the most iconic advertising campaigns I think ever in the world!

TRACY: Unbelievable!

KERRI: We will put names and more information and promo out over the next few weeks.

TRACY: I’m excited to see this develop. Can you tell me some more about the content, and I know it is incredible – you have got people at the top of their industries from athletics to the medical fields, not just one doctor but probably ten from across America – can you tell us a little bit about the content and the experience of gathering that over the years? I know it is a literal library, or a museum of cannabis history over the last few years.

KERRI:  Yes -we have a massive library of professionally filmed content – literally over 300 pioneers- on camera plus products, music, panels and speakers, and original programming.

Super bowl champion Marvin Washington hosts one of our series which explores cannabis from an athlete’s perspective. We have him in a CBD lab, pharmacy, events, as well as closed sets interviewing fellow NFL players and nurses – so it really is different insights coming through him.

Then we have another series hosted by a nurse and educator Heather Manus that is more geared to the medicinal side of the plant. What is the endocannabinoid system? Dosing, our receptors, what are the products and the different methods of ingestion and how does it affect us. Why is this plant working for people? We have another series called “Faces Of Cannabis” featuring over 30 pioneers sharing their story and insight into cannabis – from Wanda James who is on Netflix right now, to a child named Landon Riddle who is cancer free for seven years and he is nine years old to Dr Dina, the women the show “Weeds” was based on. We have a lot.

To me, in a time that is so divisive – to have over 300 people on camera to camera of different ages, ethnicities, and financial backgrounds that agree on one thing is pretty powerful.

TRACY: I know you have spoken in the past about the personal part of your mission.

KERRI: It’s super simple. I left New York on December 10th, 2013 I left on a mission to educate the world about cannabis.  My Aunt Kathy died. My best friend, my mentor, my everything. She died, and she didn’t have to. She definitely didn’t have to suffer like I watched.

I knew that no one would listen to me unless I knew what I was talking about, so I started at the bottom, literally – learning how to grow, meeting with patients, doctors, growers, lobbyists and more. This was back in 2013 in CA – it was a much different world.

In January 2014 NY quazi- legalized medical cannabis through executive order and thus 420MEDIA was born.

TRACY: What a journey. Somewhere your aunt is smiling down on you right now saying, ‘WOW! I inspired all this.’  You really are changing the world with this.  That’s not just language, people are going to see that as this develops – it’s going to be epic.

KERRI: What people don’t understand is that cannabis isn’t new, this medicine isn’t new, even the cannabis industry isn’t new – it’s new in the regulated space. California has been legal-ish for over twenty years and has been helping thousands of people.

TRACY : Now let’s talk a little about the business of cannabis, and I know from a business perspective it’s often difficult to get your message out in the space, struggles around advertising, struggles around restrictions and limitations on social media, lots of barriers about getting your message out there that we don’t face in messaging with other consumer products. So what you are doing is absolutely valuable to people in the cannabis marketing space.  Can you tell us a little bit about this really unprecedented advertising opportunity?

KERRI:  Everything was born out of a problem, and the problem is that brands do not have a place to advertise consistently. I learned about this over the past 6 years of owning an agency and having different television deals and advertising opportunities. They can just change their mind and the rules and the pricing and all sorts of craziness. This was created to enhance cannabis brands and products and give them a place to advertise and share their information very similar to television and TV commercials and when we go back into production we will have opportunity for product placement and sponsorships, so it is a space that will literally give brands the opportunity to showcase their product in high level content that has a truly targeted audience – because you aren’t coming to this channel to watch a baseball game.  You are coming to this channel to learn about cannabis

What’s the value of your athlete CBD cream being seen in a series hosted by a Super Bowl champion who also happens to have a case going to the Supreme Court over the legality of cannabis? What does it mean to have your brand showcased amongst medical professionals discussing the benefits of cannabis?

TRACY: So right now, can companies get involved? Right now, is there opportunity?

KERRI: Yes! What we are doing now, given the COVID-19 situation, is selling permanent placement in three of our series where we will build in commercials to showcase those brands and services. If you are in a series with Marv Washington, for example, you are in there forever. So, brands are getting multiple digital assets and a lifetime value. If they don’t have a commercial, we can have it created for a slight up-charge. If they do have a commercial, they can send it to us, and it will literally be edited in as if it was a part of that series. It is only for our inaugural series!

TRACY: So right now, anyone can get in on the ground floor, in there forever, they can basically write their own story right now as far as where they want to be.  As a publicist and a marketing person, I’m definitely excited about this for my own brand and for my clients, it’s great to be able to get in on the very beginning.

Cannabis Educational and Awareness Campaign, “Hmm Did You Know” Debuts On Cable TV

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 30-Second Spots Aired On BRAVO, Discovery and The History Channel, Dispelling the Stigma of Cannabis

CALIFORNIA: For the first time in history, cannabis education commercials hit mainstream television this week. A groundbreaking media blitz campaign for the upcoming cannabis online TV network Hmm Did You Know (HDYK) aired a number of :30 commercial spots during primetime programming on stations including BRAVO, Discovery and the History Channel in the greater LA market. Featuring  Senator Positive T.A. Nelson, a seven-term Senator from the island of St. Croix, discussing the science and economic power of medical cannabis, the HDYK campaign suggests that standards are shifting for cannabis marketing in legal states.

The spot, created by 420MEDIA, a Seattle, NYC and Nevada-based digital marketing and media agency serving the legal cannabis industry, is the first in a series that will feature prominent voices in the cannabis industry and community.

“The rationale behind medicinal cannabis is real, the science is real, the economics behind it is real, the health behind it is real,  and the opportunities behind are very real” says Senator Nelson in the spot promoting Hmm Did You Know Online Cannabis Network, a collaborative effort with 420MEDIA to launch an internet based digital video service that provides insight, education, and entertainment in the world of cannabis. The network will give audiences a clear representation of the cannabis plant and industry through premium content, innovative advertising, and a personalized experience.

Cannabis Commericals

“This first cannabis education spot for the HDYK Network marks an important milestone for the cannabis industry. For the first time in history, cannabis industry commercials have now gone mainstream and we are ecstatic to reach large populations during primetime with messages on the benefits of cannabis,” says Kerri Accardi, CEO of 420MEDIA.  “This is just the first of many slated for this cannabis awareness education campaign with other renowned cannabis experts in the sports, medical and entertainment field sharing their wealth of information about benefits of medical cannabis. We are happy to break through and deliver the message that will reach national audiences,” she adds.

The first spot was co-sponsored by 420MEDIA along with several cannabis-based organizations and businesses including:

Humboldt Grace, a woman-owned cannabis strategic consulting company. Founder Lelehnia Du Bois offers her 45 years of experience to educate on the cannabis culture, work with individual, businesses, and organizations to develop successful strategies, and advocate for a healthy and sustainable industry.

The Marijuana Business Association (MJBA) has quickly established itself as one of the leading national b2b organizations in legal cannabis.  Established to provide business intelligence, professional networking and new business opportunity, MJBA hosts regular industry networking meetups, boot camps and seminars in Washington, Oregon, Colorado,  New York and Ohio and publishes the MJNews Network.

Nature Nurse Products utilize the power of nature and knowledge of medicine to create products that support the biological Endocannabinoid system. Nature Nurse is a beautifully blended and synergistic combination of ancient plant wisdom which has been expanded upon through science to create high-quality, easy to use products to incorporate into everyday life supporting health and well-being.
Curved Papers, a new twist on Rolling Papers, was founded by Michael O’Malley, an MIT-educated entrepreneur whose innovative patented curved design makes joints Easy To Roll.

Vital CBD:  Age Vital pharmacy, research and wellness is your local community and compounding family pharmacy Sarasota. By working in the medical field closely with physicians and patients for several years, their primary commitment is to serve people who suffer from chronic conditions such as pain, inflammatory conditions, and stress.

“We did it! We can take cannabis education to the mainstream on TV during Primetime to provide facts with the cannabis industry sponsors,” 420MEDIA’s Accardi said. “I’m humbled. We were able to achieve this five years to the day my Aunt Kathy passed away on October 2nd. I promised her that that I was going to educate the world about cannabis. This is the first in a series to air on TV. I encourage, and welcome cannabis and hemp businesses of any size interested in supporting cannabis education and build their brand awareness to contact us about unprecedented sponsorship opportunities,” she said.

Cannabis Marketing — Not Just Blowing Smoke

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By Kerri Accardi

Turn on the TV at home, listen to the radio in the car, or surf the internet anywhere and you will be feed a steady diet of drug ads. Some are so frequent that you can recite the side effects by heart. But where are the cannabis ads? Why aren’t legal cannabis companies running media campaigns? We all know Budweiser is the King of Beers, but who is the Potentate of Pot?

The main reason we do not see more cannabis commercials, even in states that have medical and adult use laws, is not legal prohibition as you might suspect. It is because most cannabis companies are unaware that they are legally able to bring their cannabis business to both broadcast and digital media channels.

420MEDIA is a full-service media agency that works exclusively with cannabis brands. It has established distribution relationships across mainstream TV, industry and consumer print publications, digital media platforms, OTT, and dispensary programming, providing the cannabis and hemp industry with integrated cross-platform solutions across both traditional and new media marketing channels, enabling mass reach and demographic and geographic targeting.

It hasn’t been easy. The push-back has come from the cannabis industry shying away or questioning the validity of mainstream advertising. Broadcast television and mainstream radio have been extremely cautious, often changing their minds about broadcasting an ad at the last minute.

https://youtu.be/BA1yGPpIEo8

The landscape is changing rapidly. Patients are changing public perception about cannabis with their compelling and honest stories of hope. In the world of ‘Fake News’ real voices do matter. And the story of a person using cannabis to manage a medical condition moves the discussion beyond stoner jokes.

Education is the key. Informed consumers and regulators will be able to see through the myths and the misinformation. Whether it’s about the way cannabis affects our bodies, the economy, brands, products or our rights — we all need to know!

The cannabis and hemp market are growing at a rapid pace — lack of knowledge will be the only thing that holds us back from flourishing as an industry and nation. Within five years, cannabis and hemp will become more normalized through media, people will be healthier and wealthier, and our economy strong.

Kerri Accardi is the visionary behind 420MEDIA offering a unique combination of full-service digital marketing services, media distribution, and industry expertise.

 

420MEDIA Hires Veteran TV Agency Executive To Spearhead Mainstream Advertising, Programming & Commercial Placement

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NEVADA: 420MEDIA, an advertising agency that creates, produces, and distributes cannabis media-TV, web, and digitally, has hired a veteran TV agency executive John Graziano, to spearhead mainstream advertising, programming and commercial advertising placements. Since inception in 2014, 420MEDIA has created content, relationships in the industry and mainstream with groundbreaking opportunities for cannabis brands to showcase their products to millions. 

“John represents the highest level in media executives. He will be instrumental in helping to bring world class media to the emerging marketplace of cannabis. We’re ecstatic to have him as our in-house media buyer,” said Kerri Accardi, 420MEDIA CEO.

Mr. Graziano has spent 43 years in broadcast media placement. Prior to founding the well-known ad agency, Max Media, John spent 8 years in broadcast ownership and management. Before that he was Senior Vice President of a major national advertising sales firm where he spent 8 years supervising more than $400 million in annual media billing. John’s background also includes 10 years of hi-profile national advertising account management. He’s held positions of Vice President of Advertising for Wherehouse Record Stores, a national retail chain that spent over $75 million annually. He has handled hundreds of major accounts successfully.

John will handle both large and small media accounts, from institutional advertisers, to brand names, to direct response clients and will personally be involved in all phases of the marketing process and carefully monitors the progress made by each of the media accounts assigned to him. 

“The opportunity to be involved with 420MEDIA, and to handle accounts in cannabis-related industries, is an exciting new venture. We will pioneer this field and bring these important businesses to the general public’s attention through effective mainstream and new media,” Graziano said. “Nobody has more experience and expertise there, nobody!”

AK Ventures Creates Mainstream TV Opportunity For Cannabis Brands

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CALIFORNIA: America is curious about medical cannabis. Legal in 25 states, poll after poll confirm that the overwhelming majority of citizens supports the legalization of medical cannabis, even while admitting that they don’t know very much about the medicinal properties of the federally-prohibited plant.

Things are changing rapidly in the cannabis marketplace, with constant product innovation, improved standards and the emergence of brand building, sophisticated packaging and professional marketing and public relations in the cannabis space.

AK Ventures CEO Kerri Accardi believes medical cannabis is ready to go mainstream. Her new broadcast series, “Medical Cannabis: The Healing Power of Knowledge” is scheduled to debut this fall, supported by some of legal cannabis’ top new brands.

With a passion for the plant, New York business savvy, and sheer determination, Accardi has forged partnerships with leading channels in every major U.S marketplace that, for the first time in history she believes, will allow cannabis brands to be seen on main stream broadcast television.

“I am humbled and grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with all the walks of life I’ve seen this amazing herb bring together,” Accardi said. “Knowing our series will bring the truth to light while bringing cannabis industry products and innovations to the public eye aligns with everything I personally started my soul mission for, I feel pure gratitude.”

Accardi and her team at AK Ventures are seeking cannabis related businesses to participate in “a modern day variety series” showcasing the healing benefits of cannabis!  Featuring well known athletes, doctors, nurses, patients, and others in professionally-produced segments the series is designed to be both entertainment and education, all packaged in a visually appealing and attention-getting TV format.

This exciting opportunity is available exclusively to one company in each product category in each marketplace.  The inaugural pricing is set at $10,000 for each verticals, including: Topicals, Medibles, Dispensary, Seed, Software, and Laboratories.

“Medical Cannabis: The Healing Power of Knowledge” Markets & Stations:

NEW YORK -WCBS

LOS ANGELES-KCBS, WLNY, KCAL

CHICAGO-WBBM

PHILADELPHIA-KYW, WPSG

DALLAS -FT WORTH-KTVT, KTXA

SAN FRANCISCO-OAKLAND- SAN JOSE-KPIX, KBCW

BOSTON(MANCHESTER)-WBZ, WSBK

DETROIT-WWJ

MINNEAPOLIS-ST PAUL-WCCO+

MIAMI-FT LAUDERDALE-WFOR, WBFS

DENVER-KCNC

SACRAMENTO-STOCKTON-MODESTO-KOVR

PITTSBURGH-KDKA

BALTIMORE-WJZ

ATLANTA-WUPA

TAMPA-ST PETE(SARASOTA)-WTOG

DETROIT-WKBD

SEATTLE-TACOMA-KSTW

LAS VEGAS-CBS

Medical Cannabis Education: The Healing Power of Knowledge Comes To TV

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CALIFORNIA – AK Ventures, a social purpose corporation servicing the cannabis industry, has announced its latest media project, ”Medical Cannabis: The Healing Power of Knowledge”, a 30-minute series that the company intends to distribute via the major television broadcast networks like CBS, ABC, NBC, Fox.

According to company founder Kerri Accardi, the show is intended to inform and educate mainstream TV viewers on cannabis, cannabis healing, and the emerging cannabis industry as a whole.   Featuring interviews with interesting guests, topical discussions, politics, investigative journalism, health and sports medicine, planned segments will include cannabis industry notables Dr. Sue Sisley, Dr. Sunil Aggarwal, nurses Heather Manus, Marcie Cooper, Juhlzie Monteiro of Cannabis Nurses Magazine; attorneys Ken Sobel and Michael Minardi; botany expert and founder of the nonprofit Haleigh’s Hope Jason Cranford; business pioneers Chloe Villano, Cloverleaf University; MJBA founder David Rheins, and Vivian McPeak, founder Seattle Hempfest, “the longest running protestival in the world.”

“We will learn from Veterans Roger Martin and Michael Kravitz and their work on PTSD, The Silver Tour’s Robert Platshorn and his expertise on senior’s health and cannabis,” Accardi said.  “The audience is also introduced to the emotional story of 15 year old medical refugee and Crohn’s survivor / thriver Coltyn Turner and his family.  There will be surprise celebrity and athlete appearances as they stop by to show their support for cannabis education.  The airwaves have never seen anything like this.”

Accardi, founded AK Ventures in the memory of her much loved aunt, who died in 2013.  “We are humbled and grateful for the opportunity to share this information and education in a fun filled, visually appealing, entertaining way with the support of mainstream media.”

As point of clarification, CBS is not producing or sponsoring this project.  It is AK Ventures that is producing the program and is seeking sponsors to fund the purchase of the airtime across multiple markets in the country.

The opportunity that AK Ventures has created for the cannabis community truly is unprecedented. In Accardi’s words,  “We are creating her-story in history!  We are proud to announce Lelehnia DuBois, founder of Humboldt Grace and Michael O’Malley, Curved Papers for becoming a first- to – market sponsor to support the end of prohibition.”

AK Ventures is offering ethical cannabis related and other supportive companies the historic opportunity to be a part of it, giving them the chance to help support cannabis education in North America.   Sponsors will be integrated throughout the programming.

Hmm..Did You Know Shifts Perceptions With Rich Media Cannabis Portal

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WASHINGTON: Marijuana marketing is coming of age now that legalization is growing both the need and the branding budgets of the cannabis industry’s first crop of pot products.

Cannabis media too is evolving – moving beyond the stereotypical High Times and Cheech & Chong 1970’s sensibility into the modern era of integrated digital marketing.   Meeting the growing need for reliable information — about the laws, the culture, the science and the new cannabis brands —  New York filmmaker Kerri Accardi and her 420MEDIA agency are rolling out a new platform called “Hmm did you know?”

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQj0vNGrWXg&w=560&h=315]

In an exclusive interview with MJ News Network, Accardi explains that HDYK will be a visually-inspired rich media web destination designed to serve as a comprehensive source of information, education, and entertainment about cannabis and hemp.   “We are creating an online platform featuring professionally-produced series, commercials, digital media, and integrated marketing. HDYK is a place to see faces of the cannabis industry.”

Accardi came to the industry first as an activist, pursuing a passionate drive to raise the awareness of medical marijuana.  Through project work with several leading dispensaries and an assignment shooting last summer’s Seattle Hempfest,  she developed strong personal connections with pioneers and industry leaders, many of whom have agreed to participate in HDYK, including Hempfest’s Vivian McPeak, CCSE’s John Davis and MJBA’s David Rheins.

“The idea manifested when my Aunt Kathy was sick and I was trying to convince my family that cannabis was medicine,” the Staten Island native told MJNN. “There was no where for to me to show them other than scattered websites that were far and few between.  Grateful and beyond humbled I’m now aligned with pioneers and industry leaders to share education and information on a global level through visual entertainment and media.”

The multi-media platform will focus initial content offerings in five key channels: Healing, Science, Business, Hemp and Organic Growing, with an emphasis on programming that shifts public perceptions shaped by years of propaganda. “HDYK will shift consciousness and change the way people perceive our miracle plant, ” she said. “It will give the industry a place to share their products and information while providing the knowledge to those seeking.”

Advertising opportunities begin as low as $1000, and scale all the way up  $50K primary sponsorship packages.

For more information about getting involved with Hmm Did You Know? Email info@420MEDIA.us; or call (425) 420-0585

Washington’s Top Pot Companies Recruit At Seattle Job Fair

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WASHINGTON: Washington’s legal marijuana market is heating up. In the first two months of operation, the Evergreen State has generated more than 14 million in recreational marijuana sales, which resulted in more than $3 million in new tax revenues — all that with only a handful of legal pot shops open. Every week the Washington Liquor Control Board issues more recreational licenses for legal growers, producers and processors of pot, and as that production ramps up so does the demand for a wide range of professional services.

The Green Rush is on — cannabis employers are now focusing on hiring and so the Marijuana Business Association hosted a Job Fair to put would-be workers in weed together with new high-paying jobs.

The MJBA Job Fair happened Saturday at the Red Lion Hotel in Bellevue, WA, and was presented by online job board Weedhire.com, and sponsored by a host of leading canna-employers. AOL Jobs talked to some of them to find out what kind of jobs are being created in this new legal industry, and what kinds of experience and training will best prepare job seekers for an exciting new career in the cannabis trade.


Marco Hoffman,
President, Evergreen Herbal

Marco Hoffman is a successful entrepreneur out of California where he co-founded the Venice Cookie Company. He is modeling his smaller Washington operation after best practices learned at VCC. Evergreen Herbal has quickly established itself, and its 4.20 and infused-Quencher lines – at the top of Washington’s most successful medibles category.

MJBA Job Fair 231A.C. Braddock
CEO, Eden Labs

Eden Labs is a leading manufacturer of extraction technology, the innovator of the Hi-Flo Co2 system, the “Coldfinger” distillation systems and a multitude of protocols for the processing of botanicals. The company, which has deep roots in the food, tobacco and coffee industries, has grown quickly in response to the tremendous growth of the cannabis concentrates market. A.C. is a founding member of Women of Weed, Marijuana Business Association, NCIA and the MJBA Women’s Alliance.

Eden Labs does not micro-manage” A.C. tells AOL Jobs. “Employees must be able to work unsupervised, and will be expected to be responsible in achieving designated deadlines and improving the job role as needed.” Like many in the dynamic new industry, Braddock emphasizes the importance of being a team player with excellent communication skills.