🍃💊🎤 Athletic Greens hunted me; cannabis prevents COVID; podcast teaser
A bit of a roundup of topics this week
🤳 I was hunted…digitally
Hello, folks. I posted about Athletic Greens digitally hunting me on LI this week, and I want to dig in to how they did it. A reminder of what I said, if you didn’t see it it:
🖐 How many marketing touches does it take to get to the center of my brain?
Was my Athletic Greens journey a common one?
Yes, probably. The Marketing Rule of 7 (which was developed in the 1930s when studio execs calculated how many times someone saw a movie poster before buying a ticket) states that a prospect must hear an advertiser’s message at least 7 times before taking action.
But the 1930s was a long time ago. TV was invented in 1927, and was years away from mass adoption. No interwebs. Zero mobile technology. In reality, the Rule of 7 is the absolute baseline - the bare, bare minimum amount of touches - that an advertiser needs to execute to elicit a purchase.
As I mention in the post, what is much more likely is that Athletic Greens actually “touched” me much more than 3 times. Digging into it, I actually think I drastically underestimated how many exposures / impressions I had to their brand over time. If 7 is the baseline, 20+ is probably the average in our current digital environment.
🕹 Ze channels
Okay, we know that the target is at least 7 touches, and likely more, but what channels did they use?
For me, it was:
Podcasts
Social media
Word of mouth
I was probably subconsciously influenced by other digital ad placements, too - maybe on a news site, or ESPN. Maybe other social channels (Twitter?). Maybe a TV spot (though I rarely watch live TV). Maybe some OOH.
The point is, the set of outreach tools are plentiful, and I interact with quite a bit of digital media throughout the day. Athletic Greens got me, and though I recall a few touch-points, I probably glossed over several more.
Btw, look at these crazy engagement stats from podcast advertising:
😵 Pot prevents perishing
The cannabis community let out a collective ‘oh heck yeah’ today when we read this headline:
“Study Finds Cannabis Compounds Prevent Infection by COVID-19 Virus”
🕺🏻
From NY Post coverage:
Some cannabis compounds can prevent the virus that causes COVID-19 from entering human cells — but smoking marijuana offers no protection against the illness, according to a study by Oregon State University.
The researchers found that a pair of hemp compounds — cannabigerolic acid, or CBGA, and cannabidiolic acid, CBDA — bind to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, blocking a vital step in the deadly bug’s path to infect people.
…
“And our research showed the hemp compounds were equally effective against variants of SARS-CoV-2, including variant B.1.1.7, which was first detected in the United Kingdom, and variant B.1.351, first detected in South Africa,” Breemen added.
Every once in a while, I see a wacky post on LinkedIn about how cannabis can cure anything and everything, without a ton of science to back it up. This is a fun one, though, because it seems to have some scientific merit. And, if a person doesn’t want to ingest THC, all good - all you need is some CBD and CBG.
Grab that tincture and drink up. For science.
✊ Canndid conversations are coming
I’ve been working in the background and prepping for the upcoming podcast season. I anticipate having some shows ready in early Feb. Some confirmed guests below:
Annie Davis is the CEO & Founder of Growing Impact, a cannabis strategy consultancy. She has massive experience in the space, and I’m excited to chat with her about the importance and value of diversity in this space, as well as how to include and embrace the legacy market in our regulations.
Ulysses Youngblood is the President of Major Bloom, a Massachusetts dispensary that is bringing transparency and social responsibility to cannabis retail. I’m looking forward to digging into entrepreneurship and the mission of Major Bloom with Ulysses.
📚 tl: dr Athletic Greens hunted me digitally; I recall three marketing ‘touches’ but there were likely more
There are 7 touches MINIMUM to elicit a purchase; more in our digital world
Podcast ads seem to work
Some cannabinoids block COVID-19 from entering human cells
Canndid is coming along
It is Thursday