How to Use the Peloton Strategy in Cannabis

In 2018, the year after I started using cannabis, I remember a call with a Colorado dispensary owner where I gave him a brilliant growth strategy that to this day, no dispensary has used.

But before I share the details of the strategy, let's go back in time -- it's 2013 and "influencers" are just on the come up. Among the first influencer categories to hit were fitness influencers. Everyone wanted to have the physique and cool factor of those perfect people we saw on Instagram (and in real-life in the gym), so it was easy for fitness professionals to influence purchases with their followers who loved and trusted their advice.

I was working at Ketchum and we had the golden opportunity to pitch Crunch Gym.

Our strategy was this: help your fitness professional employees (trainers, coaches, teachers) become influencers.

Their pushback: "What if we invest in them and then they go to another gym?" "How do we know who to elevate, and how is it fair to the other instructors/employees?"

In 2013, Barry's Bootcamp was beginning to sweep up NYC and eventually multiple big US cities into a frenzy for their one-hour intense classes. But, what Barry's understood from its roots in Los Angeles that celebrity culture was the way to grow a fitness brand. But, in addition to inviting all of the right people to take classes, they put concerted effort into growing the social media reach of their trainers.

Next, it was Peloton which started in 2015. Without the instructors, Peloton knew that it was nothing. The talent makes the brand (and great looks, great music and a great message that they all make a lifestyle).

It was 2013 and even though Crunch had a goldmine of social media potential working in their gyms, they couldn't see the value of their talent to support their brand, they only saw the potential cost and risk.

In 2018, I wanted to help the first dispensary I shopped at become a national brand. When I met the owner, I saw so much potential in his message and saw the potential for it to become a lifestyle. "Let's help your budtenders become influencers." I used the fitness example and even make-up influencers to try and make my case.

But, like the marketers I spoke to at Crunch, the owner only saw risk and expense. He wasn't wrong at all! At the time, and still to this day, he'd be the first dispensary to test this strategy.

So, who wants to be the first cannabis company to invest in building social media platforms with their employees with the goal of creating employee ambassadors who become influencers in their own right? Of course, not every employee is going to want this. But, for those who do, the loyalty and promotion you will receive will be invaluable to your business. It looks like sending your employees to industry events as your spokespeople. It looks like helping them learn to make content that doesn't get flagged. And, it's even thinking about hiring influencers and content creators as employees.

Will it take time? Yes, years. Might they leave? Yes, in fact, one of the top instructors from Barry's Bootcamp, Noah Neiman, took his Barry's Bootcamp fame and created an entirely competitive business called Rumble Boxing.

But, will it be worth it? Yes it will. Peloton's most "famous" instructor, Robin Arzon has brought fame and fortune to the brand and they have invested in her as well. She shares the Peloton message through her content, her appearances, her magazine shoots and in her lifestyle (she just had her second baby). This type of mutually beneficial promotion is what I hope to create with this strategy.

So, are you that dispensary owner ready to break out of the mold and try a break through social media strategy that just might change the industry, but will definitely change your business? Let's chat.