PPB June 2018

AD-ITIVES In Praise Of Self-Governance As more states legalize marijuana, an industry association proposes its own advertising rules. Legalization of marijuana continues to grow across the U.S.— 29 states allow medical marijuana, and nine states permit recreational use—but The National Association of Cannabis Businesses (NACB) isn’t waiting for state regulations to dictate how its medical products can be marketed to consumers, especially since those rules may vary widely from state to state. Taking a page from alcohol and tobacco, the group has proposed guidelines for medical marijuana marketing that it hopes will be adopted by businesses nationwide. Among the guidelines are these: • Advertisements cannot make unsubstantiated health claims • Ads must state that a product is only to be used by authorized patients • Products cannot be marketed to consumers under age 21 • Ads cannot show excessive consumption or use marketing tactics designed to appeal to underage audiences (e.g. cartoons, toys, celebrities or mascots) Doug Fischer, chief legal officer and head of national standards development at NACB, says, “As cannabis’s legitimacy increases, it becomes increasingly more important for the industry to be appropriate in the types of claims it is making. The increasing government interest certainly makes it more important to be very conscious of how the industry presents itself.” The guidelines also suggest that digital, TV, radio and print ads only be placed where no more than 15 percent of the audience is under age 21. Cannabis websites should install an age-screening component, where users must submit their birthdate to prove they are old enough to access the content. The proposed NACB guidelines were opened to public comment through May 25, and Fischer said he expected some changes to be made to the final set of rules. “Because state regulation is so fragmented, there are a lot of approaches in different states,” Fischer said. “It’s important for the industry to express its view on the most effective way to regulate and to drive discussion at the state level now, and in the near future at the federal level. If you can come up with a set of best practices and ensure businesses are adhering to them wherever they operate, then government regulators will know they are legitimate.” MARKET SHARE Outward Bound Improve your outbound marketing with these tools. The ways to reach prospects and current clients are myriad; yet, email marketing remains a top contender among outbound marketing methods. According to Wordstream, email marketing is one of the most powerful digital tools for businesses, with email users predicted to grow by 254.7 million by 2020 and with a $44 return for every $1 spent on email marketing. Here are a few tools you can use to pump up your outreach to attract more of the right kinds of customers for your business: 1 Uplead Looking for a lead generation platform that helps you connect to decision makers? Uplead aims to do just that, with real-time data verification and a number of search variables such as industry, company size, technologies used and more. The verification feature ensures any email address you enter is checked for activity, so you can avoid bounced messages from invalid accounts. 2 DirectIQ Automating email campaigns saves time and money and streamlines the process. DirectIQ supports automation with segmenting capabilities, contact list importing, and the ability to track successful deliveries in real time. The program is ideal for small and mid-sized businesses, offering templates to make email production simple, as well as the option to integrate social media channels. 3 Close.io If your team includes sales stars who can sell water to a fish, cold calling probably still works for you. Make it work better with Close.io, a CRM tool that optimizes the process through pre-recorded voicemails for prospects who don’t answer; funnel metrics and benchmarks; integrated messaging and complementary emails. 76 | JUNE 2018 | THINK