byReefer White Paper
I. INTRODUCTION
Legalization of cannabis is the way forward, there is no way to deny that. If we use the alcohol market as an example, during prohibition almost everyone was enjoying their alcohol in a similar fashion to how cannabis consumers have since the onset of cannabis prohibition. Over time as prohibition failed and the government began to regulate and tax alcohol sales, it opened the entire industry back up to traditional means of marketing. Cannabis however is a completely different story as of right now.
Marketing practices within the legal cannabis industry are limited due to laws, and even further limited digitally with various platform guidelines that are constantly evolving. This combination makes it incredibly difficult for brands to interact with their consumer base, and effectively market to build a brand as the industry grows. These factors alone are stunting the growth of the legal market as they create a level playing field for the illegal industry to continue to operate, and in fact thrive.
In this white paper we will review how a Web3 infrastructure could facilitate and create an environment for the legal industry and all cannabis consumers to collectively correct the course of the industry, while creating value and opportunity across every B2B, B2C, and C2C experience within the legal cannabis industry.
II. THE PROBLEM
The ability to market is essential for the growth of any industry because it helps businesses attract and retain customers, build brand awareness, differentiate themselves from competitors, and generate revenue.
The regulation around cannabis prohibits or limits most means of traditional marketing because of the complicated legal and social issues surrounding the sale and use of cannabis.
In many jurisdictions, cannabis is still considered a controlled substance, and the sale and distribution of cannabis products are subject to strict regulation. These regulations often include restrictions on advertising and marketing activities to prevent the promotion of cannabis products to minors, limit exposure to the general public, and prevent misleading claims.
As a result, traditional marketing methods like billboards, television ads, and radio ads are often prohibited or strictly limited for cannabis products. For example, in the United States, cannabis companies are not allowed to advertise on television or radio because of federal regulations against promoting illegal drugs. Similarly, in Canada, cannabis companies are subject to strict advertising rules that prohibit them from using celebrity endorsements or making health claims about their products.
Additionally, because of the social stigma that still surrounds cannabis in many places, companies may also face challenges in finding traditional marketing channels that are willing to work with them. For example, some newspapers and magazines may be hesitant to run ads for cannabis products due to concerns about negative public perception.
Social media sites have a wide range of policies and guidelines that dictate what type of content is allowed on their platforms. One reason why many social media sites don’t allow for cannabis content is due to the complex legal and regulatory landscape surrounding cannabis.
Cannabis is still illegal at the federal level in the United States, despite being legal for medical and/or recreational use in many states. As a result, social media companies, which are subject to federal regulations, may be reluctant to allow cannabis content on their platforms for fear of violating federal law.
Additionally, many social media sites have policies against promoting or selling illegal drugs, and some consider cannabis to fall under that category due to its legal status in some jurisdictions. As a result, cannabis-related content may be seen as violating these policies and could result in the content being removed, the account being suspended, or even legal consequences for the user.
It’s worth noting that the policies around cannabis content can vary widely from platform to platform, and some social media sites are more permissive than others. However, given the complex legal and regulatory landscape surrounding cannabis, it’s likely that many social media sites will continue to exercise caution when it comes to allowing cannabis content on their platforms.
What this means essentially is that if an industry cannot effectively market its products or services, it will struggle to attract new customers. This will lead to a decline in sales and revenue, making it difficult for businesses within the industry to sustain themselves. Without marketing, an industry will struggle to build brand awareness and differentiate itself from the illegal market. This can make it challenging for businesses to establish a positive reputation and build a loyal customer base.
Marketing also plays a critical role in developing effective sales strategies. Without marketing, businesses may struggle to identify and target their ideal customers, create compelling offers, and close sales effectively. Effective marketing often involves researching and understanding customer needs and preferences, and using that information to develop new products or services that meet those needs. Without marketing, an industry may struggle to innovate and keep up with changing customer demands simply because they don’t know what those demands are.
III. CURRENT SOLUTIONS
The biggest piece currently missing within the industry is consumer data, and there isn’t really a tool available that captures that information at a large enough scale, with enough data points that the data is reliable enough to be utilized for making business decisions.
One of the most common consequences of making decisions based on incomplete data is that the business may not achieve the desired outcomes. Incomplete data can result in an incomplete understanding of the situation or problem, which can lead to a suboptimal decision that does not produce the desired results. Ill informed decisions can also increase the risk of negative outcomes. Without a full understanding of the situation, the business may be more likely to make decisions that expose it to unnecessary risk or uncertainty. This can also result in wasted resources, including time, money, and effort. If the business discovers that its decision was flawed because of incomplete data, it may need to spend additional resources to correct the mistake. Most importantly, making decisions based on incomplete data can damage the business’s reputation. If the decision leads to poor results or negative outcomes, customers or other stakeholders may lose trust in the business’s ability to make good decisions. This can have long-term consequences for the business’s success and profitability.
Current marketing solutions are limited to sites such as Leafly and Weedmaps which only serve as directories and generalized information. These sites have excessive fee structures and make it difficult for brands and retailers to differentiate themselves from their competition without paying additional fees for placement and advertisements on these platforms. While these sites provide the information for consumers to comparison shop and get a basic understanding of strains, they do not create any additional social value or provide any information on consumer data.
IV. PROPOSED SOLUTION
When it comes to social media in general, we have seen major platforms become overrun with spam and bots. Building our ecosystem on top of a blockchain will allow us to put measures into place to authenticate a user’s identity while maintaining their anonymity, ensuring that our community is filled with users that not only exist, but are verifiably allowed to consume our content.
Most legal states have systems in place that track and trace all retail/medical sales from seed to sale. This system also generally tracks lab test results, which will provide us with half of the information we need. As previously mentioned we are missing all the data from the other half of the equation, from sale to consumption. This means brands have no idea who is actually purchasing their products, how effective they are for their customers, how frequently they consume their products, and so much more data that they can utilize so they can better advertise to their ideal customers and grow their market.
The entire legal cannabis industry is missing half the data it needs to effectively grow, while also completely lacking an environment where they can market, this creates an opportunity to implement an infrastructure and set of tools that reshape the way marketing and social media can operate within a Web3 framework in order to allow for the legal industry to evolve, and not only compete against the illegal market, but become the leader in market share.
Our platform creates a self sustaining marketing environment that incorporates everyone within the market: Brands, Retailers, Influencers, and Consumers. Brands and Retailers can market freely and have access to complete market data to base critical business decisions on; Influencers and Consumers can create and interact with content and earn from the value that they create from day one. By utilizing blockchain, a full reserve cryptocurrency, and NFTs we can make it possible for the entire ecosystem to be self-sustaining, and as decentralized as possible from the onset.
The idea behind the platform is that the user should be the beneficiary of ANY value that they create within the ecosystem. To accomplish this, we are also participants within the ecosystem and as such only benefit from the value we create. The basis of the entire ecosystem will be a full reserve cryptocurrency (backed by USD in an FDIC insured banking institution) to ensure market stability and eliminate risk associated with current crypto markets, while encouraging consumer adoption. The token goes to 4 decimal places, so that we can implement tools that require minimal fees, and will help perpetuate the ecosystem as it evolves. Beyond this, every other aspect of the ecosystem utilizes NFTs to establish asset ownership and track assets as they move throughout the ecosystem:
- Membership NFTs: Establishes exclusive groups within the ecosystem that can have their own benefits including access to affiliate programs, events, promotions, product, and/or content
- Content NFTs: Turns everything that is posted on the social side of the platform into an NFT so that creators can generate revenue whenever another user interacts/engages with their content within the platform, even if it’s shared/goes viral through another user. Also creates opportunity for artists to have Royalty Free content so that the ecosystem has access to a repository of stock photography and video to use within other pieces of content.
- Experience NFTs: A simple way to incentivize consumers to provide their feedback and experience in exchange for a badge and reward.
- Reward NFTs: A simple way for brands and retailers to provide rewards to specific users in a variety of ways in order to reduce a huge operating cost while building brand loyalty at the same time.
When we zoom out and look at the ecosystem as a whole:
Brands, Retailers and advertisers purchase the token within the ecosystem establishing the liquidity for the rest of the ecosystem to come online. With the token they can now create memberships, placed content, rewards, and experiences within the ecosystem.
As consumers come into the ecosystem, they will start out with the new account rate is at the time, and this amount is designed to provide the user with enough liquidity to create, interact and engage with content within the ecosystem from the get go, and once they begin contributing to the ecosystem, they’ll continue to replenish their liquidity, by earning from the value that they create.
While it does cost the users to create, interact, and engage on the platform, they can also earn from creating value in a multitude of ways beyond traditional content creation. As previously mentioned, the biggest hole in the industry is the consumer’s data, which the industry can now access through feedback and experience based NFTs that are connected to the retail sale, meaning brands will now have access to complete data sets from seed to experience, if they are willing to compensate the consumer for their data. Additionally, users who do not create content or have an audience that they can leverage can further contribute and create value by moderating and protecting the ecosystem from bad actors.
This creates a complete cycle for the legal industry to capture complete market data, while providing a place for the community to exist and market with no risk, thus creating a huge opportunity for the legal industry to evolve and compete with the illegal market, all while providing a platform for the community to monetize their content from day one.
V. IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
April 20, 2022 we launched our first membership NFTs to our ecosystem entitled Nug Life Club. At the time of launch we wanted to ensure that we were creating value for our community and launched an online store open to all, where Nug Life Club members get a 30% off discount on all of their purchases, allowing them to get a steep discount on their regularly used smoking accessories and make larger accessories more accessible. We took this bear market opportunity this past year to build a prototype of our ecosystem, solidify our relationships, and prepare for the launch of our community building efforts. Our goal is to provide the proposed infrastructure and tools through the sale and royalties from our membership NFTs. 15% of our initial sales will go towards the creators, with the remaining 85% going to the development of the ecosystem. The secondary sales royalties are set to 10%, with 3% being used for the ongoing development and maintenance of the ecosystem with the remaining 7% going into the ecosystem to perpetuate the marketing cycle. Our company will have a contract in place with the ecosystem for the initial and ongoing development and maintenance for a set period of time at the launch, and once that term has ended, the contract will be opened up for bid by the ecosystem if still necessary for the evolution of the ecosystem. This means should there ever be a need for additional capital, that would happen through our company, not through the ecosystem, so that we can always maintain our mission of decentralization once the ecosystem reaches self-sustainability.
2023
In 2023 we will be launching The Heights Collective, a collection of licensed California operators and accessory brands who recognize that we must put aside competing against one another in order to compete against the illegal market so that we can continue to grow. The collective will allow us to pursue consumer education initiatives, social initiatives and lay the groundwork for the ecosystem to come online with a large following and user base.
We will be launching our second collection, which will be a free mint membership for all of our early participants, community members and brand partners. The goal of this collection is to provide the community with a Gateway Asset, a no cost way to enter the ecosystem and still have access to some of the benefits of owning our primary membership and participating in the development of the ecosystem. This collection will also offer subcollections where users of other NFT communities that we have partnered with can come into our ecosystem in a similar fashion, allowing for us to rapidly expand our community through shared utility and a mutual love for cannabis.
During Q2 and Q3, while we are building the ecosystem in the background, we want to make our Decentralized Brand model available to our partners within the collective and the members within our community. This will allow our community to begin to leverage the visibility of NFT assets within the legal cannabis industry. For more information on our Decentralized Brand model, please see our White Paper, Nug Life Club: The First Decentralized Brand.
During Q4 we plan to begin alpha testing of the ecosystem with owners of our membership NFTs and our brand partners.
2024
Launch the first iteration of the ecosystem and expand partners beyond California into other legal markets through our established partners who are multistate operators.
VI. CONCLUSION
The ability to market is important for the growth of any industry, as it helps businesses attract and retain customers, build brand awareness, differentiate themselves from competitors, and generate revenue. However, the regulation surrounding cannabis restricts most traditional marketing methods due to legal and social issues. Advertising and marketing are often limited to prevent promoting cannabis products to minors, limit exposure to the general public, and prevent misleading claims. Traditional methods like billboards, television and radio ads are often prohibited. Social media platforms have their own policies and guidelines, and due to the complex legal and regulatory landscape surrounding cannabis, many social media sites do not allow cannabis-related content. Without effective marketing, an industry will struggle to attract new customers, leading to a decline in sales and revenue. Marketing also helps to identify and target ideal customers, create compelling offers, and innovate to keep up with changing customer demands.
The cannabis industry is lacking in reliable consumer data, as there is currently no tool available that can capture this information on a large enough scale. Making business decisions based on incomplete data can lead to suboptimal outcomes and expose businesses to unnecessary risks and wasted resources. Limited marketing solutions such as Leafly and Weedmaps only provide basic information and comparison shopping for consumers, without creating any additional social value or providing any consumer data. These platforms also have excessive fee structures, making it difficult for brands and retailers to differentiate themselves without paying additional fees for placement and advertisements. The lack of reliable consumer data and limited marketing solutions can ultimately damage a business’s reputation and long-term success.
The legal cannabis industry is missing half of the necessary data to grow and compete against the illegal market. By building a social media platform on a blockchain, they can authenticate users’ identities and maintain anonymity to create a verifiable community. The platform would incorporate brands, retailers, influencers, and consumers to create a self-sustaining marketing environment. The entire ecosystem would operate on a full reserve cryptocurrency and utilize NFTs for memberships, content, experiences, and rewards. The ecosystem would incentivize users to provide feedback and data through NFTs, which would allow brands to access complete data sets from seed to experience. The legal industry could capture complete market data while providing a place for the community to exist and market with no risk, creating an opportunity to compete with the illegal market.
In conclusion, the legal cannabis industry has been facing a major challenge in obtaining complete market data, which is essential for its growth and evolution. However, the implementation of a blockchain-based ecosystem can potentially resolve this issue by allowing for the authentication of user identity while maintaining anonymity. This will ensure that the community is filled with users who exist and are verifiably allowed to consume content, while also creating an environment where legal cannabis brands, retailers, influencers, and consumers can all benefit from the value they create within the ecosystem.
Therefore, it is essential for the legal cannabis industry to embrace the new opportunities that a blockchain-based ecosystem can provide. Brands and retailers should take advantage of this infrastructure to gain complete market data, while consumers should contribute their feedback and experiences to further enrich the ecosystem. By doing so, the legal cannabis industry can compete with the illegal market, capture complete market data, and create a self-sustaining marketing environment that benefits everyone within the industry. Ultimately, it is time for the industry to evolve and take advantage of the tools available to create a better future for all.
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