March 22, 2022

Advocacy is not the same as Marketing

One of the tenets of the teachings of Oaksterdam University is Advocacy. Advocacy for the cannabis plant itself, advocacy for the people who’ve been harmed by the prohibition of the cannabis plant.

Advocacy is defined as any action that speaks in favor of, recommends, argues for a cause, supports or defends, or pleads on behalf of others.
Webster’s Dictionary

I can get behind that, but first I gotta fully come out of the closet. My public advocacy, as a white woman with a real (non-cannabis-related) day job, could be pretty influential, so I’m told; we are the empirical evidence – “we” being responsible citizens who are cannabis users. (on the daily, for me!)

But thus far, my whole career has been spent at the service of Marketing and Product Development, so believe me when I tell you I know how to research what the tone, voice, messaging and values of a brand should be. How to align your marketing and communication messages, how to differentiate yourself, how to define and reach your target audience – all of these things are part and parcel to marketing, branding and creating a loyal following: A solid customer base. Marketing has an agenda, but so does Advocacy.

Advocacy, while it shares many fundamental qualities – having to craft your message and tailor it to the target audience, ultimately trying to persuade, convince and have your tenets and name easily recalled, is still very different from Marketing. It’s not trying to sell anything.

Isn’t it, though?

Marketing is defined as the action or business of promoting and selling products or services, including market research and advertising.
again, trusty ol’ Webster’s

Marketing and Advocacy are pretty similar, sure, so of course this is a matter of semantics. If I am advocating for someone to get out of jail for a crime that is no longer considered illegal, (check out the out the Last Prisoner Project, this is both encouraging and outrageous in the same moment) Who am I trying to convince? The general public? The District Attorney? The Parole Board?

I dunno. That requires research, (that’s my day job) and right now…sorry, but…

I just wanna get high.

Cannabis Curious

#cannabis, #marketing, #oaksterdam

Rolling Your Own

About the author

Sista Smoke

Smoking weed is SistaSmoke's most well-developed hobby. Used to be, she would drive down the 280 freeway while grinding, packing and smoking a bowl - or roll her own from start to finish at 80mph. She’ll be the first to tell you, it's all in the knees. Sistasmoke is kind and generous with her weed but at the same time: discreet. You would only know she smokes if someone you had already smoked with had invited you to the party. Back in the day, SistaSmoke was shacked up with a dope grower, and medicinal weed had not yet been legalized, so she's used to being in the closet. SistaSmoke has a shrink who is encouraging her to feel less shame about her weed habit, because it is an important daily ritual and, well, she is in good company. After all, it's legal - to some degree either medically or recreationally, in all but South Dakota and Idaho. Many states are moving toward decriminalization, as well. Morning, noon and night, SistaSmoke is typically partaking. Before leaving the house, before getting in the shower, while waiting for the ferry, in preparation for a zoom call. SistaSmoke feels better when she is always toking, smoking, joking, higher spirits, invoking. Sistasmoke had a conversation with a coffee barista at the farmer's market a while back. Barista said that he'd been on a jury that dismissed the charges against a chronic weed smokin’ driver who'd been up for DUI. The jury felt that he'd proven his consumption habit was such that if his driving was erratic that day, it certainly wasn't because of his weed habit - er, that the weed did not adversely affect his driving. How To prove that one, Sistasmoke wondered aloud. Barista wasn't clear in his answer, or SistaSmoke couldn't retain it cause her short term memory is super short. SistaSmoke is working on changing the narrative of being an addict to staying open minded, staying in learning mode. Weed is a big enabler for SistaSmoke in that way, as in, oops! That was fun, oops, let's try again. Oops, this is gonna take practice, oops let's do it again. Laugh it off, don’t take it so seriously. Seriously. Lighten up. SistaSmoke wishes there weren’t such a stigma surrounding weed usage. Que the bong hits, Bill and Ted’s excellent adventure, Wayne’s world, half-baked, you name the Cheech and Chong mainstream reference. SistaSmoke is about to be fifty, years of age, that is. She is starting the second half of her life way too early but with a fire lit under her to make space in her brain for the new stuff by writing down all these other stories! Clear the way, empty it, dump it - get it on paper, or out in the ether, as it were. SistaSmoke likes talking about herself in the third person. SistaSmoke is tryna hone a voice, develop a style and a point of view, hence; this blog. Follow along and pipe in if you wanna. Lurk if that’s more your style, SistaSmoke doesn’t judge. Or, she tries not to at least. She’ll be the first to confess her shortcomings, so you don’t point them out. SistaSmoke collaborates with her brother, the multimedia-producer and holder of a Master of Arts in Interactive Journalism. He edits, inspires, promotes, maintains, and was the establisher of this blog to begin with. SistaSmoke is forever grateful for the tight bond between herself and her baby bro. SistaSmoke also writes another blog, (link) another another moniker. (link)