Puff N Ponder #4
Puff n Ponder
With Papa Jefe
Budtenders/Hype beast
The rise and fall of the HYPE
“I don’t need to build a brand, good weed sells itself”"
- some brand that doesn't exist on rec. anymore.
It's well known who the people moving the products are, it's the budtenders. It's posted, shared, talked about and most of all sold to consumers.
That's where the buzz is created, marketing can't do what budtenders can for the product. The proof is in the pictures posted and shared. If it's good then it's generally pretty good reviews but if it's bad; it's devastating.
In a time where marketing is super limited and hard to pull off due to all the regulations/ partnerships and well favoritism. One bad bag can ruin a brand's reputation for quite a while; mold, bugs, and/or underweight we all know and if they don't, they will.
They try to educate us with company representatives and product knowledge sessions. It's been going on 5+ years and the pk sessions are still dry and boring. Sensory sessions and facility tours are few and far between and that hands-on education is lacking for budtenders overall. There's no chain of Lit Cannabis research groups, there's no research and development stations across Canada for educational purposes.
Sure there's a few apps out there that help but they don't cover everything as much as they try. Spiffy is probably the best and most actively updated. It has its pros and cons but it's great marketing that's for sure. I pass it on to newer budtenders.
Then there's a few communities that are run by previous budtenders and a few that are run by people who aren't even in the industry. In either sense these are budtender/industry people driven no matter who owns them. These communities are beehives, watering holes for reviewers and the interested.
Hype is ever waning, it comes and goes as quickly as the bag is smoked. Some budtenders have loyalty to companies with good reps, good customer service and consistent quality. This loyalty can be broken easily and quickly. With a million and one brands out there, and a constant supply of free samples a shitty experience can make the shift happen drastically.
Good weed doesn't sell itself, a good budtender sells an experience paired with good weed.
As always,
Peace, love and pre-rolls.
These views are mine and mine alone and not those of Cannaviews.ca