Vic Mensa Explains Why Publicity Is More Important Than Advertising

0:00This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed Human. Earners, what's up? Look, building wealth isn't just about making money. It's about knowing where your money is working for you. That's why we partnered with Empower. Empower is all about helping you invest well so you can go out and live a little. Their free Empower personal dashboard gives you a complete view of your financial life in one place. Track your net worth, monitor your budget, analyze your investments, set retirement goals, and more. You've worked hard for your money. Now make sure it's working hard for you. Download the Empower personal dashboard or visit Empower.com.

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1:47Guest stars, collaborators, and friends, including director Jonathan Kreisel, the mayor himself, Kyle McLaughlin, legendary musician Amy Mann, and many more. Kyle is going for it here. You fully improvised, not just words, but a song. Well, I thought you were all going to write a song. I remember you thinking that. Listen to Podlandia, AAO Rewatch on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. There was a few points, but I wanted to go back to the other point because it was very insightful. You said marketing over advertisement. Yeah, publicity over advertising. Yeah, that's something that's extremely important for anybody in business to understand because the thing is like 10 times more stickier if it comes organically as opposed to an ad.

2:33And it actually helps advertising as well, just to have more of a brand recognition. So now when you see an ad, now you're more likely to engage with that ad from that. So being that that's the case, what exactly is your strategy? like come on different podcast shows? Is it social media? Is it print? Is it just everything all wrapped in one? Rob Markman It's definitely a multi-layered strategy that I've been taking with 93 Boys. I think to begin with, as I said, I wanted to make sure we were the first. So that means certain things I had to push to the side so that I got in there first. Tyson was two weeks later.

3:18You know what I mean? My claim as first black brand wouldn't have been true anymore. Mike Tyson? Mike Tyson. Tyson 2.0. So we got into dispensaries right before Mike Tyson did in Illinois. Being first, you know, really using these community initiatives, obviously to uplift the people, but also to impress our brand identity. on the mind of the Chicago consumer. My brand identity is that. So ultimately I was just transferring that into 93 Boys. We did a campaign where we were giving away free gas. Gas prices was through the roof. And so we went to the gas station in the trenches and just like stood there asking people, do you want gas?

4:11You know what I mean? And filling people's tank up and sent that around to the different platforms, you know, different pages on Instagram so they could talk about 93 Boys as opposed to just me trying to scream down your ear, like, listen to me, we're dope. Like, I'm like, nah, send it to a bunch of different people. Let them tell you that we're dope. Like we said, you know, that's publicity over advertisement because at first in the budget was billboards planned, But through studying, I learned that statistically billboards are actually more impactful for a largely established brand to just stay present in the mind of their consumers.

4:57But for a new venture, a new brand, you want other people telling your story for you. So definitely interviews and podcasts and genetics, though. I mean, when you're talking about cannabis, it's like it's got to come down to weed. So that's a space in which we've just been doing a deep dive to really nail our genetic portfolio before even introducing new skews. Like I've learned a lot, though, in the past year. One thing I didn't know coming into it is that pre-rolls are really the cream of the crop in cannabis. Why is that? Well, because it's convenient. Super convenient. Super convenient. Very convenient and it's something that you don't buy from your weed man.

5:46You can't. Your weed man ain't finna roll your weed for you. A couple of them will, but that's kind of weird. You might have to get somebody to roll it for you. You know what I mean? It's a higher level of luxury. Yeah, it's just simple. It's easy. It's also a lower price point because taxes and cannabis are crazy. Yes. So, you know, we've gotten to a space where like our pre-rolls are like the highest selling skew in some stores like across all the brands um and that's not even really geared towards the like the real heads the real stoner smokers dispensary is a different game man it's like especially in illinois so you're a finer smoker that's for like just regular people bro like that's one thing your peep is like there are so many mothers and grandmas and just like coders and regular working people that really shop in the dispensaries like your weed snobs illinois is not there yet the quality standard is not to that level like weed snobs that are my friends will go to la and just like buy out jungle boys or something because it's a flex too but none of them shop at dispensaries in Illinois.

7:00They probably go buy my shit to tell me or say they did, but it's like, I know they don't shop in dispensaries, you know what I mean? I'm not even particularly focusing on them. Ultimately, I do want to onboard our community into the dispensary space. That is one of my aims with this brand and with this movement, but I'm also not particularly concerned with it right now because there's so many people that don't even look like us or hang with people that know us. I've seen it. It's like for that professional person who, I mean, they might just go out on their break and like, I got to take a couple of pulls.

7:40It's like, I don't have time to take out weed, roll it up. You don't have time to do it. You know what I mean? But I was just thinking, as you were saying, that the$10 ,000 gas giveaway, I'm thinking about the double entendre there, like giving out gas, but you said gas is the word. That's what I'm saying. So there's the double entendre. That was the play? Yeah, 100%. I just want to nail the word gas into your mind. So when you think of 93 boys, then you think gas, you think yellow. So why yellow? Just chose it randomly? No, because at the gas station, the labels for 93 or 89 are yellow in Chicago, at least yellow and black.

8:19So that's why I went with that color scheme. Like, I would like to get to a point where I can do a billboard off the side of the road, and all it says is a yellow screen with gas in black letters. And you just know what it is. It's like Supreme. It's like Supreme. Even better, it's like Burner, when you see that blue C. You see the blue C, and you don't need to see Cook. You know it's cool. Or like Obey. You know that that's... That was crazy. But this isn't his end. You know what I'm saying? No, but some things are just synonymous with a brand that you don't have to see. Rob Markman I mean like having a brand that's so strong that you don't even have to put its name up.

8:54It's like, it's like All Money In. Daddy Braden Yeah. You just see the logo, and you know it's already synonymous with Nipsey Hussle. And All Money In. And a variety of other different things that come along with it. You spoke about the verticals... Daddy Braden Like Crenshaw. Crenshaw. Right. Because that's not the name of the brand. But it's synonymous with it. He puts it on enough stuff. It's synonymous, you know the color you see Crenshaw. Daddy Braden You know exactly what that's about. That's not just the street. that's it you know i mean exactly earners what's up look building wealth isn't just about making money it's about knowing where your money is working for you that's why we partner with empower empower is all about helping you invest well so you can go out and live a little their free empower personal dashboard gives you a complete view of your financial life in one place.

9:45Track your net worth, monitor your budget, analyze your investments, set retirement goals, and more. You've worked hard for your money. Now make sure it's working hard for you. Download the Empower personal dashboard or visit Empower.com. Not an Empower client paid or sponsored. When traveling for events or festivals throughout the country, every dollar matters. We compare flights, prices, hotel rates, and restaurant options. So why wouldn't we compare rides? Personally, I always check lift before booking a ride. Prices can change throughout the day depending on traffic, weather, and what's happening in the city.

10:21If you're headed to a concert, out to dinner, or catching up with your friends on a Friday night, taking a few seconds to check lift could leave you with more money to enjoy the experience. Save money. Check lift. Hey, Portlandia fans. Carrie Brownstein and Fred Armisen here. The dream of the 90s is alive in podcast form. We're launching Podlandia, A.O. Rewatch, our brand new podcast where we revisit every episode of Portlandia together, breaking down sketches, going deep on our iconic characters and pulling back the curtain on how it all got made. And we'll also be joined by the people who helped bring it all to life.

10:54Guest stars, collaborators and friends, including director Jonathan Kreisel, the mayor himself, Kyle McLaughlin, legendary musician Amy Mann and many more. Kyle is going for it here. You fully improvised, not just words, but a song. Well, I thought you were all going to write a song. I remember you thinking that. Listen to Podlandia, A-O, Rewatch on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, fam? I'm sports journalist Ari Chambers. Hey, what's up, y 'all? It's your girl, Sam J. And we're the hosts of Everyone Watches Women's Sports, a new podcast from Together and iHeart Women's Sports.

11:29We're breaking down the biggest headlines. Naomi Osaka showing out. Shout-outs to you, Naomi. The viral moments. I've been obsessed with Kashawn Rock's boxing journey. She looks good. Her combos are swift. And the stories everyone's talking about across women's sports. Because everyone watches women's sports. Listen to Everyone Watches Women's Sports on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed human.