Enlighten TV operates networks of screens in cannabis stores. Enlighten’s Chairman, Jeremy Jacobs, recently sat down with Digital Signage Pulse to tell us about his company’s business.
What does Enlighten TV provides to cannabis businesses?
Enlighten TV is the largest and fastest-growing in-store network in cannabis history. It represents roughly 70% market share in in-store media networks.
We develop the hardware, software, design the creative and execute the installations. Enlighten TV provides over 10 different products. These products are all fully scalable to a network of any size and are centrally controlled by our network operations center.
Our products include a regularly updated education content network, the most integrated smart menus anywhere and interactive touchpoints for consumers. We also have the software and hardware that analyse in-store traffic.
In addition, Enlighten TV delivers social media-integrated walls, break room communications platforms, as well as beacon and text technologies.
Enlighten TV DOOH network in cannabis stores
How many screens do you operate and in how many locations?
We currently operate screens in nearly 700 locations across 29 states, as well as in Canada and Jamaica.
Other products, such as menus, interactive touch points, and other products mentioned here are in great demand. These products have only been available for a short time but we can hardly keep up with the demand. The network count should at least triple based on our current trajectory.
Who are some of your advertisers? Can you cite any repeat advertisers?
Apart from cannabis-related advertisers, we work with national brands from other industries.
National brands would include our deal with Showtime, America’s premium cable and satellite television network. Showtime used our Enlighten TV platform in the Los Angeles DMA to promote their new comedy series, Black Monday. Another advertiser is Vice, which we all know for their investigative documentaries.
We work with governments on OSA campaigns and with many of the various cannabis brands in each state. There are just too many to name them all. Check out our demo reels to see more.
Do you have an in-house ad sales team?
Not only does Enlighten have an expert in-house sales team, but we also have outside sales representatives that serve specific regions of the US. We’ve found that these outside sales representatives have a more personal approach in an increasingly digital age.
What are the unique sales challenges you face given the location of your screens, and how do you overcome them?
Each legal state and, in the case of Canada and Jamaica, country, has its own government restrictions that we must follow.
The biggest challenge we face is getting in touch with the decision maker at cannabis retail locations. A lot of these dispensary owners have already made their money and are no longer involved in the day-to-day operations at their retail location. So, getting a hold of somebody who is backpacking through Europe or on a catamaran in middle of the Caribbean has proven to be a fun challenge.
Are there any government restrictions on what type of brands can advertise in cannabis business locations?
As I touched on earlier, each legal state and country has its own government restrictions that we must follow. Those guidelines vary from state to state. However, Enlighten TV has been fortunate enough to actually work with some of these governments to help circulate informative PSAs as part of our company’s education-first approach.
What is Enlighten TV’s primary audience and how do you measure the effectiveness of your DOOH campaigns?
The primary audience for our technology solutions are consumers in cannabis retail locations.
Brands understand that advertising can be most effective at the point where wallet, product and register are all five feet from one another. We have an impressive range of techniques to provide data that marketers need.
First, we are able to accurately count all impressions served with a built-in listening technology. These tools are able to identify how many mobile phones are within viewing distance of the ad.
As for the attribution, it depends upon the intended goal for each campaign. For instance, brand campaigns can be measured by text opt-ins, coupons downloaded, raffle entries, etc. In-store sales lifts are easily tracked through POS data. Deliverables vary by campaign.
What prompted you to enter the cannabis space?
I’ve been a cannabis enthusiast since my early teens and I actually served as the Executive Director of Kentucky NORML where I invested countless hours in advocating for meaningful marijuana law reforms on the local, state and federal level.
Alongside my role as Enlighten TV’s Chairman, I also proudly own and operate Eyeconic TV, an award-winning digital signage company that typically provides turnkey white label solutions for countless other brands.
An employee of mine was on the road working our account for Sysco Foods, the world’s global foodservice leader. He called me up one day and asked if I’d be interested in placing digital menus inside a brand-new dispensary in Colorado. Naturally, I jumped at the opportunity to combine my two worlds – retail technology and cannabis. And the rest, as they say, is history!
To learn more about Enlighten TV, visit: https://getenlightened.io/enlighten-tv/
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