Gin and Juice

Happy Friday,

I skipped last week too busy enjoying watching the world shopping live with Shopify on the Sphere and loving seeing entrepreneurs getting skin in the biggest shopping game of the year. Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

During this, Shopify exemplified what leveraging owned media should be by

showcasing what 2 million merchants can do on their website and any other assets they own. 

But this week, I wanted to focus on what earned media can do once well orchestrated with its other two best friends, owned and paid. Earned media can

- Increase brand awareness | by connecting with a broader audience 

- Improve brand reputation | by showing a positive image

- Increase website traffic| by getting new people on your website 

And improve sales,

Snoop Dogg did just that for Solo Stove.

Snoop needs no introduction, besties with Dr. Dre, giving the best half-time show to the despair of my daughters seeing my dance move. Many have covered his music; he is also known for some pretty out-the-box shows like Olympic Highlights with Kevin Hart and Cooking with Martha. He owns the undeniable title of Weed King, having proclaimed his affection for marijuana and efforts to legalize it in the US.

So when he announced to his 83M followers, he was giving up smoke. 

The internet had a meltdown. So much so that he had to ask the world to respect his privacy. 

After what felt like an eternity (5 days) of keeping mum about his decision, he revealed that he was giving up smoke for a smokeless stove. 

All of a sudden, an unknown brand became the one everybody wanted. 

Solo Stove took a risk, trusted a crazy idea and jumped into a paid partnership that delivered in spades. 

This might be the stunt of the year.

But more so, a masterclass of synchronized paid, owned, and earned media.

See you next week.