I am green, I am in the business of making happiness, and my name rhymes with greed. What am I? Yes, I could be money, however, can I really make you happy? No, I am not money, but you can buy me with money. I am weed, also known as marijuana, and I am a great marketer.
Marijuana is an illegal substance in Canada, and if you are a resident of Vancouver I am sure you have smelt the aroma or heard of its place in Vancouver culture. So how did you hear about it? For many of us, we did not see a nice vibrant ad on TV displaying a green leaf of marijuana, or a store advertisement attracting customers to purchase it. Many of us have heard about it through friends, or a news story describing how the RCMP has raided another house containing a growery—indirect advertising. So without any form of direct advertising, this good has been able to spread to the masses. This is a sustainable product. It is cheap and quite easy to find. It has a positive consumer response and itself is unique. This is much like a McChicken from Mcdonalds—The “perfect good”.
What is interesting about marijuana is that it literally markets itself: no ads on buses, skytrains, TVs, magazines, and for the most part even the internet. Rather it has found itself in every major city around the world. With only word of mouth, this product has spread. My question to you is: Why has marijuana been successful at marketing itself? Is it due to the cool factor? Or is it truly the perfect product?