MediaJel | The Podcast

Dispensary promotions are one of the fastest levers operators reach for, but without accurate point-of-sale cost data, most discounts are run blind. In this episode of Cannabis Marketing Live, MediaJel CEO Jake Litke sits down with Dina Nagib, founder of Grass Goddess Consulting, to unpack why so many retailers don't actually know their true margin on a promotion, how vendor credits and cost data...

Cannabis compliance is one of the most consequential and often underestimated parts of running a retail or multi-state operation. Every state has its own regulatory framework, enforcement approach, and inspection cadence, and the gap between a well-run compliance program and a reactive one often shows up as six-figure fines, license risk, or operational breakdown. This episode of Cannabis Marketin...

What does your product mix actually say about your dispensary's health? In this episode of Cannabis Marketing Life, Jake sits down with Kris Walker, co-founder of Hoodie Analytics, to talk about what 6 years of cannabis retail data actually reveals — and what most operators are still getting wrong. Kris brings a rare perspective: nearly 20 years at Nielsen, a CPG background, and a front-row seat t...

Why your best retention tool isn't your loyalty program — it's what happens between purchase one and purchase two In ten years of working with dispensaries, Steph Vrona has seen the same gap show up almost every time. It's not the loyalty program. It's not the email list. It's not even the promotions. It's what happens in the 48 hours after a customer's first visit, and most operators have no visi...

The European cannabis market is moving, but is it ready for you? In this episode of Cannabis Marketing Live, host Jake Litke (CEO of MediaJel) sits down with Jill Agnello, founder of JA Global Consulting, to break down what's actually happening across European and global cannabis markets right now. Jill has spent the last four years embedded in the international cannabis trade show circuit, from I...

A live webinar for cannabis operators who want predictable revenue, not just big days. Here's the number that should keep you up at night. Most dispensaries lose 45–55% of first-time buyers after a single visit. On a normal week that's painful. After 420, when your store just processed more new customers than any other day of the year, it's a revenue crisis hiding inside a great sales report. You...

In a race to the bottom, price becomes the weapon, and every brand becomes forgettable. But what if the goal isn’t to sell more, faster, and cheaper… but to build a brand consumers will go out of their way to find? In this episode, we explore how pFriem, an award-winning craft brewery, resisted commoditization by focusing on craft, community, and culture. We’ll break down how cannabis and emerging...

How smart in-store and digital merchandising increases basket size, repeat rate, and full-price sell-through with Hannah O'Brien from Echtrai. Most dispensaries think retention is a loyalty program problem. Most think merchandising is a store layout problem. Both are wrong. Retention is driven by experience. Merchandising is what controls that experience at the point of decision. If you don’t cont...

Female and minority founders face unique challenges in cannabis fundraising. But preparation is everything, and knowing what to do after you secure funding is just as critical as getting it. This isn't just another cannabis funding webinar. This is a practical two-part playbook: how to position yourself for funding success as a woman or minority entrepreneur, and how to turn that capital into sust...

Why Your 2026 Cannabis Strategy Depends on Market Maturity State market maturity determines your cannabis marketing strategy. What works in an early-stage market won’t work in a mature or highly competitive environment. As cannabis market growth accelerates across the U.S., operators need a 2026-ready strategy that adapts to each stage of maturity. Who Needs a 2026 Cannabis Marketing Strategy? • D...

Dispensary Discounts Are Killing Your Retention: How Culture, Community, and Experience Build Demand Without Discounting by Mediajel

AI is reshaping how consumers discover products and Reddit is quickly becoming one of the most influential signals behind what shows up in those searches. With OpenAI’s recent launch of native shopping inside ChatGPT, Reddit conversations are now more powerful than ever in shaping how products, brands, and education appear across AI search results. In this session, we’ll break down how cannabis an...

When it comes to cannabis, finding trustworthy product information can be a challenge. Budist is changing that. Built by industry insiders, Budist empowers consumers and certified cannabis experts to submit detailed product reviews using a 100-point rating system, creating a central hub for credible cannabis insights. Join us for an exclusive conversation with the co-founder and CEO of Budist, Joc...

Episode 3: Cannabis Price Wars: Escaping the Discount Death Spiral The cannabis industry has been trapped in a cycle of discounting, racing to the bottom with steeper promos that shrink margins and train customers to buy only when prices drop. But there’s a smarter way forward. This session isn’t just about numbers, it’s about how to turn those signals into strategy. We’ll be joined by Dennis O’Ma...

Episode 2 of the Webinar Series: Escaping the Discount Death Spiral When your competitors are stuck in the discount trap, that’s your opportunity. The strongest cannabis retailers don’t just attract new customers—they keep them coming back, more often and with higher basket sizes. And they’re doing it without slashing margins. In this session, we’ll show you how loyalty programs and gamified rewar...

Episode 1 of the Series: Escaping the Discount Death Spiral Margins are shrinking, and discounts are to blame. Even when traffic is strong, brands and dispensaries across the U.S. are watching profits erode under the weight of discounts. This episode of Cannabis Marketing Live takes you inside the numbers to show how and why the industry has fallen into a discount spiral, and what to do before it’...

Reddit is one of the most overlooked yet powerful tools for cannabis and CBD businesses. While other social platforms are saturated with short-lived trends and surface-level engagement, Reddit offers something far more valuable: real conversations with real people who are genuinely interested in cannabis, wellness, and emerging brands. We’re thrilled to be joined by Danny Kirk, Founder of ReddiRea...

Many cannabis marketers struggle to connect the dots between their advertising efforts and sales. The truth is customers rarely convert after seeing just one ad. Instead, they engage with multiple touchpoints on their buyer’s journey — CTV, Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH), Display, Google Search, SEO, and more—before making a purchase. Yet, most businesses still rely on outdated last-click attribution,...

Ready to take your cannabis text message marketing to the next level? Say goodbye to outdated tactics and hello to the power of SMS and MMS marketing! Join us for a webinar featuring industry expert Jordan Hobson from Leafbuyer, where we’ll uncover how text-based marketing can ignite engagement, build customer loyalty, and drive repeat sales—all while keeping you compliant with text message regula...

As cannabis marketers, we’ve seen it all—shadowbans, ad rejections, and disappearing accounts. But what if there was a platform where cannabis brands could engage with their audience without constant fear of getting shut down? Bluesky social media is making waves as a decentralized social network with a fresh approach to content moderation and community-building. But is it this new social media pl...

Your pricing strategy sends hidden signals that can either enhance or diminish your brand’s value in the eyes of consumers. While deep discounts may drive short-term sales, they can also suggest that your products lack quality, are overpriced at full value, or that your business is struggling to maintain customer loyalty. Additionally, consistent discounting conditions your customers to wait for s...

Discover how to move beyond traditional metrics like click-through rates (CTR) and uncover the real story behind ad effectiveness. In this 60-minute session, we’ll dive into how attention metrics provide actionable insights, the role of delayed attribution (7-10 days after exposure), and why the “last click” model falls short in capturing the complete customer journey. What You’ll Learn: • Why CTR...

A dollar saved is a dollar earned— especially when it comes to customer acquisition costs. Acquisition costs refer to the expenses businesses incur when attracting and winning new customers, which can cost five times more than retaining an existing customer. In the cannabis industry, companies are not only contending with each other to acquire new customers; they must also compete with pay-to-play...

In today’s competitive eCommerce landscape, successful brands aren’t just setting up funnels—they’re building them intelligently to connect, convert, and keep customers. This webinar, Boosting eCommerce Revenue Through Smarter Marketing Funnels with Jenny Shi, VP of Media Strategy & Operations at MediaJel, combines programmatic insights with proven funnel strategies to help you leverage data, defi...

If you're not including connected TV (CTV) in your advertising strategies, you’re missing out on one of the most significant shifts in media consumption history. According to Nielsen, nearly 70% of U.S. households now have access to CTV, signaling a massive change in how people are consuming content. In a crowded marketplace, brands and retailers that succeed are the ones that develop a strong bra...