A Year of Queening
By: Ben Mervis
Like so many millennials, from a young age, I’ve felt the calling to be a part of something special, something big… my own path, not one with a well-worn trail. So, after graduating from college with a hard-earned Bachelor’s degree, I went and worked in a restaurant. (LOL). I negotiated the title of Marketing and Events Coordinator, and when I wasn’t upselling private party menus from chicken to steak frites, I was cutting flowers, taking pictures, and serving sass as a front-door host with the most.
The 6+ months I spent in that role gave me time to manifest a job in public health, where I could merge my passion for developing creative marketing campaigns with programs that could make a real impact in our world. That’s not to diminish that a steak frites upgrade really will improve your life, sorry plant-based friends.
Since those early post-college months, I’ve had a pretty exciting career reshaping how health messages are marketed, first from our State and Federal Governments, and for over 2-years now, from cannabis companies.
The thing about marketing is that it’s all around us, and people are constantly working to steal more of your attention to try to get some of your hard earned dollars and coins.
So when I first met Kush Queen CEO Olivia Alexander and saw how much she cared about her social media communities, and Kush Queen customers, I was impressed and inspired. Olivia’s passion rivals that of many of my former colleagues who had (then) been working on public health campaigns since 1975.
In my many years, I’ve seen that it’s mostly been women who have been advocating for public health; creating heartfelt campaigns about women’s breast and pelvic cancer screenings, nutrition and health assistance for single mothers and their children, and campaigns to keep children from smoking cigarettes. These women have been the behind the scenes backbone of public health for generations, and I’m a proud supporter and ally of female leaders taking their seats at tables of all kinds, from boardrooms to whatever table Senators, Congresswomen, and Governors sit at.
I’m going to tell you one of our recipes for success at Kush Queen. It only works because it comes from the top - and I hope Olivia doesn’t mind that I’m spilling the tea - but we evolve based on the needs of our communities, and we do our best to represent different people not just in the color of our models, but in the stories, the fantasies, the experiences, the heart and soul of who we are. It’s a pulse, an energy that runs through the products we release, the creative campaigns we create, and the partnerships we enter.
Very few cannabis brands get this right - and very few consumer services and brands do it at all. Medmen does a great job with their Ember magazine, diving deeper into the facets and intersections of our communities. Equinox maintains a market-leading presence as a home for athletes and wellness at all stages. Whole Foods does an amazing job - even in the aftermath of an Amazon acquisition - of valuing organic local products, and expanding accessibility to food deserts. Apple has worked hard to protect customer privacy and data, and to be a trustworthy voice in this new age of digital lives and histories.
This first year of queening has been nothing short of kismet. I feel so very fortunate to work for a brand and CEO that can make us feel like royalty, just by loving ourselves a little bit more. Thank you to my colleagues, our customers, our photographers, our models (who often start as customers) - everyone that makes this feel like that something special that this millennial always wanted to be a part of.
Don’t forget to follow and tag @kushqueenshop & @kushqueenco in your Instagram posts and stories.
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