How ‘Not Pot’ Swept The Millennial Market by Building an Animated Universe
Only 2% of brands win organic social. This company’s pioneering playbook demonstrates why.
For most DTC brands, there’s a tried-and-tested playbook behind how to build your brand online.
Set up a Shopify store, commission a few studio shots, get a few lifestyle images, run your first Facebook Ads campaign, and you’re off to the races.
Not Pot: “How boring”
Meet Not Pot, a subscription-cbd company that blends cannabis and the millennial / Gen Z routine.
Not Pot combines double-take marketing, a finger on the pulse of culture, and generational anxiety into a perfect pill (ahem, gummy) that has their customers constantly coming back.
Describe the Not Pot Audience in 3 Words
Anxious, Stressed, Depressed.
And that’s perfectly OK.
With over 14% of millennials diagnosed with anxiety disorders, Not Pot realized that realistic marketing…probably wasn’t the best angle to connect with their audience.
A lifestyle image lives in the real world, and to their core audience, the real world sucks.
Instead, they built a fully animated creative universe for their products to exist in…where reality is nowhere to be found.
In their anime world, it’s all smiles, floating shapes, and satirical use of products.
It’s the creative equivalent of a safe space.
“Show, don’t tell”, they say.
A brand can tell you about what their product does..
Or…you can sit back and watch a Netflix episode of benefits unfold before your eyes.
The best brands don’t sell products, they sell outcomes.
- Buy an iPhone: you’ll become a connector & a creator.
- Buy a Tesla: you’ll become an environmentalist.
- Buy Nike shoes: you’ll become an athlete.
Message: Use @notpotdealer & you’ll transcend ‘reality’. Every day.
The consumer is intrigued. They wonder:
“Am I buying a product, or watching a new show on Netflix?”
Or say:
“This isn’t like the other stores I buy from”
Either way, they’re paying attention.
By building an animated world of friendly characters, Not Pot is able to visually demonstrate product use, which brings the benefits to life.
And easily enter taboo places like the bedroom or bathtub, to boot.
When you build a universe, every creative outlet becomes a canvas.
Not Pot products are never photographed in naked scenes. Instead, they’re staged with a myriad of curious props & bold colors.
The further product photos get from ‘normalcy’, the closer they get to joining the anime universe.
Strawberries? Miniature slides? Chips? Holographic panels? They have it all, and because each photo is unexpected, we keep looking for the next mystery.
Even the file names of images are shown on product pages, as if they were an afterthought … and, of course, are highly curated towards potential shoppers.
Off-White famously uses quotation marks around their product releases as a form of social commentary. Not Pot puts a digital spin on this by using visible file names, with meaning behind them, on product pages.
Because the names stick out, they make the consumer believe they’re getting a peek behind the curtain. “Do they know we can see this?”
Buying a bath bomb? File name: i_washed_up_like_this.mp4
How about their CBD oil? File name: blast_off_at_home.jpg
Through their otherworldly brand positioning, Not Pot promises millennials & Gen Z that they’ll be able to handle reality.
How’s that, exactly?
Not Pot exclusively launches products that anchor to your routine.
They fight to own a (small) portion of your day, every day.
☀️ Morning: CBD gummy to begin the workday relaxed.
🛀 Bathing: CBD soak to boost your recovery post-workout, or soak before bed.
🌉 Night: CBD & Melatonin gummy to help an anxious generation go lights out.
🐶 Pet Care: While we have you, CBD to chill out your pet, too. Because why not.
Of course, there’s free shipping on every order to minimize last-minute objections & cancellations.
You know what’s worse than paying for shipping in 2021?
Paying for shipping on every order, every month.
If you do something everyday, there’s a brand out there that wants to be a part of it.
As Not Pot expands their product catalog, they’re fighting for a ‘share of your routine’ from when you first wake up to the moment you sleep.
Thanks to new CBD routines, it’s worth noting that a soft competitor of CBD is big-pharma, as well-medicated millennials take Adderall in the morning to help them focus & Xanax at night to wind down. CBD products take the edge off the former, and attempt to replace the latter.
OK, so why does Not Pot go to all these lengths?
You say: “To sell more CBD products, Tom, obviously.”
Well, yeah.
But why invest SO much into developing the brand look? Why not save all that money spent on brand & universe building for customer acquisition instead?
The Brand Powers the Organic Flywheel
CBD is high-margin, high-renewal.
Acquiring customers is expensive compared to selling to an existing base.
Not Pot builds the foundation of a cash-flow-positive business by retaining subscribed customers, and ensuring that marketing costs do not outpace new subscription revenue in the long term.
If only…there was a marketing channel that minimizes acquisition costs. A channel that:
- Drives Referral
- Drives Word-of-Mouth
- Drives Earned Clicks
- Has no variable CPA
Yes, it actually exists.
Organic social.
Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Pinterest, you name it.
You might say: “I thought organic social was dead?” Not quite.
In 2010, organic social was a first-come-first-serve rush to acquire audience. BarkBox (Similar: Pura Vida, MVMT) started by simply posting photos of dogs on the way to 1M+ followers before they monetized.
In this decade, organic social simply comes down to whether or not your brand is built for it.
Organic social is a channel that’s poorly executed by many, average for most, and great only for a select few.
Brands win organic social by first building a solid foundation, rather than trying to figure it out as you go. You’ll need some combination of the following:
- Distinct Brand
- Product Excitement
- Clear Values & Mission
- Audience — Content Fit
- Finger on Pulse of News
- Social Media Talent
Build Shareability from the Start
The programmed ‘double-take’ of the brand name has DMs whizzing & eyeballs stopped in their tracks.
“What are you chewing?”
“Not Pot”
“You…you know you can’t do that at work”
“No it’s ok it’s Not Pot”
“….Sure Alex”
Brands that dare to have a voice & take risks are often rewarded.
Wendy’s leans into conversational commerce by holding nothing back against competitors, and inviting its audience to get roasted by the social media team every Thursday.
Ben & Jerry’s never holds back on social injustice, and benefits from earned PR as a result.
Not Pot borrows from the same ‘don’t back down’ playbook, and is unafraid to join the social conversation when it counts.
Have Product & Packaging Worth Sharing
Each package is designed to be shared and unboxed on camera. A customer’s face (and free marketing) comes soon after
The first step of any social testimonial is having something worth unboxing — the inevitable second step is for a customer to explain why they shared in the first place.
Customers acquired through earned media then go off to share on their own, continuing a powerful viral loop that drives CPAs even lower.
Have the Team to Pull it Off
“Talent can turn obstacles into opportunities.”
— Jess Bachman, Fireteam
The message here is not “every brand can execute on organic social.” In today’s climate, that’s simply not true. The right talent can seize the moment, capture the zeitgeist, and turn the unpredictable into a win.
Having the right social media manager with the right brand positioning is like fishing with dynamite. Take away the dynamite, and you’re back to fishing with a rod like the rest of us.
Impact To Differentiate & A Reason to Exist
Like many DTC brands, Not Pot has a social impact angle behind their operations; they bail out one person out of a US jail for cannabis-related incarceration every month.
By choosing a zone of focus, Not Pot enables their ability to get involved in the conversation of that space, because they’re genuinely involved.
Now, why do they bail out a person per month?
Well, because:
- Cannabis has a dark history in the US, unfairly targeting minority communities for generations; and
- it aligns with a recurring subscription product; and
- millennials + Gen Z aspire to be everyday changemakers, boiling down to the little things they purchase online.
The customer sees Not Pot as a way to support something they care about month-to-month, while also getting a product they love. Reward & justification, all in one.
Free shipping, good will, real impact? Sign the whole generation up!
Social Impact Does Not Replace A Good Product
Say it louder for the people in the back.
It’s important to understand that social impact is NOT a replacement for a quality product, but it does differentiate brands in a crowded space.
ex. Pair of Bombas Socks vs. Socks from the Gap
Impact qualifies your purchase, and adds one more reason to stay subscribed in a market where competitors are readily available.
Most importantly, social impact is a forcing function for asserting brand values. Simply put, when you stand for something, people know where you stand.
So, what can other DTC brands learn from this?
By crafting a surreal brand experience and building products anchored to routine, @NotPotDealer is able to acquire customers cheaply … and keep holding onto them. They are tailor-made for today’s social environment: quick, relevant, sharable, and irreverent.
While not everyone can be Not Pot, there are a few lessons we can learn as DTC operators.
Big Lessons & Takeaways:
- Don’t be afraid to think outside the box when it comes to demonstrating your product benefits. Best practices are guidelines, not rules.
- If your goal is to drive return purchases, release products that own a ‘share of routine’ (can be on a daily, monthly, annual level)
- Organic social wins only when you weave the channel INTO the soul of the brand, rather than tacking it on later.
- Leverage social impact as a tool for brand differentiation & a vehicle for customer retention. Give them a reason to care.
H/t to founder @kartierkati & @jjeremycai for dreaming this model up.
And to @nathanallebach for crushing their Twitter game.
