Business

Inside Houseplant’s Growth Play

Business

This week on Adspeak, we talk to Mikey Mohr, CEO of Houseplant, a cannabis product company that he co-founded with Hollywood actor Seth Rogen and producer Evan Goldberg. The three are part of ADWEEK’s Brand Genius class of 2025. Read More

Marketing lessons from the Grateful Dead

Business

Of course, a book with a title like this gives us pause–when we think of marketers, we don’t ordinarily think about Jerry, Phil, Bobby and the rest of the crew.

But that’s one reason why the insights are so profound.

Marketing isn’t hype or hustle or scamming. It’s not spam or manipulation either. We already have words for those things.

Marketing is the generous act of showing up with a true story that helps people get to where they’d like to go.

And the stories are at the heart of what we think of when we consider the Dead. The intentional choices. Choices about fans, tours, records, the radio and most of all, the community. Work that matters for people who care.

While it’s tempting to make every marketing lesson about Apple or Starbucks, it’s the lessons we learn from the Grateful Dead that are most applicable to a typical project. The smallest viable audience, the purple cow, the tribe and the persistence to build an actual brand, not just a logo.

The thing is, these aren’t marketing secrets. They’re marketing choices.

Instead of making average stuff for average people, the Grateful Dead decided to focus on the people who wanted to get on the bus.

The book is highly recommended. You can even listen to music while you’re reading it.

Also worth a read: Lose Your Mind, a useful take on creativity.

PS This is Strategy is 50% off this week.

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