The Green Heart Oregon Public Relations Campaign

By Cassidy Mace
 Situation Analysis

Mission and Goals

The Green Heart Oregon is a medical and recreational marijuana dispensary,

community center, and juice and wellness bar owned by Wayne Stocks.

Locally grown flowers, edibles, concentrates, shatter wax, vape pens and

skincare are sold here. The owner, Wayne Stocks, goal is to have The Green

Heart Oregon viewed as a cannabis community center and soon will be

adding the juice and wellness bar and is the nations first 100 percent

cashless dispensary. The mission of The Green Heart Oregon is focused on

building a local Cannabis community that is committed to leading the

industry on an ethical and sustainable path. The Green Heart Oregon hopes

to offer the consumer something new and different, but most of all offer

every option possible when it comes to the customers health and happiness.

The business offers raw cannabis juicing, family consultations, and

workshops for those curious about the cannabis industry.

External Environment
The cannabis industry has been changing and growing the past few years in

many states including Oregon. Recreational sales of marijuana only just

began on January 4, and so far nearly 900 recreational marijuana license

applications have been submitted. According to Marijuana Business Daily,

the recreational marijuana industry has the potential to hit $300 million in

sales, 46 million in wages this year and it has already created 2,156 jobs. In

the beginning of 2016 edibles could only be sold to medical patients, but on

March 8 Oregon passed a bill declaring that recreational users will be able to
purchase edibles from dispensaries. However, officials have not given a date

to when edibles will be available for the recreational market. Recreational

users have to pay a tax when purchasing marijuana, and, according to OPB,

40 percent will go to Oregons Common School Fund, 20 percent will go to

Oregons Mental Health Alcoholism and Drug Services Account, 15 percent

will go to Oregon State Police, 10 percent will go to the participating cities

law enforcement offices, 10 percent will go to the counties law enforcement

offices and the last 5 percent will go to the Oregon Health Authority for for

alcohol and drug abuse prevention, early intervention and treatment

services. With this change, The Green Heart Oregon will be able to generate

more revenue being able to sell products to a wider range of consumers.

This newly regulated market still holds a lot of social and cultural stigma

toward the people who participate in smoking marijuana and smoking

marijuana in general. This will be the biggest factor that will get addressed

in the plan so that anyone walking into The Green Heart Oregon can feel safe

and comfortable.

Business Analysis
One unique characteristic of The Green Heart Oregon is that it is the nations

first 100-percent cashless dispensary. All other dispensaries only accept

cash and a majority do not have an ATM on site because banks dont want

our weed money said an employee who works at Medicine Tree, which is

The Green Heart Oregons biggest competitor, also located in McMinnville.

The Green Heart Oregon will also be adding a juice and wellness bar, which is

something that other dispensaries in the Yamhill County do not have.

The owner also plans on having this space be viewed as a community center

that offers a family friendly environment where friends can meet up, relax

and have a cup of coffee. The Green Heart Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-

profit organization that seeks to elevate the Cannabis industry through

education of the health benefits of the healing herb and nutritional

vegetable, Cannabis.

An internal threat to this campaign is the fact that The Green Heart Oregon

only just opened and has not fully gotten on its feet yet. Since it has only

been open for a couple months now, it is hard to say how much money the

owner would be able to contribute to a PR campaign plan especially since the

juice bar and caf are not up and running yet and not able to produce more

revenue.

Medicine Tree is Green Heart Oregons biggest competition because it was

Yamhill Countys first licensed cannabis dispensary, so it has been open for a

longer period of time and is probably better known by residents of

McMinnville. What both dispensaries lack is an online presence. However,

with Medicine Tree being open for two years now, there should be a website

up and running or at least a more updated Facebook page. With The Green

Heart Oregon only being open for about two months now, it is

understandable that its online presence hasnt fully surfaced yet. Medicine

Tree does have somewhat cheaper prices and more products available for

medical and recreational users than at The Green Heat Oregon.

Target Audience
The publics to be communicated through the PR campaign will be

recreational users and people who are curious about the Cannabis industry

but dont want to admit it and possibly too shy to come in just yet. A

recreational user can be anyone 21 years or older and typically use

marijuana for the psychoactive affects. This group of consumers could be

categorized as experiencers in the VALS framework. This group is typically

described as sociable, having or desiring some type of visual inspiration,

living a spontaneous life and valuing friendships. This group is made up of

both sexes.

Goal:

The goal of the campaign plan is the adoption of The Green Heart Oregon as

the go-to dispensary for recreational marijuana users.

Objective 1:

Since 21-year olds in McMinnville make up about 66.7 percent of the

population, the first objective is to spark awareness and interest in 30

percent of the 66 percent.

Strategy A:

Hold a grand opening event for the Juice and Wellness Bar, with drinks being

sold at half the price and coupons being handed out offering deals in the

dispensary. This will be done in the hopes of getting prospect customers who

are not comfortable with the idea of medical and recreational marijuana to
still come and check out the Juice and Wellness Bar. The coupon for the

dispensary will be given out in hopes of getting these prospects to come

back and check out the dispensary. Then, the tally of coupons that end up

being used in the dispensary will indicate how many prospects made their

way over from the Juice and Wellness Bar to the dispensary.

Tactic 1:

Use social media to announce the event and advertise the incentives at least

3 weeks in advance. The week of the event a post about the event will be

made on a daily basis.

Tactic 2:

Send a press release to the New Register announcing event and inviting

people to come. The press release will have details about the event and the

special pricing.

Tactic 3:

Have the newsletter for the dispensary in the juice bar so customers can see

what type of information will be inside of the newsletter. A sign up sheet will

be placed next to it to help indicate how many customers attending the Juice

and Wellness Bar grand opening are also interested in the dispensary.

Strategy B:

Use media relations to help people feel more comfortable with this

establishment and understand The Green Heart Oregon foundation and

business.

Tactic 1:
Pitch a letter to the News Register for a feature story on the business and the

three aspects of it; Dispensary, Juice Bar and Community Center. The

journalist will be invited to the Juice and Wellness Bar grand opening and

then offer him an in person exclusive with the Wayne Stocks on his decision

to have The Green Heart Oregon sell recreational marijuana.

Tactic 2:

Send a fact sheet with the pitch that will explain the mission and goals of The

Green Heart Oregon.

Objective 2:

Evaluation, trial, and the adoption of The Green Heart Oregon by having an

average of 10 more customers a week walk into The Green Heart Oregon.

Strategy A:

June 2 is when edibles can be sold to recreational users, so host an event the

following Saturday with special deals on edibles. The event will be held the

weekend after because June 2 is on a Thursday.

Tactic 1:

Send a press release to the News Register about June 2 explaining new laws

for recreational users. Include in the press release that The Green Heart

Oregon will be hosting an event for this special occasion with special prices

and the edible products sold.

Tactic 2:

Use social media to announce the event and incentives, at three weeks prior

to the event.
Tactic 3:

Send a radio news release to KLYC that tells how much money marijuana has

made in taxes so far and where that money will be going toward, giving it a

news worthy aspect.

Strategy B:

Use controlled media to incentivize return visits.

Tactic 1:

Have the print newsletter send out a coupon for every issue and send an

electronic email blast any time there is a sale going on for the entire store.

Tactic 2:

Start using a loyalty card where on your 10 visit you can receive either a free

gram, one gram pre-rolled joint, or 10-15-dollar edible.

References:

Crombie, N. (2016, March 17). Oregon collects $3.48 million in revenue

from first month of taxed recreational marijuana sales. Retrieved March, from

http://www.oregonlive.com/marijuana/index.ssf/2016/03/first_month_of_taxed

_recreatio.html
 Crombie, N. (2016, March 29). Kate brown signs bill giving medial

marijuana dispensaries go-ahead to sell edibles, extracts. Retrieved May 10

from

http://www.oregonlive.com/marijuana/index.ssf/2016/03/governor_signs_bill_

giving_med.html

Horsey, L. (2015, Jan 1). Sharon Kelly story: how she beat her lung

cancer with cannabis oil. Retrieved May 8, 2016 from

http://www.cureyourowncancer.org/the-sharon-kelly-story-how-she-beat-her-

lung-cancer-with-cannabis-oil.html

The Green Heart Oregon. Retrieved from

https://www.thegreenheatoregon.com

The Stoners Cookbook. (2012, April 18). Peach & Cannabis Popsicles.

Retrieved from http://herb.co/recipes/peaches-cannabis-popsicles/

Public Health Division. (2016 May, 3). Oregon Medical Marijuana

Program. Oregon Health Authority. Retrieved from

https://content.govdelivery.com/attachments/ORDHS/2016/05/03/file_attach

ments/544334/Informational%2BBulletin%2B2016-10%2BRules

%2BRegarding%2Bthe%2BExpansion%2Bof%2BEarly%2BRetail%2BSales.pdf

Report: Oregon Has Received Almost 900 Rec Applications - Marijuana

Business Daily. (2016, April 15). Retrieved from http://mjbizdaily.com/oregon-

has-received-almost-900-rec-applications/
 Report: Oregon Rec Sales Could Hit $300M - Marijuana Business Daily.

(2016, April 12). Retrieved from http://mjbizdaily.com/report-oregon-rec-

sales-could-hit-300m/

Vance, B. M. (2016, January 21). Big Changes Come To Oregon's

Marijuana Industry In 2016. Retrieved from

http://www.opb.org/news/article/marijuana-cannabis-oregon-recreational-

sales-laws/
Dear Don Iler,

I am writing to propose a feature story. During the month of December,

you wrote two articles relating to The Green Heart Oregon so it seemed fit for

me to propose this story to you. In one month The Green Heat Oregon will be

completely open not just as a dispensary but also as a Juice and Wellness Bar

and Community Center starting June 19.

The Juice and Wellness Bar is hosting a grand opening event on June 19.

The Green Heart Oregon Community Center, Juice and Wellness Bar and

licensed Cannabis dispensary would like to invite you to join is during our

grand opening. Wayne Stocks will be in attendance for this event and would

like to offer you an exclusive on the three aspects of the business; The Green

Heart Oregon Community Center, Juice and Wellness Bar and licensed

Cannabis dispensary concept. Stocks will also openly discuss his decision to

sell recreational marijuana at the dispensary.

During the event, drinks will be sold at half price and coupons for

discounts in the dispensary will be given to customers. The Juice and

Wellness Bar will offer whole plant juicing and other non-psychoactive

applications that provide health benefits, uncommonly associated with

cannabis use. By juicing the plant, customers can receive holistic benefits of

the plant without any euphoric events.

We hope you can join us on on June 19!

Best,
Cassidy Mace

Fact Sheet

Our Mission
The Green Heart Oregon is focused on building a local Cannabis community
that is committed to leading the industry on an ethical and sustainable path.
To serve the community by creating a space where people can gather
and learn about the many benefits of Cannabis as a medicine
To partner with local farmers on developing organic and sustainable
farming practices
To offer various holistic option to those in search of natural healing
methods
To collect patient data in order to advance medical research, testing,
and access to resources
To offer a healthier approach to personal wellness management by
harnessing the abundant nutritional properties of the Cannabis plant
To establish ethical practices in the Cannabis industry by putting the
patients well being at the heart of everything we do

Conscious Cannabis
The Green Heart Oregon is a community of people that is driven by our own
uncompromising social and ethical standards. In the new and thriving
Cannabis industry, our path is one of compassion, community, and
commitment.

The Green Heart Foundation

The Green Heart Foundation is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization
headquartered in McMinnville, Oregon that is focused on providing Cannabis
education and recourses to those patients that need it the most. We are a
thoughtful community of Cannabis enthusiasts, educators, activists,
agriculturalists, chefs, processors, and caregivers that have created a
community where conscious Cannabis is a reality. Our heart is in everything
we do.

###

For more information, visit thegreenheartoregon.com. News media please contact us at

(626) 466-7399.
:30 Radio News Release

IN ONE MONTH, OREGON HAS COLLECTED NEARLY THREE AND A HALF

MILLION DOLLARS IN TAXES, SO IMAGINE HOW MUCH A WHOLE YEAR WOULD
GENERATE.

40 PERCENT OF THIS REVENUE WILL GO TOWARD EDUCATION, 20 PERCENT

WILL GO TOWARD MENTAL HEALTH AND DRUG SERVICES, AND THE
REMAINING REVENUE WILL GO TOWARD ENFORCEMENT AND DRUG ABUSE
PREVENTION.

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE USE OF RECREATIONAL MARIJUANA

PLEASE VISIT THE GREEN HEART OREGON, WHERE CANNABIS WORKSHOPS
ARE OFFERED BY INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS TO PROVIDE INFORMATION ON
THE CANNABIS INDUSTRY. OR CALL US AT 503-883-9007 TO SCHEDULE AN
APPOINTMENT.