Building Trust and Engagement in the Cannabis Industry

Zack Kennedy is the Chief Operating Officer at Buddy, a cannabis app for consumers, brands, and dispensaries. He is also a Sales Representative at Guardian Protection Force Inc. and the Co-founder of Wicked World, a unique game development studio. With a background in operations and product development, Zack creates solutions that bring value to cannabis consumers and businesses. 

In this episode…

Navigating the cannabis industry can be overwhelming for consumers and brands. With hundreds of compounds, strains, and terpenes, many people rely on oversimplified labels like indica or sativa to make choices that don’t always match their desired experience. On the business side, brands struggle to stand out in a crowded market where digital marketing is heavily restricted. How can consumers and brands connect with each other in this space?

Cannabis tech developer Zack Kennedy focuses on education, personalization, and community-driven solutions. For consumers, he recommends starting small with cannabis products, learning about terpenes, and using tools like AI-powered recommendations to guide choices. Cannabis brands can leverage exclusive product drops, build stronger consumer-to-dispensary relationships, and integrate content marketing to improve discoverability.

In today’s episode of Marketing That POPs, Olivia Johnson and Michele Ringelberg welcome Zack Kennedy, COO of Buddy, to discuss how brands and consumers can navigate the cannabis industry. Zack explains the importance of SEO and in-person demos for marketing and shares advice for entrepreneurs entering cannabis tech, including focusing on the user experience and starting with clean white label products.