Psybicilin
If the legalization of marijuana in a growing number of states has taught us anything, there will likely be an emerging market for other products like psychedelics, as interest grows in their recreational and medicinal benefits. The stigma around using psychedelics, while still present, is starting to shift. The potentially beneficial and pharmaceutical uses for magic mushrooms and other substances are increasingly evident, and the market will likely follow.
Some estimates indicate that the market for psychedelic drugs could grow into a $6.9 billion industry by the year 2027. As psychedelics continue to gain mainstream acceptance, psychedelic companies are still in their marketing and PR infancy. Getting in on the ground floor means investing in a PR campaign today that could solidify your status as a psychedelic authority and leader in the industry in the future as it grows.
The psychedelic industry is a sophisticated enterprise that still suffers from stereotypes and misinformation. It’s much more than mushrooms, black lights, and velvet posters. A strategic PR campaign can help transform this image. It can also lend credibility to what should be considered the next big untapped drug market brimming with potential. As companies continue to grow and gain access to more capital, the opportunity for an IPO, or initial public offering, emerges. A strategic PR campaign can help push these companies into the big leagues.
Why Do Psychedelic Companies Need to Think About PR Now?
The legalization of marijuana has spurred new ways of thinking about old drugs. Psychedelics are getting a fresh look from both the public and private sectors. Researchers are uncovering promising data about the potential for these drugs to treat mental disorders such as depression, PTSD, and anxiety. With greater mainstream acceptance comes more pressure on government entities to decriminalize psychedelics and cannabis, both on state and federal levels.
The best time for psychedelic companies to capitalize on changing consumer sentiment is right now. Much of the emerging psychedelic industry is still in its infancy. When a substance is still considered illegal in much of the country, a stigma will obviously exist. The status of mushrooms and some psychedelics as Schedule 1 drugs also create major hurdles for companies when it comes to marketing. Changing the tide of both patient and political bias needs to happen now.
A strategic PR campaign can aid psychedelic companies in normalizing the conversation about psychedelics and help establish them as respected industry leaders. Changing the narrative on psychedelics doesn’t happen overnight. It takes a concerted effort to get the attention of policymakers and patients alike. PR professionals are uniquely positioned to help psychedelic companies leverage media coverage for a positive effect.
What is PR?
PR professionals specialize in helping companies get free media placement. Free media is media that does not require the company to pay for its distribution. Examples of this type of media include local news outlets, national news outlets, magazines, newspapers, and websites.
PR agencies tend to employ former journalists who have extensive contacts in the media industry. These professionals also know what it takes to pitch a story and what outlets are looking for in the source material.
What Can PR Do for Companies in the Psychedelic Industry?
The possibilities are almost limitless when it comes to what PR can do for the psychedelic industry. PR is a valuable tool in helping change the narrative about psychedelics. A PR agency can help a business craft a compelling and strategic messaged aimed at consumers or policymakers. The firm can then take that message to media sources for potential coverage. These outlets can distribute the story and help boost a company’s brand recognition within the psychedelic industry. Since this media coverage is not paid for, like commercials and ads, it also helps increase a company’s credibility.
Media coverage can also help shape future policies. It is essential to steer the conversation about psychedelics away from the negative and stigmatic image of drugs and towards more beneficial and informative coverage. Experienced PR agencies are experts at communicating. They understand crisis management and how to take potentially negative information and transform it into teaching moments. Although the conversation about marijuana and psychedelics is evolving, there is still work to be done when it comes to helping the industry shed problematic stereotypes.
It is also crucial to note that while change may seem slow to come, the needle is moving in a more accepting direction. It is easier to establish yourself as a reputable psychedelic company now and get in on the ground floor than it is to claw your way to the top of a crowded marketplace. Getting involved with a PR firm early gives you a head start when it comes to brand recognition, building credibility in the industry, and developing a loyal following and potential customer base. Your company can emerge as an industry leader just as other companies are attempting to jump on the bandwagon. Investing in PR today is investing in the future reputation of your business.
If these factors aren’t enough, consider what else a reputable PR firm can do for you:
- Craft a brand story
- Help establish you as a psychedelic industry leader
- Generate visibility and brand recognition
- Pitch stories that can help influence the public and policymakers
- Help change the narrative surrounding psychedelic drugs
- Target your key audience
- Build brand loyalty
- Build community relationships
Good public relations teams don’t sit back and wait for you to have news. They help strategize ways to make news. PR should not be passive. PR should be proactive in any market and help companies make their mark and shape the industry. A company’s needs for positive PR in the psychedelic industry are no different.
Whether you are a public or private psychedelic company, now is the time to start thinking about your image. With the help of an experienced PR team, you have the power to build your brand and mold the future of the psychedelic industry. The psychedelic business could quickly become the next big industry to experience hyper-growth. Getting started with PR early means you will have a strategic advantage over the competitors that wait to enter the market.
Psybicilin is coming in hot as a curiosity in magic mushrooms blossoms. Aside from early adopters, psybicilin is mostly an unknown quantity to most consumers. Now is a great time for psybicilin to learn some PR lessons from cannabis. It won’t be long before pysbicilin is one of the hottest emerging industries with some rocketship growth brands. Studies are already underway which could pave the path for investors and entrepreneurs. Biotech is an exciting area of hyper-growth, but from Theranos to Big Pharma to Johnson and Johnson, consumers are wary. What lessons can be learned and what is the best psybicilin PR advice for early-stage psybiclin companies?
Lean into Trust
When CBD was in its nascent but early regulatory stages, it struggled with some pretty serious industry missteps that may have led to the delayed FDA delays. As recent as 2021, CBD brand leader Charlotte’s Web was denied FDA approval for their CBD oil as a dietary supplement, and this is a brand with a very solid trust record. Will psybicilin end up in regulatory limbo too? The earliest entrants into the space have a huge role to play.
Start early with trust with regulators and consumers.
It’s far too easy at this stage to get caught up in buzzwords and miracle promises, but that’s a huge mistake. Taking a page out of the many FDA letters sent to CBD companies, psybicilin PR should focus on trust, honesty, and reliable, credible experts while staying clear of radical health claims.
Early psybiclin brands, and psybicilin PR should lean into frank, honest discussions with consumers about what they are and aren’t doing.Many consumers are so bewildered by the health claims made by CBD companies they don’t believe CBD is effective in anything.
Ease Consumers into it Slowly
While many companies are leaning into “magic mushrooms,” as an approachable description, it has its drawbacks; especially with people who connect mushrooms as a psychedelic trip in the 1970’s, but this visual doesn’t lend much credibility to psybicilin startups.
Much as early-stage cannabis brands leaned into slang terms for cannabis and used the leaf in branding, all those things quickly became passe’ as cannabis brands sought credibility. Cannabis PR firms and cannabis branding companies were advising cannabis brands on these issues, but many late-comers persisted in this vein. Early stage psybicilin brands can skip the tie-died branding and go straight to scientific and plant-based conversations.
The cannabis and hemp industries have set the stage for plant-based messaging and conversations. Think vegetarians over vacant-eyed teenagers.
Another PR trend psybicilin should be wary of, particularly in light of Peter Thiel’s early investments in psybicilin, be wary of overly hyped techno terms, because tech, like biotech has had some pretty serious trust issues over the last few years.
Know the Psybicilin Consumer – And Treat Them with Respect
There are some really exciting studies happening about psybicilin medical treatments. As researchers validate psybicilin’s benefits, psybicilin PR firms and brands can do themselves a favor by digging deep into consumer research.
Early-stage cannabis brands were often surprised by who their customers were and what was important to them. Instead of making assumptions about who will and won’t support medical or recreational use of psybicilin, brands should do their homework and partner with branding firms early on. Mutual customer-brand support could go far as psybicilin makes it’s way through the regulatory environment.
Psybicilin decriminalization is making headlines as are big research investments. There will surely be some exciting opportunities for psybicilin companies in the future. If psybicilin learn PR lessons from cannabis, they’ll enjoy much smoother sailing. If you’re a psybicilin brand who wants to invest in trust and put these cannabis PR lessons to your advantage, please give us a call.
[4 minute read time] Today’s CMOs are constantly scanning the news and social networks for the latest trends and cultural shifts. For emerging brands, cultural trends and shifts couldn’t be more important. But even the savviest of CMOs needs to put these separate trends into a broader cultural context in order to put them to use. Enter TrendHunter, their annual Trend Report is a must-read for PR firms, CMO’s, Product Managers, and Innovators. Guess who else watches these massive cultural trends? The media.
As a PR firm that specializes in emerging brands and emerging industries, we’re extremely fortunate to be working with brands already leading the charge on many of the trends and cultural shifts that the latest TrendHunter report documents in its 200+ pages. A few cultural trends caught our eye and thought they were worth digging into on a deeper level for our community of CMOs and media.
3 Massive Cultural Trends for Emerging Brands
Magic Mushrooms
Over the last 6 years, we’ve noticed an increasing demand for mushroom-based functional foods. The wonders of the mushroom knows no bounds. Nowhere is this more true than in the expansion of psychedelic mushrooms. As researchers fast track the science behind therapeutic benefits of psychedelics, global businesses in Brazil, The British Virgin Islands, and the Netherlands, benefiting from legal loopholes are launching brands and experiences that include psilocybin (the compound that creates psychedelic mushrooms). In the US, like cannabis-based THC, psilocybin remains federally illegal, but the local movement to decriminalize the psychoactive ingredient in mushrooms has already begun in Denver, Oakland, and Santa Cruz (as of this writing). Emerging businesses and innovators see psilocybin following the same path of cannabis, but moving considerably faster towards legalization.
Audio Only
Most marketing executives could not ignore the break-through app of 2020: Clubhouse. Clubhouse may or may not have peaked already, and everyone’s listening to see what’s next. Interestingly, the pandemic surge on ClubHouse came just as marketers were wondering whether podcasts, famously popular with commuters and gym rats would remain relevant. But podcasts survived, and some would say even thrived. Apps like Calm, which uses sound to ease tension also surged during the pandemic. Music lovers know the secret to these apps: listening to sounds has a measurable effect on mood and dopamine regulation. Could it be true? Audio-only meetings are more memorable than video meetings? Twitter is betting on it with it’s pandemic feature: ‘Spaces.’ Emerging from the pandemic, sound will be part of every experiential memory and brands will be looking to research to determine how their sound logos impact people’s moods much the way the we investigate how color impacts mood for graphic logos. We’re launching the ability to LISTEN to our blog posts starting with this very post.
Inclusion
Gillette Skinclusive Line
Inclusion is no longer a buzzword, it is now part of our day-to-day awareness. This year, Gillette Venus’ Skinclusive line launch with a summer line, “My Skin, My Way” on video game Animal Crossing. But inclusive skin is in, and so it differently-abled bodies with this launch. In-game inclusivity is mirroring our greater awareness of how our differences can be beautiful. We’re seeing inclusion happening in apps like Chapters: Interactive Stories, where users can create an avatar that reflects their ethnicity as well. Expect to see this in-game inclusivity mirror: gender inclusion and political points of view as well.
Brand Purpose
Bonus round: brand purpose. From sustainability to social good, TrendHunters covered the trend we’ve been seeing for several years: brand purpose. The best brands in the world are already ahead of the game on this, but it’s also trickling down to emerging industries and smaller brands and that’s because tomorrow’s most influential buyers care very much about where their products come from and what the social, political, and environmental costs of the brand are.
All of these trends have massive PR, product, and marketing implications. More and more, our clients are bringing us in at the beginning stages of ideation, to ensure not only do campaigns hit newsworthy notes, they also keep them out of hot water, which is a moving target these days. But our team, hand-picked for emotional intelligence, are here to help you see emerging trends all around.
Thanks for joining us today!
