[ACCESSWIRE]
SEATTLE, WA / ACCESSWIRE / April 27, 2016 / Jerrick Media Holdings Inc. (OTCQB: JMDA), a digital media and technology company focused on branded digital content and e-commerce, recently announced the planned launch of Potent.Media in June of this year as its initial foray into the burgeoning cannabis industry.
In conjunction with the June launch Jerrick will be collaborating with LadyPants Productions to release Baked, the first in a three-part digital series focused on cannabis. Baked is a cooking show focused on a unique ingredient, cannabis. It will feature Vancouver celebrity Mary Jean Dunsdon, who has been cooking pot-infused treats for more than 13 years and has been featured in numerous popular cannabis and mainstream publications, including The
Daily Mail, High Times, and The New
York Post.
As part of the creative collaboration, Jerrick Media will develop, finance, and distribute the three-part short series that will include Baked,
Marijuana Minute, and Stoners in Stilettos. LadyPants Productions - headed by the award winning producer and TV host Fiona Forbes and singer songwriter Mary Zilba - will be responsible for creative content, writing, and direction.
Targeting an Attractive Niche
The cannabis industry could be worth as much as $35 billion by 2020, according to GreenWave
Advisors. There are many different types of companies operating within the industry, but media side of the business is especially compelling.
The legalization of medical and recreational marijuana throughout a growing number of states has increased demand for cannabis-related media. For instance, the Denver Post launched The Cannabist back in 2013 shortly before the state legalized recreational marijuana. The website has since grown in popularity and become the 11,108 most popular website in the U.S. and the 49,075 most popular website in the world, according to Alexa rankings.
The growing number of cannabis-related business, ranging from dispensaries to vaporizer manufacturers, has also created demand for advertisements. Unlike traditional firms, these companies can't leverage mainstream advertising outlets like Google AdWords or Facebook Ads to reach targeted audiences, since marijuana remains illegal on a federal level. Cannabis publishers have a unique opportunity to capitalize on this demand with premium rates.
A Unique Leadership Team
Rick Schwartz and Jeremy Frommer founded Jerrick Media to combine their talents in creative production and Wall Street finance.
Rick Schwartz is best known for producing The Departed, Black Swan, Gangs of New York, The Others, and Lip Sync Battle, among other projects. After starting his career working under Harvey and Bob Weinstein at Miramax, he became the company's senior vice president of production before founding Overnight Productions in 2008. That company financed and produced movies by directors including Robert Rodriguez and Darren Aronofsky.
Jeremy Frommer comes from the other side of the aisle, having worked for over two decades on Wall Street as a hedge fund portfolio manager and founded and sold two financial services companies. As a seasoned executive and investor, he complements Schwartz's creative background with a quantitative financial background to help build long-term shareholder value.
Most small companies were either started by a visionary or a financial expert, but few have both ingredients needed for long-term success.
Innovative Tech Platform
Jerrick Media's creative production represents only half of the equation when it comes to its long-term business plan. In order to distribute and monetize the content, the company has developed an innovative content management platform known as Forum.
The powerful interface enables non-web designers to create rich user experiences including articles, videos, galleries, and libraries. In addition, it seamlessly integrates e-commerce and other features designed to effectively monetize content. Users can manage and monetize their content from a single source, while publishing it across many different media outlets in order to streamline operations and simplify the management of their media network.
The Forum platform is being initially deployed internally to manage the company's growing number of media properties, but management hopes to expand the product into a standalone solution for other media companies looking to streamline their operations. This could create an entirely new revenue stream from software sales and licensing over the long-term, while helping keep its costs down and revenue up over the short-term.
Looking Ahead
Jerrick Media represents a unique opportunity in the cannabis industry. In a single company, investors can access two seasoned executives – one creative and one financial - along with a robust production studio and potential software play down the road.
The company's production studio approach is to target niche verticals, which means that investors in companies like Eco Science Solutions Inc. (OTC Pink: ESSI), Everyday Health Inc. (NYSE: EVDY), or Remark Media Inc. (NASDAQ: MARK) may want to take a closer look. On the software side, investors in companies like Bridgeline Digital Inc. (NASDAQ: BLIN) or BroadVision Inc. (NASDAQ: BVSN) may want to take a look at the company's Forum software.
For more information about Jerrick Media, visit the company's website at www.jerrickmedia.com.
Legal Disclaimer
Except for the historical information presented herein, matters discussed in this article contain forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. Important factors that could cause these differences include, but are not limited to, the demand for the company's services, governmental regulation of the cannabis industry, and the company's ability to execute its business plan. Emerging Growth LLC dba TDM Financial, which owns CFN Media, is not registered with any financial or securities regulatory authority, and does not provide nor claim to provide investment advice or recommendations to readers of this release. Emerging Growth LLC dba TDM Financial, which owns CFN Media, may from time to time have a position in the securities mentioned herein and may increase or decrease such positions without notice. For making specific investment decisions, readers should seek their own advice. For full disclosure please visit: http://www.cannabisfn.com/legal-disclaimer/.
SOURCE: CFN Media
