Kerri Accardi: The Birth of 420Media and the Launch of Cannected TV

From the east coast to the west coast, and soon after, the whole country and abroad, Kerri launched 420Media from passion, grief, and the truth. 420MEDIA is a full-service marketing agency that works with brands on digital strategy (goals, objectives, timeline, budget), content creation (based on our strategy- video, photos, campaigns), and distribution/ advertising outlets (programmatic, billboards, digital, email, social).

Always a producer, the choice to leave that focus to be a producer in cannabis meant education. Kerri says: “On December 10th, 29013, I left NYC on a mission to educate the world about cannabis after losing my Aunt Kathy. I knew I had to learn more before I could help others understand the amazing benefits of cannabis.”

While on the road with the 420Media covering cannabis policy, festivals, and people helping lead the fight to legalization, Kerri built a network of advocacy, support, and collaboration with various brands and voices. She speaks on two handfuls of brands doing amazing work in the industry that she has worked with:

     “Early on, we worked with local brands in Washington State and Oregon like MJ News Network, Seattle Hempfest, Alternative Remedies, and Delta 9 dispensaries. After moving into the paid media and television space, we worked with Humboldt Grace, Curved Papers, Age Vital, The Cannabis Nurses Association, and the MJBA on the first educational commercial to air on History, Discovery, and BRAVO channels.”

Get to know Kerri, 420Media, and Cannected TV and in this Q & A

Please provide a little backstory on 420Media and the launch.

     “After losing my aunt, I went to stay with a friend who owned a collective in San Jose, California. On my first night, I was in my first political council meeting, and the next day I was up at the crack of dawn learning how to grow. Over the next few weeks, my mind was exploding with knowledge, information, and experience from patients to the legacy community. In January 2014, New York quasi legalized medical cannabis! I called a former colleague to tell him I was going to start a production company (at the time) to showcase cannabis as the miracle she is. I asked if he wanted to get involved… he did. That was the start of 420MEDIA.”

Please tell me about the brands that are linked to 420MEDIA.

     “420Media has worked with an array of businesses and brands since 2014. In 2018 and then again during the Super Bowl, 420Media did a lot of work in the USVI and in Puerto Rico in 2019. We put a Jack Herer billboard up in Vegas during MJBIZCon in 2019 as well as showcased brands like Tetragram, Cannaguide, and Cannaflage, alongside the announcement of Cannected TV; in Times Square on 4/20/21! Currently, we are adding brands and commercials on the streaming channel that are seeking exposure and increased sales. We recently started working directly with other agencies and production companies to let them utilize our preferred partners so they can provide their clients with paid, industry, and new media options. We want to empower brands to reach their target audience directly or indirectly.”

What are some of the first milestones and wins reached by 420MEDIA?

• “2014 we filmed the first legal cannabis tour in Washington State.
• 2015/16, we were an Agency of Record with CBS for cannabis content.
• 2018 we aired the first cannabis commercial during Primetime on History, BRAVO, and Discovery channels.
• 2019 we aired during the Super Bowl in the USVI and Puerto Rico and created and produced the first educational conference in St. Croix with the Commissioner Of Agriculture.
• 2021 we launched our streaming TV channel Cannected TV across ROKU, Apple TV and IOS ( globally) Android TV, Amazon Fire, Google Play devices, and Online 4/20, and premiered our first long-form series hosted by Super Bowl champion Marvin Washington called the “5th Quarter” an exploration of cannabis and athletes.
• May 2022, we are expanding the channel to XBOX, LG, and Samsung CTV’s, as well as Sony, Panasonic, Phillips, Sharp, and TCL Smart TVs!
• June 2022, we will stream women in cannabis throughout the month, and then they will stay on the channel for one year as a resource.”

What are some things that 420 MEDIA has accomplished that people may have missed?

     “The mission to educate the world about cannabis is real. We have eight years of professionally filmed content since 2014 documenting the growth of the cannabis industry with over 500 people sharing their stories directly to camera- from patients to former prisoners, pioneers, veterans, and more that will be aired on our channel this year!”

Tell me about Cannected TV; who should be watching, who viewers can expect to see, what type of shows can viewers expect to see?

     “Everyone and anyone interested in cannabis should watch Cannected TV! Viewers can expect to see the narrative of cannabis and how we got here, in addition to shows about athletes and cannabis, growing, cooking, business, hemp, laws, products, reality, shopping, and more. We are working on a “Where Are They Now” show, as well as Nurse Talk, and a profile series called “Faces Of Cannabis” in edit now.

We have people like Dr. Sue Sisley and Michael Krawitz fighting for veterans, to Vivian McPeak- founding member of the Seattle Hempfest, to Keith Stroup- the founder of NORML, to Rick Cusick- from the old High Times. We have athletes Boo Williams and Marvin Washington, alongside Nurse Heather Manus, to George Martorano- a man who spent 30 years in prison for a plant! We have an incredible amount of content to share with the world.”

Tell me about plans that 420MEDIA and Cannected TV have for expansion as legalization continues to take the nation by storm.

     “We are adding enhanced educational content, podcasts, partner content, infomercials, events, and livestream; as well as a direct to consumer marketplace where brands can showcase their products and services in custom digital storefronts with shoppable ads where viewers can learn more and/or purchase directly from the brands. This allows businesses to build brand awareness and lead generation amongst premium programming that promotes the benefits of cannabis.

     We want to provide an ecosystem for brands to create and showcase their products and services directly to their target audience while providing up-to-date information in entertaining content that empowers viewers with education and access.

     On a personal note, I don’t want anyone to watch their family or friends suffer or die needlessly when cannabis can most likely help. While my Aunt Kathy was still alive, I made her a promise I would do everything in my power to educate others, so they didn’t have to suffer and die like I was witnessing. I feel like I kept my promise 100% and am grateful to be in this position to serve others on a global scale.”