Canna Culture: Interview with Jess Poulin of High on Feminism
Jess Poulin is the founder of Public Relations & Creative Agency, Woke Media. A Vermont-native who ventured to New York City in 2009, Jess received her Bachelor of Arts in Communications in 2013, studying Public Relations, Music Theory and the History of the Music Industry. She has secured local and national coverage in the New York Times, Access Hollywood, Hollywood Reporter, Billboard, Rolling Stone, SiriusXM, iHeart Media and more. And helped with strategic content creation + events for clients in Music/Entertainment, Tech, Fashion, and more.
In November 2020, Jessica launched a new podcast called High On Feminism. Featuring female entrepreneurs across industries, along with female-owned and operated Cannabis/CBD brands, HOF aims to bring women to the forefront of the Business conversation, and allow for the education of the Cannabis industry especially among female consumers. Read our interview with her below!
High Herstory: You got your start doing public relations in the music industry. Do you see any crossover in the work that you do and the coverage you get in the cannabis industry?
Jess Poulin: I mean cannabis has been and always will be a HUGE part of the music industry. A majority of artists smoke weed today, and of course, so many rappers have been synonymous with weed for years...Wiz, Waka Flocka, Snoop Dogg, Lil Wayne, etc. Being a music manager as well as a publicist, you see how prominent smoking weed is in music sessions, parties, even office visits. It’s everywhere.
From the straight publicity side, my whole job is to help build brands and get them to reach the right people, so already being a publicist helps in navigating how to promote the podcast. I’ve worked with a few weed publications in the past, so I’ve brought those relationships into this project too. Especially now with all the changing legislature happening within the cannabis industry, publications you wouldn’t think would have a “weed writer” or cover that kinda topic, now do!
High Herstory: You’re the Host & Producer of the ‘High On Feminism’ podcast, a platform for female entrepreneurs to tell their stories while consuming some of the latest cannabis and hemp products. What important lessons are you and your guests looking to inspire in younger women who are jumpstarting or pivoting in their own careers?
Jess Poulin: First and foremost there aren’t enough women entrepreneur stories being told so I want to make sure we fill that gap with some badass women. Especially women of color.
Look, being an entrepreneur is awesome but is not always something that happens overnight and you really have to work at it. It’s not for everyone but that’s ok. It’s not the same thing as these Instagram “influencers” who just take pics and get paid. It’s about networking and working with integrity, and really putting in the time and effort to create the lifestyle that you want. As an entrepreneur, you need to be ready and understand that YOU are the one now in charge. If you break relationships or mess up, that’s solely on you and you’re not really able to put the blame on someone else or divert to a higher-up to handle the situation. It’s just all you.
At some point in our careers though, whether early on or later on, we all realized that the corporate working landscape wasn’t for us. And while going out on your own is scary as hell, as long as you’re prepared for the inevitable ups and downs and you surround yourself with the right people, it’ll be the best decision you’ve ever made!
High Herstory: is is a hard question because you had so many incredible guests, but what was one of your favorite moments from shooting the podcast?
Jess Poulin: I’ll do a very neutral answer haha, but my favorite moment was the first episode we ever recorded. Marsha and I had been doing months of planning and nailing down the first 3 guests to kinda prove the concept and be able to show brands the value of promoting their products with us, so when it got down to the day to finally record I was so nervous. The day came and I just wanted everything to be as insightful and creative and funny and interesting as I hoped it would be.
My first time ever recording something like this was with Sarah Vega, and I was excited because I had heard such amazing things about her from a friend, but we had never met in real life so I was nervous about meeting her in person for the first time. I wasn’t sure how the hot-box/pre-show element was really going to work out either, but it turned out to be the perfect ice breaker to get to know her before we went inside. It made the conversation that much deeper because we had kind of broken that stranger barrier and were really able to get into her background and her struggles to get where she was today. We both really allowed ourselves that space to be open and honest about the instances that have shaped us. During the episode, I was just soooo ecstatic because everything was going great, and the material we were getting was amazing, and it was amazing to see my vision finally come together.
But yes, like a good mother, I have no favorite episodes because every single conversation gave me something different! But as far as a favorite moment, it’s always just seeing your hard work pay off.
High Herstory: Let’s talk a little bit about what it means to be a full-service agency. Not only does your company, Woke Media, serve clients in fashion, art, music, and tech, but you also offer a full menu of services such as PR, branding, creative strategy, and events. How does a traditional, one-dimensional approach to public relations lose out on a valuable consumer base?
Jess Poulin: It’s honestly all about the story. And over the years I have worked at hands-on creative agencies and PR, and also at companies that strictly do PR. I noticed that I was able to really do MY best work when I’m more involved in the creative process. Not only is it more fun, but sometimes our team will pull out meanings and ideas that can help elevate something in the campaign that the brand wouldn’t have maybe thought of. If we’re a part of the creative process from the beginning we can consult from a media-level of “what topics are popular right now?” “what’s the call-to-action this publication will be looking for to cover this?” And we’re able to kind of guide the whole thing so that we are able to reach more than just music markets (or whatever industry they’re in). I also think that being so involved helps with that passion and desire to secure those bigger press pieces because you yourself have put so much into the project and you want to see it succeed just as badly as the brand does.
When you’re more of a hands-off publicist, messaging can get lost in the cracks of communication, and the energy to pitch something can be less than enthusiastic. Sometimes clients don’t share everything that’s happening internally because they may not find it relevant, and if you as a publicist aren’t willing to step up and ensure that they DO share with you these things, then you could miss out on greater opportunities for them.
One of my client’s partners once told her that the people you should tell everything to, no matter what, are your therapist, your doctor, and your publicist. :) And I wholeheartedly agree.
High Herstory: When the world is back on its feet, what’s the first type of event you’re looking forward to coordinating and bringing to life?
Jess Poulin: Well, we recently worked on New 42’s reopening of the arts and culture scene in NYC, with a huge celebration of performances in Times Square. It was so exciting to not only represent a great cause like Arts Education but to also see New York start to open back up and get excited about the summer. On the podcast side though, we’re already in a few convos with the brands that have sponsored us to do a little pop-up market where the cannabis brands can come together and share their products, as well as network with other cannabis professionals. One of our sponsors is looking to lock in some retail space soon and we’ve also discussed actually recording an episode at the space, and what sort of programming we could help develop with them as well.
Another thing we’re in the works of developing is also a few different panel discussions surrounding female entrepreneurship and cannabis. Our first one is a pre-recorded virtual panel with Her Highness NYC and their initiative to help women who have been previously incarcerated due to marijuana possession or trafficking. Obviously want to shift those over at some point to IRL but for now, we’ll be releasing the convos on our Woke Media YouTube channel.
High Herstory: What’re you currently listening to as you sesh?
Jess Poulin: Well I have a legit home office now, and today I have a few other music industry friends working from my place and I’m in a very “old school” mood (90’s child FYI). The current track playing is Fabolous and Tami’s “Into You,” and we just went through “I Wanna Be Down” by Brandy, “Let It Go” with Keyshia Cole, Missy, and Lil’ Kim, and since it's an R&B vibe playlist Teyana Taylor’s “How You Want It?” That song is so sexy!
You can find Jess on Instagram, @wokemediabk and listen to High on Feminism here.