Lessons from AAA
Building a member-benefit organization around social clubs and new technology
When asked to describe The Floral Society in one sentence, I say The Floral Society is like AAA meets the NRA, meets Ben & Jerry’s. The analogies are quite intentional, as each of those organizations have specific qualities and histories that have informed my vision.
Lessons from AAA
The American Automobile Association (AAA) could only have arisen with the new technology of the automobile. Entire industries and organizations grew alongside the new technology. AAA began in 1902 as an affiliation of local automotive clubs—groups of automobile owners who would take recreational tours, enjoying long-distance day trips, untethered to a rail line.
Over decades, the Association grew to encompass other automotive clubs, eventually having a presence in every one of the (then) 48 states. The second wave of AAA members—those who bought cars as necessities, and had disposable income—brought member services to the fore. The U.S. Highway system made recreational interstate road trips, separate from automotive club activities, its own marketing category.
AAA offered Trip Planning, maps and information about AAA-affiliated automotive services, food, and lodging along one’s planned route. 24-hour roadside assistance for members grew out of this national affiliation program, as did AAA member discounts on automobile-related services (parts, maintenance, insurance) and travel (hotels & restaurants). AAA also became an advocate for road and highway safety, as well as for safer automobile design, lobbying Congress and state legislatures, on behalf of its membership.
While 24-hour roadside assistance remains a key benefit to AAA membership, mobile devices (sometimes built into the cars themselves) make finding a 24-hour towing service a simple task. Trip planning, as well, may be accomplished in short order via Google Maps or some other app. The value of AAA membership is increasingly found in the discounts available to Association members.
Importantly, AAA is for automobile drivers, first. The Association does not endorse any particular brand of vehicle (though it does brand its own operator’s insurance).
Coming out of total prohibition, cannabis is essentially a new technology that is leading the growth of the cannabis industry itself as well as niches of associated fields (e.g., paraphernalia, marketing). Like with cars, there are “fans” of the technology and brands within the field. As in the earliest days of the automobile, the cannabis consumers socialize around their shared enjoyment, exploring new “routes and locations.”
AAA assembled as a patchwork. Today, if you look at a AAA Regional map, it will not overlap cleanly with state borders. Automotive clubs took advantage of mobility and did not limit themselves by state boundaries. Regions were established as more clubs came to join AAA.
The state-by-state patchwork of legal cannabis will have a stronger effect on Floral Society chapter formation, as chapter partnerships and sponsorships may in some ways be regulated by state laws. To be clear, The Floral Society is not designed to require state cannabis agency licensure. While a private social consumption club may be affiliated with The Floral Society, or while a Floral Society chapter operator may also own and operate a state-licensed social consumption location, The Floral Society is a social club—like a fraternity, a country club, or the VFW. It is not in the business of selling cannabis.
By the same token, The Floral Society is a national organization. Membership carries over to all chapter events, just like AAA services are available to all AAA members, regardless of the Region in which their membership is based. The Floral Society is designed to operate in any state, regardless of cannabis laws. All that is required is sufficient interest in hosting a chapter, and setting up local events and member benefits.
Cannabis consumers (especially the top 20% of them, by dollars) are a distinct market niche, with particular needs and tastes. Their opinions and recommendations are valuable to retailers, manufacturers, and cultivators. They make for ideal expert test markets. It is a matter of them identifying themselves and demanding attention from the industry. Savvy marketers understand the added value of core consumers adopting their products, and are willing to offer incentives to them for sampling.
AAA discounts can literally drive traffic to hotels and restaurants; there is every reason for businesses inside and outside the cannabis industry to want the attention of more than 50 million annual cannabis consumers.