PHOENIX – One of the nation’s most forward-leaning media companies and one of the Internet’s best cannabis guides are joining forces to give consumers and marijuana businesses greater access to a national platform of online resources.

Voice Media Group owns Marijuana Marketing Xperts as a division of its cutting-edge digital advertising agency V Digital Services. VMG also publishes an array of iconic print newspapers and websites, including Phoenix New Times, Denver Westword and Miami New Times. In 2017, V Digital Services posted 40 percent year-over-year growth and was named to Inc. Magazine’s list of the 5,000 fastest-growing companies in the U.S.

Herban Planet is one of the most comprehensive online cannabis guides. With more listings and educational assets than any other web platform, Herban Planet offers a one-stop ecosystem for cannabis producers, business owners, consumers, medical professionals, patients, caregivers and activists. Now that content will be available directly from the MMX website, putting a vast nationwide marijuana database at our customers’ fingertips.

VMG chief executive officer Scott Tobias noted that VMG and Herban Planet are already leaders in providing readers, consumers and businesspeople with information about the cannabis industry. And thanks to its decades of doing business in major markets across the country, VMG brings something else to the mix: Hundreds of long-established relationships with business owners, dispensary owners, cultivators and leading figures in the industry. Those carefully nurtured local, regional and national relationships should accelerate growth of Herban Planet’s market share.

Denver Westword was the first publication in the country to hire a marijuana reporter and is known for its expert coverage of the industry. And MMX has long specialized in helping marijuana businesses maximize their digital footprint.

As a division of V Digital Services, industry-leading MMX has the advantage of focusing solely on marketing for the marijuana industry and helping business owners in the rapidly growing field devise smart digital strategies designed to increase web and mobile presence, generate leads to expand their customer base, and navigate a maze of legal restrictions and regulations. Equally unique is our programmatic advertising network for cannabis, a pioneering technology specially engineered to engage audiences interested in medical and recreational marijuana.

Combining Herban Planet’s thriving web platform with VMG’s technology, marketing and media muscle is the goal of the new partnership, said Tobias. “Joining with Herban Planet to help grow a national marijuana platform made perfect sense,” he added. “We are very excited about this partnership.”

Herban Planet founder and chief executive officer Babak Motamedi said he’s also excited about the synergies made possible by the partnership. VDS marketing services will now be available to Herban Planet customers at preferred prices, and the companies will also continue to explore additional content-sharing opportunities on their websites.

“People in the industry have a choice between platforms,” said Motamedi. “Now Herban Planet will be powered by a multi-market media company, so obviously we will have broader reach. We think we can really change the industry, both in terms of connectivity and bringing it more mainstream.”

About Voice Media Group

Voice Media Group is a diversified technology company that specializes in serving advertisers, business owners and readers across the country as the digital heir to one of America’s most successful media organizations. V Digital Services and Marijuana Marketing Xperts are both part of the VMG network, which also publishes five influential alternative weeklies and websites across the country. As a Premier Google Partner, VDS combines the reach of those established newspaper properties with digital strategies for customers.