LITT is a Fintech social and e-commerce platform that specializes in augmented reality advertising. Unlike other platforms that continually show ads, a LITT app member sees ads on their feed and opts in to view them.

The Australian-based company was launched by co-founders Peter Salom and Brent Thompson in March 2020, and already the company has about 50,000 members and 1,000 businesses onboard. The app includes a built-in digital LITT card that allows people to convert points from watching ads into money that they can spend at participating local businesses. This first of its kind circular economy that LITT has created means businesses receive a greater return on their advertising investment as they can track their sales directly with LITT’s unique analytics and data direct from their business portal as the sales come in the front door.

Right now, most business is in Australia. But the company did a soft launch in the U.S. in January with plans to do a big push in July and open U.S. headquarters in Miami.

Why did you launch this app? 

Peter: Going back four years ago, Brent and I were having a beer discussing where the cracks were in the global social media app market and potentially what they were missing when engaging with regular people and the vast array of businesses that want to advertise on these platforms.  We considered what was driving the competitive environment into stagnation and desperation when it came to innovation and more importantly at the time, social media was becoming a less-and-less rewarding experience for the user.

Why does the company see potential in the cannabis and CBD markets?

Brent: Most social and digital advertising platforms have created their own algorithms which restrict the cannabis and CBD industry from promoting their business effectively.  LITT is a platform that lets all business categories market their brands and products and has built specific criteria that don’t restrict the industry by implementing 21 and over filters. It also complies with state-specific requirements to only show advertising where it is legal. For cannabis and CBD brands to be promoted on LITT’s live AR Map and seen all over North America and promote time-bound deals to their customers is something we know the industry has been looking for. 

Tell us more about augmented reality?

BRENT: No other company in the world has commercialized augmented reality technology the way that LITT has. 

LITT’s augmented reality (AR) advertising feature works like PokemonGo, except rather than chasing fluffy creatures the users are chasing real-live, time-bound deals and offers promoted by local businesses driving increased foot traffic. This unique advertising module allows businesses to create bespoke, branded augmented reality objects (like a floating coffee) and place the object in a geofence around their business or a specific area that they want to promote, creating customer urgency and providing real-time analytics around the success of the promotion.

Why is LITT interested in playing a role at the Ohio Cannabis Health and Business Summit in the fall?

Peter:  The conference is aimed at educating people, and that appeals to us because there’s a marketing opportunity for LITT. Companies will find different ways to use our platform for advertising and marketing initiatives and also allow them to publish industry information through their profiles.

If a customer is advertising with us, we share revenues with our users. It’s a good opportunity to get some advertising money back when customers support those local businesses. 

How did an Australian-based social media company hear about a medical cannabis conference in Ohio?

Lenny Berry, the conference founder, is involved in the LITT Platform as a shareholder and strategic advisor. He has had significant involvement in the cannabis industry from both distribution and educational areas.

How can someone sign up a business or make a personal profile on the Litt App?

You can download the Litt App now from the Apple or Google stores under the Littapp.com. If you want to become a Litt business, go to the Littapp.com/business.

Can you expand on what you’re finding so far about opportunities in the cannabis and CBD industries in North America?

Brent: We haven’t done many campaigns yet but so far the reception has been great. We have already held two small cannabis information sessions in Los Angeles where businesses attended and were educated on how to use our platform. They signed up (which is free) and now they are visible on the LITT Map and can see fantastic opportunities to help promote their businesses.

When it comes to marketing, there’s a big gap in the industry and we want to play a role in helping businesses in the cannabis and CBD industry. All we hear about are challenges with marketing cannabis on social media and we would like to help these businesses.

We’ve done a lot of research, and the rules are not that bad. We are here to help drive traffic to both online and brick-and-mortar stores.

Right now, most businesses on LITT are in industries like food and beverage and retail. Can you give me an idea of what you mean about preparing for marketing in the cannabis space?

Peter – Our platform is open to all industries to market on and we want to ensure that all legal businesses have the opportunity to register and promote themselves on LITT.

We’ve talked to lawyers about regulations for different states in North America so we can provide an educated answer to our cannabis and CBD merchants as to what is and isn’t acceptable when it comes to marketing on the LITT Platform. We can offer a lot fewer restrictions than what’s currently available on other social media platforms by being fair and reasonable and acknowledging we will stay within state and industry guidelines. 

Of course, we’ll have filters for those 21 and older, and we will still authorize all ads prior to publishing. 

We can also guarantee we won’t leave the businesses hanging for days after they submit an ad for approval.