The Office of Experience Launches Fully Upgraded HighTimes.com for Legendary Cannabis Media Authority HIGH TIMES

CHICAGO and NEW YORK, July 28, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Office of Experience (OX), the innovative Chicago-based experience design firm, today announced details of their partnership with HIGH TIMES, the world's leading cannabis media, events, and information company. Working together over the last several months, OX and HIGH TIMES recently launched a completely new HighTimes.com that enables the cannabis authority to have better tools to reach the rapidly growing group of people interested in the benefits of cannabis and the advertisers who wish to target that audience. 

"HIGH TIMES came to The Office of Experience at a critical point in their business, which has been the undisputed leading voice in all things cannabis for 40+ years," said OX Partner and Executive Director, User Experience Architecture Carlos Manalo. "As cannabis culture continues to emerge from the shadows of the underground into a legal, mainstream, multi-billion dollar industry, HIGH TIMES identified expansion of its already-strong digital base as a strategic driver for their business. OX fully immersed our team in the HIGH TIMES business, brand legacy, and cannabis culture. Then, married with OX's expertise in human-centered experience design and technology, we created a vastly improved consumer experience that pulls the best aspects of the HIGH TIMES brand forward and sets them up for the next leg in their transformative journey."

"HIGH TIMES could have gone with any number of large agencies for this important project, and we spoke to many," said HIGH TIMES Chief Operating Officer Larry Linietsky. "What sets The Office of Experience apart is their talent, commitment to building on the ethos of our HIGH TIMES brand, running of focus groups and surveys, competitive research, and consultation with our staff in the build up to the launch of the new site. We are very pleased with the new HighTimes.com and its ability to help us more deeply engage with our readers and advertisers."

A selection of improvements to the new HighTimes.com includes: 

• A fully-responsive design system that's adaptable to a wide range of devices.
• A modern, scalable publishing platform, built on open-source technology, that gives their industry-leading network of contributors new tools to publish, syndicate, and optimize the content they produce.
• A customizable header that features a rotating selection of HIGH TIMES-exclusive creative from leading artists, a nod to the long history of art being a core part of the HIGH TIMES brand.
• A new suite of advertising products and capabilities that gives the broadening sector of advertisers interested in reaching the cannabis audience better tools with which to do so.

Strategy on the project was led by longtime media executive Zena Burns through OX's partnership with her consultancy, Moxie Coalition. The companies collaborate when OX clients can benefit from Moxie Coalition's background in media, entertainment, marketing, and events. 

According to New Frontier, legal cannabis sales hit $5.7 billion in 2015, and the market is predicted to grow to $23.1 billion by 2020. "The public is learning more about the benefits of adult and medicinal cannabis use every day," says Manalo, "We're thrilled to have helped HIGH TIMES upgrade their site as the thirst for data and information is at an all-time high." 

ABOUT THE OFFICE OF EXPERIENCE
The Office of Experience is an experience design firm in Chicago. Founded in 2014, OX's design-driven philosophy and multidisciplinary approach integrates strategy, design and technology to help organizations rapidly bring new experiences, products and messages to market. In an era of unprecedented disruption, OX is designed to transform. Learn more at www.officeofexperience.com.

ABOUT HIGH TIMES
For more than 40 years, HIGH TIMES — the iconic and authoritative media company in the cannabis business — has been educating the cannabis community by leading the fight for legalization and empowering entrepreneurs in this burgeoning industry. HIGH TIMES' content spans digital, social, video and print platforms as well as location-based events highlighted by the global Cannabis Cup franchise and the HIGH TIMES Business Summit conference series.

Follow @HIGH_TIMES_Mag on Twitter, @hightimesmagazine on Instagram or Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/HIGHTIMESMag/

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SOURCE The Office of Experience