Facebook, Instagram and Google have banned marijuana marketing. What alternatives do you find the most effective to promote marijuana brands and products?
Toasted Collective! We help cannabis and hemp brands reach and retain customers online. Through partnerships with Hearst, USA Today, Cox Media, MNI, Vistar, and more, we leverage first and third party data across premium inventory to target more than 250 million monthly unique visitors.
How do regulations affect the execution of marketing campaigns and what are the solutions?
National campaigns are ostensibly rendered impossible; because regulations are so different at the state level; national inventory that can be segmented. While a true programmatic solution would be ideal, there’s simply too much need for human intervention at this stage.
Are there any brands that have an opportunity crossing over into marijuana industry? Is legality the only thing preventing them from embracing it?
I think it’s more likely that something like a cosmetic company finds success in this space than, say, a tobacco company.
What are some similarities and differences you see between alcohol & tobacco industries and marijuana?
Regulation. The differences here, of course, are tied to the fact that there defensible health claims to be made about cannabis and that there are no legacy brands in the space. Nobody’s dad used to come home from the office every day and crack open a frosty [insert your favorite brand of preroll here]. From that perspective, there’s a surplus of opportunity in the space to build exciting brands driven by consumer data rather than whimsy.
What are your thoughts on involving celebrities into the cannabis campaigns?
Love it. Celebrities have a unique power to establish trust with audiences, which makes it easier to build brands and de-stigmatize cannabis as a category.
Have you seen the cannabis marketing evolving since legalization first began in the US?
100%. People are beginning to care more about building brands (and advertising them) than simply moving product. In mature audiences, product isn’t enough anymore. There’s a genuine need to build brands that truly resonate with specific consumer bases.