As our industry continues its inevitable—yet agonizingly slow—journey toward becoming a mainstream player in the consumer packaged goods (CPG) sector, marketers in the industry can learn valuable lessons from their CPG counterparts. Today’s smartest marketing approaches this essential work as though federal legalization could happen tomorrow.
Here are three key CPG strategies cannabis brands should be sure to adopt.
Lesson one
Cannabis brands underutilize integrated marketing strategies due to federal restrictions and the morass of Federal Communications Commission, Food and Drug Administration, and Internal Revenue Service regulations. However, as the industry evolves, it’s crucial to develop cohesive campaigns that deliver one consistent message across multiple channels. Although cannabis companies may not be able to use some traditional advertising platforms, they still have access to a fair amount of owned, earned, and paid media channels right now—and I’m not seeing many brands take advantage of those platforms in a truly integrated fashion.
A personal anecdote that speaks to my point: I know through my own internet searching, Instagram scrolling, and news watching that the Utz snack brand is making a big push for its potato chips in my home state of Colorado.
For whatever reason, Utz is targeting me across several channels with the same message—and sure enough, I love potato chips, and it turns out I enjoy the brand’s products. And now here I am performing an unintentional echo strategy for Utz’s marketing campaign, telling everybody who reads this that the tasty chips from Pennsylvania are now widely available across the Denver metro area.
Lesson two
Unlike their colleagues in traditional industries, cannabis brands often fail to leverage seasonal promotions and pricing. Walk into a dispensary in December, and the store generally will look the same as it did in June. The displays, daily deals, and marketing materials maintain a relatively consistent look year-round. Now think about walking into your local grocery store, gas station, or even a liquor store. You’ll encounter countless brands employing and leveraging the spirit of the season to create a deeper relationship with customers.
Season-specific packaging is a call to action in and of itself, especially when it employs the vibrant colors and spirit of the season, and I’m not just talking about 4/20. Some cannabis brands have done an outstanding job of creating meaningful holiday promotional moments, but most have a long way to go when it comes to taking advantage of this powerful marketing tool.
To create deeper connections with customers, brands and businesses have several options:
- Develop holiday-themed packaging designs.
- Launch seasonal product lines.
- Create festive in-store displays.
- Offer limited-time promotions tied to specific seasons or holidays.
These types of tactics generate excitement, create a sense of urgency, and align the brand with cultural moments in the same manner as traditional CPG consumables.
Lesson three
Cannabis brands should devote more time to forging creative partnerships that will expand their audience. As disgusting as those limited-edition Oreo Coca-Cola cookies may look, the strategic partnership is an outstanding example of two brands coming together to share their audiences and create a bold moment in the zeitgeist, something that “stops the scroll” and lights Adweek on fire while fueling watercooler conversation. In other words, the partnership precisely fulfills its goals. We rarely see cannabis brands coming together for similar initiatives, and they partner with non-cannabis brands to accomplish the same goal even more infrequently.
But partnerships are starting to happen in some interesting ways. (Full disclosure: My agency had a hand in both of these projects.) In celebration of National Queso Day, one spicy 2023 collaboration linked the Illegal Pete’s fast-casual restaurant chain with vape maker O.pen to create a queso vape with the UK Cheese strain. Similarly, Housing Works Cannabis Co. recognized the potential for cannabis to complement a workout regimen and partnered with hip, young and LGBTQ+-owned fitness program SaltDrop. The program built on inclusivity and fighting the “lazy stoner” stereotype and became so successful that the partners extended their deal beyond the originally scheduled dates.
These types of partnerships demonstrate how two brands can come together to execute bold and courageous collaborations—memorable marketing moments that share their audiences and create lasting and profound connections with consumers.
Giving any or all of these strategies a try now will set up your company for even broader success when more marketing platforms become available after federal legalization.
Ricardo Baca is founder and chief executive officer at Grasslands, a journalism-minded cannabis marketing and public relations agency. Named one of Fortune’s “7 Most Powerful People in America’s Marijuana Industry,” he is a twenty-five-year veteran journalist, Clio Award winner and juror, keynote speaker, two-time TEDx veteran, Marketer of the Year, and drug policy futurist.
