LOS ANGELES — Acceleration Community of Companies (ACC) today announced the acquisition of Trailblaze, a boutique marketing communications agency specializing in cannabis and wellness brands.
Founded in 2018 by Lisa Weser, former head of U.S. Marketing Communications at AB InBev, Trailblaze is a marketing communications agency for companies in the cannabis industry, as well as other CPG lifestyle brands and start-ups. The acquisition follows three years of strategic partnership between Trailblaze and ACC.
“Our acquisition strategy is focused on best-in-class marketing, communications and media companies who disrupt their industries and are driven by purpose,” said ACC CEO Michael Nyman. “Lisa and the Trailblaze team have built a reputation for bold ideas, sophisticated execution, and results-driven, award-winning campaigns.”
Trailblaze will be a division of Advisory, ACC’s consultancy practice specializing in integrated marketing for brands and businesses, and serve as an engine for collaboration within its community of companies including MKG, Stripe Theory, Pink Sparrow, and Pixly. Weser will remain CEO of Trailblaze with a dual role as Executive Vice President of Advisory.
“We are thrilled to join ACC, a community of cutting-edge companies serving some of the world’s most elite and culturally relevant brands,” said Weser. “We look forward to collaborating with Advisory’s world class team of marketers and category experts to expand our capabilities and offer Trailblaze clients more services and opportunities than ever before.”
“We’ve worked with Trailblaze for three years and we’re so excited to cement our partnership with this pioneering communications agency,” said Monica Chun, President of Advisory and Chief Client Officer for ACC. “This acquisition will greatly expand and improve our communications capabilities and further add to Advisory’s valuable role as a strategic partner to all of ACC’s business units and clients.”
Trailblaze has represented more than 30 clients across the cannabis, psychedelic and wellness sectors, such as AE Global, Ayr Wellness, Canopy Growth Corporation, Foria Wellness, Good Day Farm, GrowGeneration, MariMed, MedMen, Mindbloom, Receptor Brands, Silo Wellness, TILT Holdings, Veriheal and 1440 Foods—executing award-winning PR campaigns including the launches of Martha Stewart CBD and Quatreau with Canopy Growth, the “Way to 420” Campaign with Cresco Labs and Receptor Brands and the “World’s Largest Pot Brownie” with MariMed, Inc.
Weser is a 20-year PR and marketing veteran. Prior to her senior leadership role at AB InBev, she was SVP at global communications firm FleishmanHillard, where she oversaw PR and social campaigns for AT&T, Visa, Panera Bread and more. She was a 2022 recipient of the “Top Women in PR” Award from PR News for her trailblazing work in the cannabis sector and was named one of the 100 Most Influential People in Cannabis in 2019; she served as a 2022 Clio Cannabis Awards Juror and is a contributor to Rolling Stone’s Culture Council.
Trailblaze will be headquartered in ACC’s LA office, with team members also working in New York City.
About ACC
ACC has developed a new go-to-market business approach with a series of strategic and complementary acquisitions, including MKG, a leading creative agency specializing in brand actions and experiences; Pink Sparrow, a design and fabrication shop specializing in experiential, retail, mobile, office and campus environments; Stripe Theory, a data and marketing analytics and brand reputation management agency; Pixly, a full-service influencer marketing agency that specializes in influencer activations; and Trailblaze, a marketing communications firm for next generation lifestyle brands. Additionally, ACC has a brand advisory unit, ACC Advisory, a consultancy aimed at providing clients a central point for integration and customization. Acceleration’s unique community of specialized firms help clients move quickly and efficiently with their branding, marketing and media decisions and action, by ensuring all agencies are tech-enabled, with data and analytics utilization linking them all together and driving maximum results for their clients. Between ACC Advisory and its current business portfolio, clients and projects include a mix and range of Fortune 500 as well as direct-to-consumer brands, from Pepsi, Target, Nike, Ralph Lauren, Meta, Grubhub, Delta Airlines, Dolby, T-Mobile, HBO, Nike, and Canopy Growth, among others.
About Trailblaze
Trailblaze is a boutique communications agency for cannabis companies, as well as other CPG lifestyle, health and wellness brands and start-ups. Trailblaze takes cannabis brands mainstream and helps health and wellness brands grow with a modern, strategic and sophisticated approach to multi-platform brand storytelling. The company works with clients to develop differentiated brand communications tailored to their unique business objectives, leveraging deep industry connections and media relationships to uncover unique partnership opportunities and earn meaningful press coverage.
