Tag: Northeast

Cannabis marketing isn’t just about buying ad space on Weedmaps or Leafly anymore. But the options might not be obvious to everyone – and how you advertise matters as much as where, according to one marketing expert.

Today there are a number of avenues available to marijuana businesses trying to expand their reach with customers, according to Karen Cuce, vice president of strategy at Pennsylvania-based Brkthru.

“There are a vast array of options in terms of what cannabis companies can do” to broaden their consumer base and reach new customers, Cuce said. “That can be streaming television, it can be through websites and apps – specifically banner ads, online video or the videos that play before, during, or after a piece of video-based content that the consumer’s watching. Streaming music, streaming audio, podcasts, these are all channels with which the cannabis user is actually spending disproportionately more time than the average U.S. citizen. They are vastly and deeply digitally connected.”

Cuce said her firm focuses primarily on paid media options for cannabis clients, which rules out many of the bigger social media platforms simply because they won’t accept paid ads from marijuana businesses. But at least one – X, formerly known as Twitter – has rolled back such restrictions, Cuce noted.

At the same time, she said, it’s never a good idea to put all your eggs in the same basket when it comes to a marketing strategy. A better plan, she said, is to diversify.

“We can take (cannabis companies’) organic content and seamlessly lift it to run it across, and here’s what I’d recommend, definitely display because that’s going to be a very efficient means to extend reach and really stretch their budget,” Cuce said. “Essentially we’re using very simple imagery as well as a headline, blending it in with the native environment, the publisher on which the ad appears. It’s essentially sponsored content.”

“Both of those channels, as well as online video, have been a really effective trifecta for our cannabis businesses,” Cuce said. “Those are all highly adaptable channels. We can use a number of different targeting approaches.”

A few other pointers Cuce suggested that cannabis companies keep in mind:

Don’t rely on “stoner stereotypes.” Cuce said marketing research has found that modern-day cannabis consumers are diverse, cause-driven, value-driven and often highly successful professionals. “Quite frankly, it’s not just a bunch of people, stereotypically speaking, sitting around eating pizza and potato chips while they’re playing video games. It’s so much more,” Cuce said.
Advertise sales and deals for holidays like 4/20, which can be a great lure for budget-conscious customers. “We know that discounts can be motivating, they can certainly be a hook,” Cuce said.
If a cannabis company has a limited marketing budget, skip marijuana-focused websites like Weedmaps and Leafly in favor of advertising channels that will reach broader “canna-curious” audiences, instead of only those that are already loyal customers. “It is absolutely critical, especially as we see so many cannabis brands really stepping up and owning the space,” Cuce said.

The post ‘Stoner stereotype’ not enough for cannabis marketing appeared first on Green Market Report.

Rhode Island’s Cannabis Control Commission voted Friday to approve a comprehensive set of regulations that will govern the state’s recreational marijuana market, according to the Rhode Island Current. The new rules clear the way for the expansion of retail operations nearly two and a half years after legalization.

“These are truly homegrown, just like our cultivators,” Commission Chairperson Kimberly Ahern said following the panel’s vote. “This is an industry that is growing here thoughtfully, intentionally, deliberately – and it needs to reflect that.”

The three-member commission wrapped up its decision in just 18 minutes, the outlet reported, but the path to this moment has been anything but quick.

Since recreational sales began in December 2022, only seven previously authorized medical marijuana dispensaries have been permitted to sell cannabis to adult consumers, with two more in development stages. Meanwhile, 60 licensed cannabis growers have been waiting to supply a market that barely exists.

“Our industry has probably already lost 150 jobs in the first wave of layoffs,” Peter Kasabian of Loud LLC said at a state Senate hearing in June 2023, Green Market Report previously wrote. “That’s the first round of layoffs. Who knows when the next round is coming?”

Kasabian, who co-founded Sensible Cultivators for Intelligent Reform, expressed relief after Friday’s vote.

“It’s awesome that this finally happened – we’ve been waiting years for this,” he told the Rhode Island Current.

The regulations, which take effect May 1, establish a “hybrid” selection process where applicants for the 24 new retail licenses will first be screened for qualifications before entering a lottery. The system includes specific provisions for social equity applicants and worker-owned cooperatives.

Six licenses will be reserved for social equity applicants and another six for worker-owned cooperatives. Licenses must be distributed across six geographic zones with a maximum of four stores per zone.

All prospective retailers must pay a $7,500 application fee and a $30,000 annual licensing fee.

“Certainly this calendar year and perhaps even faster,” Ahern told reporters when asked when applications might open.

The commission received more than 380 public comments during a 30-day feedback period after draft rules were posted in January.

Two lawsuits challenging the legality of residency requirements and parameters of the social equity program that delayed the regulations were dismissed in February. Commission officials previously said those could’ve impacted the timeline for new store openings. Additionally, direct-to-consumer hemp products still pose a threat to traditional cannabis businesses in the state, officials have said.

A preliminary analysis presented to the commission last October found that only three municipalities met the criteria for social equity zones under the 2022 law: Central Falls, Providence and Woonsocket, with some census tracts in Pawtucket and Newport also qualifying.

The commission plans to continue refining social equity criteria in future meetings, according to Ahern.

Rhode Island’s approach differs from neighboring Massachusetts, which embraced recreational cannabis sales much more quickly after voter approval. However, Rhode Island’s deliberate approach aligns with concerns about oversaturation and market stability seen in other states.

The rules transfer regulatory authority from the Department of Business Regulation to the Cannabis Control Commission as originally envisioned in the 2022 legalization law, establishing the foundation for what will eventually be 33 operational adult-use cannabis shops statewide.

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