Cannabis Advertising in an Increasingly Crowded Market

How to use marketing to help your cannabis business grow

The United States’ legal cannabis and CBD industry are among the fastest-growing in the country. According to data released by ArcView Market Research and BDS Analytics, the legal cannabis industry has grown from $3.4 billion in 2014 to $10.9 billion in 2018. The report also projects continued industry growth, estimating it will hit $40 billion by 2024.

While this explosive growth is a boon for the industry, it also represents a challenge for brands to face. As more companies enter the market, how does one differentiate? How can a brand make their products stand out on dispensary shelves stocked with countless similarly priced, similarly labelled products? One way to achieve this is with advertising.

Advertising and marketing are vitally important to building a cannabis or CBD brand. It lets brands stake out a position in a crowded marketplace. It empowers them to start relationships with potential consumers — and to be on their minds — before they even enter a store. In this article, we’ll discuss some of the ways you can use advertising to help your cannabis business stand out and succeed.

It Begins with Branding

Successful cannabis advertising is built on the foundation of strong cannabis branding. Start by asking yourself why you’re in business and what your business stands for. Based on these answers, you can create a visual language that reinforces these ideals with your logo and packaging, so that your brand’s message can be understood just by looking at your products. For instance, if you’re building a high-end cannabis brand, you’ll likely arrive at different branding than if you were building a medical CBD brand.

Find a Niche

At risk of sounding obvious, In order to differentiate your cannabis brand from the many competing weed companies, it will have to be different. Research your competitors. See what choices they make in their packaging. Read how they talk about themselves in their advertising. Identify market trends, and then break them. By positioning yourself apart from the “sea of sameness” that makes up much of the cannabis industry, you’ll make it easier for consumers to find your products.

Understand your Audience

When advertising your cannabis or CBD brand, you need to know who you’re trying to reach. According to a report from Headset, cannabis users are made up of a diverse group of consumers, young and old. Different age groups have different spending habits and are looking for different things. If you’re targeting younger adults, you may gear your advertising toward social use, while older users are more motivated by cannabis’ anecdotal medical benefits.

Choose an experienced partner

When it comes to cannabis advertising, most brands don’t choose to go it alone. Instead, they partner with an advertising or marketing agency. While these partnerships are undoubtedly helpful, all agencies are not created equal. When you’re looking for an agency partner, it’s important to choose one that has experience in the cannabis industry. Not only will a cannabis agency better understand what motivates cannabis consumers, but they’ll also better understand that complex rules that regulate the cannabis industry, including how you can advertise your products.

One such cannabis advertising agency in Walnut Creek, CA-based MediaJel. Founded in 2017, MediaJel is at the intersection of cannabis, advertising and big data. The MediaJel team has decades of combined experience in cannabis, advertising, public relations, SEO, mobile, retail and more disciplines. If you’d like to start a conversation about how advertising can help your cannabis, CBD, weed or marijuana business, start here.