Some may say that cannabis is a product that sells itself, but in America’s current green rush, things aren’t quite that simple. Businesses need to find new ways to compete and stand out in an oversaturated licensed market. Not to mention, we as a cannabis industry are limited in what promotional platforms we can use and how we can use them; each business — even non-plant-touching companies within the space — must follow rigorous (and often convoluted) guidelines for digital advertising and marketing as it relates to our green products and services.
The solution? Build strategic partnerships with lifestyle companies that emulate the same core values, consumer bases, aesthetics and brand culture.
Strategic Partnerships Could Become the Bridge Between Cannabis and Culture
It’s more crucial than ever for canna-businesses to get their messaging out to their target audience and set themselves apart from the pack, while also leaning into a more promising reality: Weed has gone mainstream, and the plant appeals to a wide range of demographics with different wants, needs and interests.
Types of Marketing Partnerships
Thanks to the latest scientific innovations and the natural versatility of the plant, cannabis has become ingrained in our daily lives with various delivery systems, from edibles and beverages to discreet vapes to topicals, and more. Of course, classic flower still dominates the market. According to a June 2022 report by New Frontier Data, 83 percent of consumers use flower, accounting for 44 percent of total U.S. cannabis sales last year. With so many types of products available and cannabis being such a fluid commodity, opportunities are ripe to partner with an array of sectors, including food and beverage, apparel, athletics, beauty, health and wellness, and entertainment.
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There are already plenty of case studies that demonstrate the effectiveness of aligning with other categories of lifestyle companies, or of course, iconic lifestyle figures. The latter has been a proven success given all the musicians and athletes who have co-founded or lent their image to cannabis companies, from Seth Rogen to Jay-Z to Al Harrington. Even Martha Stewart has a line of CBD products. Through these partnerships, businesses can continue to adapt and utilize their presence in multiple sectors to drive visibility, brand recognition, sales and communication with their target demographics.
But there’s another side to the partnership coin that’s worth noting: While celebrity brands may seem like the fast track to success, the real wavemakers are brands that find their own distinct voice and are able to integrate themselves into a consumer ecosystem by aligning with like-minded “iconic” brands, building off one another’s work and growth. Celebrity endorsements have bolstered cannabis sales, no doubt about it, but it may not be a long-term solution to solidify a cannabis brand’s market penetration. In some cases, this type of partnership may even limit a brand’s growth, boxing them in and forever tying them to this particular affiliation.
It’s a very delicate art to find the right celebrity endorsement, while still being able to separate the brand from the person. But as long as they’re navigated properly, another benefit of strategic marketing partnerships is the potential to find a way to communicate your brand’s messaging without flouting the aforementioned strict cannabis advertising laws — and of course, navigate state-by-state sale rules. For instance, a California cannabis brand that partners with a fashion company to create a line of apparel can sell that merchandise nationwide, having their name ring out across the country — even if their weed can only be sold in the Golden State.
With cannabis more of an integral part of American society than ever before, it won’t be long before the top brands integrate themselves into other components of our culture, from fitness clubs to restaurants. I believe the key for brands is to start pushing the envelope now and plant the seed for the new wave of cannabis.
