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In the past few years, when advertisers were still battling legislature, cannabis and CBD advertising proved to be a whole new world for sellers, producers, and advertising vendors alike. With the widespread adoption of cannabis legalization increasing in the U.S., many people have espoused cannabis or CBD advertising laws.

In 2019,  CBD products took the market by surprise with enormous sales and have since given way to consumer interest and cultural conversation. If you happen to be in the advertising business, this is especially excellent news for you. However, often times with expeditious and unprecedented growth, a much stringent competition tends to follow. One such competition is the industry leader WeedSmart, a Canadian company that offers delivery of a wide range of flowers, concentrates, and edibles.

In order to understand the challenges when dealing with CBD or cannabis advertising, it’s essential to study this evolving market, its sales figures, and all other critical aspects behind carrying specific products amidst a crowded space. Let’s do a quick rundown of some vital CBD/cannabis advertising and marketing trends to consider when launching a campaign.

Local Advertising is Important

Between 2017 and 2018, the cannabis market experienced a rise of $4.2 million in revenue, but was still subjected to several negative connotations in the U.S. due to legal confusion surrounding the CBD advertising in individual states, as well as remaining illegal at the federal level.

Advertisers often run into legal issues while advertising cannabis and CBD products in outlawed states. This means the safest approaches to offer are hyper focused and hyperlocal. It has been shown that streamlining into a rather safe marketing approach happens to directly affect the sales of the product put into the market.

To create brand awareness, be sure to put local partners on your radar and collaborate. This process leads to a mutually shared brand campaign, which in turn affects your brand credibility and visibility.

A Brand Should Educate

With the introduction of several brands, products, and regulations amidst the shifting trends, the best strategy to market a product is to be regarded as a trusted advisor, educating existing and potential users on CBD and cannabis. Education can revolve around subjects such as ‘how hemp-derived CBD products are grown’, ‘how to consume them’, and most importantly ‘what are the local laws that bind them’. In this process, your product marketing tends to become generous, focusing on educating rather than selling. Such a marketing strategy increases the visibility and credibility of your products.

Use Influencer Marketing

When doing a marketing campaign for cannabis or CBD products, you can aim to include a handful of tactics. The more diversified they are, the better the chances of catching the eyes of your target market. Influencer marketing in the cannabis industry is a perfect way of growing segments in the marketing sector. Online influencers with a strong base of followers appear nearly everywhere, coming from Facebook, Google, Streams, Instagram and so much more. If you make efforts to partner with trusted influencers, your brand can certainly reach an organic audience in a personalized way.

New Advertising Venues for Cannabis

Since sellers and marketing teams of CBD/cannabis always plan on reaching more and more people, there are many avenues to activate advertising. Destinations and events that are not marijuana-centric can be focused on, under normalized expansion. For example, sending brand ambassadors to programs like Hempcon might seem like an afterthought. Such advertising plans can expand to different programs and festivals as well, like the ‘Northern Nights’ festival, which hosted the wellness experience on cannabis last year. There are educational podcasts as well that host intimate Garden Parties, which tend to carry the objective of introducing CBD or cannabis to the mainstream public.

Creativity Will Always Win the Day

Until now, cannabis advertising strategies have been a bit conservative, which is not surprising. Now you can partner with people and indulge in local advertising or even market CBD products through CTV (Connected TV Advertising).  It’s 2020 and cannabis legality is finally established; which means makers, vendors, and advertisers can currently take chances. Creative loyalty programs also tend to excite users about products and brands in such a way that the excitement spreads like lightning.

Always Remain on the Regulator’s Good Side

Because the Food and Drug Association has been sending warning letters to most CBD organizations for violating legal marketing, you need to stay on their good side. Given CBD’s clinical success in helping a variety of diseases and conditions, some companies who sell unapproved CBD products with claims that they happen to treat earaches, autism, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, are on the receiving end of FDA’s crackdown.

These unethical practices by some firms taint all the other efforts that are associated with CBD products. The FTC (Federal Trade Commission) also has its standards. Ads with products that say ‘it treats and prevents’, ‘may cure human diseases’ are affected by TODAY’s standards. Unless you acquire scientific evidence with clinical and proven studies attached, the governing body of FTC will count the advertisements as unlawful. These are some of the high-bar laws with which all CBD advertisers should be familiar.

Conclusion

CBD marketers are hungry for trending interactive approaches to reach their target audience. Such a process tends to open up opportunities. Speaking of state restrictions, for most of the cannabis-related advertisers and businesses, the bottom line is to understand the regulatory scheme adopted by their respective states initially. And once you are within the context of those stated laws and regulations, get creative. All the above advertising trends provide you with an opportunity to get the product message out amidst the targeted audience in a much memorable and fresh way, abiding by the state’s regulatory framework.