2022 Cannabis Brand Marketer of the Year Finalists

To talk about Brand Marketer of the year, let’s start with a question. What is a brand?

Marketing professor Steven Litt used to exclaim “A brand is a set of expectations!” He’s right, yet that’s a grave oversimplification. A brand has two aspects, the image it cultivates and the perception it garnishes. A brand’s battle zone is every single touchpoint, every interaction it has with its potential audience. Be it through a physical or digital touchpoint. And there can be thousands of touchpoints for a cannabis brand to maintain.

Behind every brand, there’s a leader. Someone with a clear vision of a product sitting neatly on a shelf, only to quickly be grabbed by a consumer. Today, we celebrate those people responsible for brands we all praise.

Without further ado, here are the Brand Marketer of the Year award finalists for 2022.

Travis Fleetwood, A.K.A Organik

Travis Fleetwood, better known by his alias Organik, is the one of the founders behind Ghost Drops. In 2017, Travis secretly founded Ghost Drops with longtime friend and collaborator, John Dean Durante. Wanting to highlight growers, cultivators, and cannabis geneticist without bringing them heat, Ghost Drops was made to highlight their hard work while allowing them to remain “Ghosts”. Assigning each cultivar custom artwork, now a staple of the brand, Ghost Drops built up enough goodwill in the Toronto cannabis scene that the word spread, and many found themselves chasing their drops. By the end of 2021, Ghost Drops announced their transition to the legal market, making headlines across cannabis publications.

Travis understands both hip-hop & cannabis culture, and uses his unique lense to create not just one of Canada’s most celebrated cannabis companies, but a full lifestyle brand that has captured the hearts of the cannabis community. Creating “The League” to continue highlighting legacy members and creating unique marketing such as Ghost Drops’s military styled hummer, Travis has continued making waves across the weed world. While his battle rap competition, King of the Dot, is now receiving international praise & deals with Amazon, Travis continues his success by growing the Ghost Drops brand.

Drew Campbell

Drew Campbell is the former VP of marketing for The Green Organic Dutchman, Canada’s leading premium, organic cannabis brand. No stranger to ADCANN awards, this is the second year Drew has earned a nomination for both himself and the brand he works so hard to build. The Green Organic Dutchman has whole-flower, vapes, oils, and edibles. Specifically, look out for their teas and their Ripple line; dissolvable cannabis powders. With Ripple, you can add 10 mg’s of THC (or CBD) to anything. Anything… 

Before Drew led the marketing efforts at TGOD, he spent time with Blackberry, Rogers, Telus, CIBC and Canadian Tire. Needless to say, Drew knows Canadians better than most. Drew joined the cannabis industry in 2018. In his Trailblazer interview, he talks about new daily puzzles he needs to solve to win the day with TGOD.

Graham Hamilton

Graham Hamilton is the former Senior Manager for Motif Lab’s Marketing & Brands department. You probably have seen a brand he’s helped bring to market, BOXHOT. While no longer with the team, Graham helped to build the BOXHOT brand from the ground up; a brand known for their inventive use of 90’s nostalgia.

Originally working for global tech firms & the agriculture industry, Graham entered the cannabis space in 2019, and has helped build brands such as Floresense, BOXOT, and DEBUNK.

Bella Mitchell

Bella Mitchell is the Director of Marketing at Cannmart. Cannmart is a sales-only licensed producer in the medical and recreational space. You’ll probably recognize her work from their line of concentrates, Roilty, which earned her an ADCANN nomination last year too. The Roilty brand is entirely concentrates at an entry-level price, with all the fun(if not more) than the other brands. With a focus on puns, fun, and history, Roilty made a splash this year across Canadian retailers.

Bella entered the cannabis industry in 2019. Previously, Bella worked in the adult beverage industry. Obviously, she’s been put through her paces in building compelling and compliant brands. Catch Bella’s Trailblazer on carving out brand Identity in a digital landscape. 

Adil Hirji

Adil Hirji is the Director of Marketing for Avant Brands. No stranger to awards, Adil has earned BLKMKT countless nominations. The BLKMKT brand seeked to fill in the gap of consumers seeking the most elevated cannabis products available. Through meticulous work, BLKMKT has grown to be a staple of high-end dispensaries, with some of the best reception from consumers across the board.

Adil has worked on high profile campaigns in a broad range of industries; including work for Sony Music, Alliance Films, Stella Artois, W Hotels, Doctors Without Borders, and The Liberal Party of Canada. Having over 20 years of marketing experience, Adil has brought forward not only his experience but his deep understanding of the cannabis community to Avant.