With the rise of many new brands, the canadian market space feels a little crowded, to say the least. Due to this, brands are looking for the most unique ways of entering the public’s eye, and hopefully, staying there. Through the swath of red tape, Canadian cannabis brands have found creative ways to connect with their consumers while sharing their stories. Looking further than ever before, ADCANN is proud to also feature the best marketing campaigns out of the United States of America – which sees a whole new set of marketing challenges given the state of cannabis with their federal government
Let’s go through the finalists as voted by you, the ADCANN community.
“Just Add Color” – Color Cannabis
The impact colours can have on those observing them is a well-documented science brands have been utilizing for years. Different colours illicit different responses – and Color Cannabis is leaning into this with their “Just Add Color” campaign.
Each cultivar from Color has it’s own coloured mylar bag ment to match the feeling that consuming the product would give. For example, their Blueberry Seagal. This indica-dominant cultivar is ment to be a mellow experience, therefor it has been pair with their navy blue bag, which signifies grounding, unwinding, and subdues those observing it.
While most brands struggle to pick a single colour set, Color Cannabis is a rainbow in the space. Whatever your intention when consuming, you know you can add a little Color.
Rosin Pressing – WAGNERS
WAGNERS realizes that just like the best cannabis, you can’t always find the best marketing campaigns online – you just have to be there. While WAGNERS is known for their flower, kief, and has, they understand many budtenders around the country have questions about resin, rosin, and other concentrates – and the best way to learn is by doing.
WAGNERS have been travelling from dispensary to dispensary with their handy rosin-press in order to quish rosin in the stores with the products purchased there – helping retailers raise their basket size while delivering a unique learning experience for consumers and budtenders alike.
“Community” – Coterie x Cannsell
A “Coterie” is defined as “a group of people with shared interests or tastes”, or a really amazing cannabis brand. Coterie has made waves with not only their product but their mutliple partnerships. Coterie has partnered with Superette, The Hunny Pit, Kindred, and most notably, Cannsell – the Ontario governent’s mandated course for all those working in cannabis retail.
To raise awarness and engagement with Coterie’s “Community College”(product knowledge module), Coterie and Cannsell not only offered possibilities to win prizes from their brands & partners, but offered tickets to a very special event. The event was live concert meets consumption lounge in downtown Toronto, and the first 100 to complete Coterie’s course received complimentary VIP tickets.
With countless partners, live artists, and budtenders, Coterie held one of the top cannabis events this year – capture more than just mindshare.
Cannabis AR Poster – GreenSeal
Black Mirror’s “Playtest” put augmented reality into the public eye, but what if it was real (and not so dark)? Retail stores are often flooded with all kinds of display elements, from posters to uniquely constructed conversation pieces made to demonstrate a brand. Often, it is just photos of the product with information behind it’s cannabinoids and terpene profile.
GreenSeal has continued to elevated what posters in a retailer can be through their continued use of AR – or “Augmented Reality”. When you find a GreenSeal display, a customer can use their smartphone to make the imagery spring to life, showing off GreenSeal’s impressive facility. Through this, GreenSeal invites clients to explore their brand deeper and excited both new and existing consumers in the space.
Holiday Packaging – TGOD
While the federal goverment’s requirements for cannabis packaging stiffle some’s creativity when figuring out how to package products, this isn’t the case for The Green Organic Dutchman, also known as TGOD. Knowing that the holiday season means gifting, and cannabis will be gifted all across the country, TGOD wanted to be sure the packaging is as festive as those giving the gift of ganja this holiday.
While the products are packed into the standard packaging, a seperate piece of vanity packaging is also packed with the cannabis and sent to retailers. This way, when a consumer purchases TGOD, budtenders have the opportunity to include this vanity packaging to be sure it lights up the recipient’s face like a Christmas tree.
“Brock Ollie” – Weedmaps
WeedMaps truly needs no introduction – every cannabis consumer has used this app to try and source some sticky-icky through this app, especially since they opperate around the world – regarldess of legalization status. This year, they used their giant platform not to push their brand but to ask a question: why is cannabis censored? And why do we keep using the broccoli emoj to get around the censors when discussing cannabis? Y’know, other than the Lil Yatchy song.
The Brock Ollie add shows a man with a broccoli head dealing with everyone blatantly wanting to consume cannabis – be it a stoner in a hatchback, Janice from Accounting, or even Brock’s own boss. Brock asks his friends, Pot & Leaf (other clear emoji allusions), but also the audience: “Why can’t we just call it what it is”?
This advertisement not only has fun with the way we refer to cannabis but shows us that cannabis is a part of our cultural zietgeist, and a conversation about it on the public stage is long overdue.
“What’s Your Vibe” – Viola
Al Harrington (that’s right, THE Al Harrington)’s cannabis brand Viola isn’t just another corporate celebrity partnership. Viola Brands came about when Al’s grandmother (the company’s namesake) tried cannabis for her glaucoma & diabetes at Al’s recommendation, finding relief with cannabis.
With this story, Al and his team realized that people all come to using cannabis with an intention, be it pain management, as a sleep aid, or as a recreational drug. This focus on intention led to their “What’s Your Vibe” campaign, as they’ve seperated their offerings by four intents – simplifying “indica vs sativa vs hybrids” for the Viola consumers. To further simplify, Viola even made a quiz that users can take online before visiting the store – making a Viola enjoyer’s trip to the sipensary a breeze.
”The reason why Viola even started was a purpose, which was [Viola Founder and CEO] Al's [Harrington] grandmother and the certain things that she was dealing with at the time. Each one of the vibes is something of a callout as to why people are consuming cannabis. There’s a little bit of something for anybody who's consuming cannabis.
Najee TylerDirector of Marketing, Viola Brands
“Freedom Grams” – Last Prisioner Project
“What about all of those locked up for cannabis, now that it’s being legalized across the board” – a question The Last Prisioner Project, Aroya, Gaby, Dewey, and more are all asking together. Their response to their own question is Freedom Grams.
More than a simple awareness campaign, Freedom Grams fights for cannabis justice by selling the very product that got many locked up, not only that, they use the exact ammount and put a name of a cannabis prisioner they’re working to free, right on the bag. All proceeds go directly to The Last Prisioner Project, so consumers will be feeling good for many reasons when smoking a Freedom Grams pack.
“Here, Cannabis is Legal” – Monogram
Monogram, JAY-Z’s cannabis company, has made just as many waves in the industry for their social good campaigns, as well as their product. No stranger to being pulled over with something not-so-legal in the trunk(all “99 Problems” fans will know), Jay seemed to want to have Monogram consumers to avoid this experience with Monogram’s latest campaign.
Aiming to tackle the issue of cannabis laws varrying so wildly between states, Monogram set up billboards on the boarder of states with legal cannabis, reading “Here, Cannabis is Legal. Enjoy responsibly” while as they exit the lgal state, the message changes to read “Here, Cannabis is Illegal. Avoid the Bookings”. The billboards spent two weeks on the borderlines of Colorado/Wyoming, Colorado/Kansas, Illinois/Wisconsin, Michigan/Wisconsin, Nevada/Idaho, Oregon/Idaho, and Washington/Idaho – all chosen due to their “starkly opposing regulations”. No stranger to ADCANN Awards, this is the second year in a row Monogram has been nominated.
”The lasting effects of this law have reverberated through the past half-century, leading to injustices including mass incarceration for cannabis-related offenses. Progress has been made recently with states’ individual legalization efforts, but cannabis continues to be stigmatized by political agendas and the arbitrary borders that still demarcate who can benefit from it, whether that’s through entrepreneurship or the positive effects of its use.
Monogram
“Pride Guide” – Cannabis Creative Movement
Cannabis & the queer community are intrisically linked due to their shared struggles in the public eye, and due to the compassion movement of the 70’s. With that said, many queer cannabis workers are still experiencing ignorance in the workplace. Cannabis Creatives Movement is a creative partnership with PufCreativ & more to adress the issues the industry is facing through releasing free guidebooks whilst providing fundraising opportunities to nonprofits dedicated to addressing these concerns.
Their latest guidebook, The Pride Guide, aims to adress the issues queer workers are facing in the cannabis industry by helping to explain the differences between sex, gender, and intersex – hoping that knowledge can help crush the ignorance so many cannabis workers face daily. This resource is available on thei website as a free PDF document, making sure it’s accessible for workplaces of any size.
Which of these cannabis brands had the best marketing campaign?
Last Updated on December 19, 2022 by ADCANN
