This week’s Trailblazer is Andres Bazin, CRO of Lineage Distribution, a core provider of distribution services in the heart of Canada, serving the Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut markets directly.
Questions with a Cannabis Industry Trailblazer
When did you first become involved in the cannabis industry and why?
I became involved in July 2020 as COVID was reaching its peak. It was by fluke and through unfortunate circumstances. My background is in marketing, and at the time, I was working in experiential marketing. As COVID hit, the XM/marketing industry vanished overnight. At that time I had family starting a micro, and they asked me to help them with their sales and marketing efforts. I joined to quickly learn I would be doing more counseling than BD. It erupted, and only 6 months in, a huge falling out had everyone walk away from the business, with a grow that just had its first harvest. With everyone parting from the newly live business, they asked me to step in and “take over.” With no growing experience and little cannabis knowledge (the extent of my knowledge came from consumption at high school parties & Dazed and Confused), I was in the driver’s seat. I shut the place down for nearly 3-months to clean up the mess and reset. I learned everything through the connections I made in the industry and the team we hired. We went for just over 2 years before it was time to close down as the market reached the floor.
Immediately after, a new opportunity came about from an industry partner I had worked with, and I happily agreed. But this time, it was my choice to stay and build in the industry, not circumstance. I made the choice because I came to love the relationships I made in the industry; I saw many gaps that the entrepreneur in me had to fill, and I was hooked on the future of this new, exciting industry. It made the choice easy, and that is why I am here today!
What has been the biggest challenge you have faced when working with cannabis companies/brands?
The biggest challenge has been the overall challenge of marketing. Any other CPG brand can leverage all available marketing tools and channels—ads, SEO, social, legacy media, etc. Cannabis doesn’t have that. We also don’t own our sales channels directly, so driving sales is typically done through awareness and positioning to capture sales at POS. But this is what has made the industry so fun: finding unique, out-of-the-box solutions to market a brand in a stifled, regulated space where most marketing 101s aren’t available.
I almost think of marketing in the cannabis space as post-apocalyptic survival. It’s about what you have available right now and what you can make of it to survive, versus being able to Amazon everything you need to your door. So, the biggest challenge is finding a way to market and develop a brand in a space that likely has the most roadblocks to doing so, all so you don’t commoditize your product. Being able to deliver a true brand experience that consumers are used to across other markets/industries is the biggest challenge.
If you could change one of the current Canadian or American marketing restrictions on cannabis, which would it be?
PACKAGING as it is the lowest-hanging fruit. Your customers might not see your ad, event, or social media. But if you are in the store, they will see your packaging, which is the last chance to deliver the brand experience as part of the purchase decision.
I hate that our recreational cannabis looks like prescription medicine. The ability to deliver experience through packaging is overlooked and missed, which is very frustrating. And as in an industry that was created to snuff the black market, it’s hard to compete when your product looks like bleach, and theirs looks like an amusement park in the bag.
I picked packaging because I believe it would be the easiest regulation to change and would be the most accessible for all companies.
In your observation, what marketing techniques or channels have been most effective for cannabis companies looking to connect with consumers?
That’s our secret… but I will share, just being different. There seem to be a lot of hollow brands where the brand story is incomplete, not unique, boring, or made because someone wanted to start a cannabis company and had to create a brand as part of getting sales—I get it, but we can do better!
Consumers want something different; they want experience, and the experience lives outside the bag. Think Redbull. None of their marketing has anything to do with their drink; it’s just some really cool stuff. Nike is all about putting in the work and chasing the dream.
The most effective way to connect with consumers is to have a message rather than just shoving the product down their throats.
We focus on curating experiences outside the bag so that there IS SOMETHING for the consumers to connect with. We know our product is good, and we trust they will like it; we just have to make them want to try it.
Are there any other trailblazers in the cannabis industry that you follow?
I have idols that I watch, but truthfully, I look for inspiration outside the industry. Most people will be doing the same and following the status quo, but if we want to create something unique and stand out, I look for concepts outside the industry that 1) speak to our brand, 2) stand out, 3) MOST IMPORTANTLY – something I think my audience will love.
Looking in the same place as everyone is likely to lead to recycling ideas and a lack of innovation, but I like to focus my attention on going out to bring in something new.
What is one tip or piece of advice you would give to marketers looking to enter the cannabis industry?
Product knowledge is number one to learning consumer behaviour. With that, listen to the consumer – they are the decision-maker. Often, people buy into their own ideas or colour their campaign with their perception vs what the consumers say. You can do very well by listening to what people want and delivering it to them. That is our job as marketers, but to do it with flare so it feels fun, exciting, special, safe, etc.
Lastly, the industry is new and stifled, so don’t feel the need for the status quo. It needs disruption, innovation and leadership, don’t be afraid to push the limits.
“No one ever achieved greatness by playing it safe.”
A big thank you to Andres Bazin of Lineage Distribution for participating as this week’s Trailblazer! Stay tuned for another interview with a cannabis marketing Trailblazer next Thursday in the ADCANN blog.
Last Updated on October 31, 2024 by ADCANN
