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Cannabis may still be federally illegal in the United States, but that isn’t stopping the market growth across legalized states in the country. That means more competition and need for cannabis brands to advertise to their consumers. But how does a cannabis brand navigate through all the red tape to digitally advertise their business?
1. Familiarize Yourself with Restrictions
Most cannabis companies are well aware that there are a ton of limitations across digital advertising platforms when it comes to cannabis products – majority of the time it’s specifically for THC. However, there are a few platforms that do allow for advertisers like dispensaries to promote their business and products. And similar to any partner vetting, it may be tempting to run on any and every platform that allows you to, but it’s best to understand the pros and cons of advertising on each. SMB Consulting’s experts can help you get started on this first step.
2. Make Sure Your Ads are Legally Compliant
States that have legalized cannabis each have their own laws and regulations around what can and cannot be promoted via imagery, copy or audience on ads by cannabis advertisers. Make sure that you have a knowledgeable legal advisory team to ensure that all your ads are compliant to each states’ laws and rules to avoid any legal blowback.
3. Target the Appropriate Audiences
Cannabis is not for everyone, and certainly not to be advertised to minors. So ensuring you have a strong audience set, even when trying to expand your acquisition efforts to capture new customers will not only make a successful campaign but also reduce any budget waste. Several platforms have curated interest-based audiences for cannabis and/or CBD consumers you can leverage or also build your own based on keywords and contextually relevant content.
4. Make Measurement a Priority
Any cannabis brand new to the digital advertising space should make measurement a priority for test campaigns regardless of platform. Often times, the approach to measurement is strictly limited to digital sales, even if products are available in stores or dispensaries. Having a strong measurement framework in place to optimize towards omni-channel goals will provide an accurate representation of your digital marketing efforts.
Advertising spending on cannabis in North America from 2018 to 2030
https://www.statista.com/statistics/879805/cannabis-ad-spend-north-america/
A strong strategy can pave the way for engaging your audience legally and effectively. The bulk of the work for brands and advertisers lies with initializing the journey. As momentum is building with legislative changes towards broader legalization, the inventory in the digital space will also follow suit and become more expansive. According to Statista, in 2018 cannabis advertisers in North America spent over $660 million on advertising and since then, year over year the spending trend has only increased. Cannabis brands and advertisers that haven’t entered the digital advertising space, should also not hesitate and get ahead of the curve while it’s still moderately competitive.