PLATFORMS

Why Twitter and Facebook Simply Will Not 420 Blaze It, Bro

If you’re not in the business of marketing cannabis, you probably think the product’s spotty legality is the hardest workaround in the job. But, as it turns out, most “weed marketers” have another big issue—advertising platforms’ rules. 

Major digital marketing platforms such as Facebook and Twitter generally don’t accept paid ads for cannabis products, despite recreational Mary Jane being legal in 11 states, per Ad Age. 

More laws than “left”

Cresco Labs, a large, publicly traded cannabis and medical marijuana company, thinks platforms like Facebook and Twitter might change their tune if stronger industry-wide content standards are put into place. 

Cresco's thinking: If the industry could guarantee good behavior, then platforms might feel comfy enough to accept cannabis ads.

Those suggested “standards” for cannabis advertisers across the industry include the following, among others:

• Targeting cannabis ads exclusively to consumers of legal age to use cannabis in accordance with state and local laws
• Not promoting overconsumption 
• Not painting consumers who choose not to use the product in a negative light
• Avoiding unfounded claims about the health benefits of weed

Zoom out: Cresco knows a thing or two about getting its products in front of more consumers. 

“Cresco has been able to place ad buys with privately held media brands controlled by Condé Nast, Penske Media and Vice Media...By putting new ad standards in place, Cresco hopes to grow that list, targeting media brands like Sports Illustrated and Pandora,” Cory Rothschild, senior VP of marketing for Cresco Labs, told Ad Age. 

Harold & Kumar vibes

But at this moment in time, marijuana marketing campaigns can stray pretty far from Cresco’s dream landscape. 

For example: Eaze, a California cannabis delivery service launched in 2014, just got its first brand refresh in over five years—and it seems to directly oppose Cresco’s goals. 

• For instance, one message on a new Eaze billboard says, “For quality assurance, we sampled 63 edibles. 238 tacos were also sampled.” 
• I’d say 63 edibles leading to 238 tacos sounds like overconsumption, but feel free to hit reply if you disagree.

Big picture: “We saw an influx of brands in the cannabis space after the 2018 Farm Bill, yet regulation is still blurry. The bigger brands need to come together and standardize messaging across advertising, content and packaging to pave the way for mass adoption and more traditional advertising channels,” Amanda Goetz, a budding cannabis marketer, told Marketing Brew. 

Bottom line: Eaze’s stoner-y messaging might grant the company more engagement and a higher ROI in the short term. But in the long term, if the cannabis industry wants to grow bigger than the average marijuana plant, brands should get on board with more low-key and by-the-books messages. 

SPONSORED BY DOING THINGS MEDIA

Nice To Meme You

If the only things getting you through 2020 are the funny memes you share with your friends, you aren’t alone. Meme content is shared 7x more than non-meme content on Instagram—and thanks to your friends at Doing Things Media, your brand can now be part of the conversation.

Through the first-ever MemeFronts you can learn how brands have leveraged this new CRM: Culturally Relevant Marketing, and driven unparalleled results through Meme Marketing.

With 55+ million followers across 20+ original brands, including Sh*theadsteve, Doggos Doing Things, and Middle Class Fancy, Doing Things Media has quickly become the leader in this space. Sign up now to watch the MemeFronts, where they will share their expertise on how major brands have created branded content that consumers actually engage with, share, and most importantly, love.

Sign up and watch the first-ever MemeFronts here.

FRENCH PRESS

A Double Shot of French Press

Marketing tips to make you fancy—but twice as fancy this time

Small businesses: If you have both 1) a small business and 2) no idea where to start when it comes to which social media platforms to go in on, look no further.

Outdoors: Expanding your influencer marketing strategy to out-of-home (OOH) channels might be a good idea, according to this research. 

Social media managers: 2020 is a crazy time to work in social, to say the least—these seven tips to protect your mental health, specifically for social media workers, should help. 

Emails: Need to send a super-quick Halloween email newsletter? It’s spooky how many free design templates for just that are right here. 

Case studies: Read what major brands like MolsonCoors and L'Oréal did to make the most of CTV growth during the pandemic. 

Courses: Someone made a list of the best social media marketing courses for beginners—and honestly this article makes me want to refresh on the basics and take one. 

LinkedIn Ads: Here’s how to maximize their audience reach.   

Gaming: Mobile gaming is on the rise during the pandemic. Why not take a walk down memory lane and learn about the history of marketing in social gaming?

SPONSORED BY ATTENTIVE

Are you ready to sleigh this holiday season? 56% of retailers are planning to start holiday promotions earlier this year (some even during October, aka Spooky Season), and consumers are ready. So as retailers and e-commerce marketers, you need to have a solid strategy to reach shoppers and drive revenue. Attentive’s 2020 Retail and E-Commerce Holiday Marketing Report has insights from 300+ top brands that you can use to your advantage. Get Attentive’s report here.

AD ANTIQUES

eBay

Weed ads, Tweed (perfume) ads, they’re all the same. You can tell this one is from 1966 and not 2020 because they’re clearly not wearing masks in the grocery store.

CMO SENTIMENTS

Sign up here for Morning Brew CEO Alex Lieberman’s CMO Series on LinkedIn, in which he chats with the most important marketing leaders in the industry. Then read on for three questions that’ll help you get to know these marketing leaders a little better.

Last week, an actual goddess stopped by the CMO Series—God-is Rivera, the Global Director of Culture & Community at Twitter, to be exact. Read on for three rapid-fire questions with God-is Rivera.

Alex Lieberman: What is the most important thing you do to get your day started?

God-is Rivera: Breakfast with my daughter!

AL: What is one brand you admire for being a consistent advocate for the fight against racism? You cannot use Ben & Jerry’s, Netflix, or Twitter.

GR: Oh! Procter & Gamble. 

AL: What do you want to be when you grow up?

GR: Balanced.

Please watch the entire interview here—I want to be her best friend after watching, so I’m sure you will too. Then tune in this week for Alex’s conversations with SurveyMonkey CMO Leela Srinivasan and Jellyfish CEO and Co-founder Rob Pierre.

ICYMI

Catch up on the top Marketing Brew stories from the last few editions.

• Period brand Flex just made a few major ad platform policies less sexist
• For eco-friendly branding, crunchy is out, bold is in
• A Facebook exec said the company will defend itself against Apple’s IDFA changes