Privateer Wins Major Public Relations Award

PR Week, a major advertising magazine, awarded cannabis equity firm Privateer Holdings and its public relations company, Colehour and Cohen, its top honor for “Investor/Financial Communications Campaign of the Year.”

Thursday night’s announcement is yet another boost for the legitimacy of the cannabis industry, which continues to grow rapidly despite strict advertising restrictions and hurdles with major companies with big advertising platforms like Facebook and Google.

PR Week specifically lauded the two Seattle-based companies for their campaign to win over investors skeptical about putting their money into marijuana businesses. But with a budget of $250,000, Colehour and Cohen helped Privateer meet its $75 million fundraising goal in March 2015. The effort garnered loads of media publicity along the way, and more than 85% of those who invested in the round learned about Privateer through the news media, PR Week said.

The competitors weren’t pushovers, either: The Fitbit IPO campaign, and campaigns from PadillaCRT and Allianz, and Spark PR and Verizon Ventures.