(This is an abridged version of a story that appears in the March issue of Marijuana Business Magazine.)
Branding is a key component to any winning business strategy.
Of course, it also might be one of the most difficult strategies to get right – and if implemented the wrong way, branding can prove to be a costly mistake that could be the death of the product.
Branding is especially important in the still-developing cannabis space, where companies need to set themselves apart from a sea of competitors producing a relatively small number of marijuana product types: Think buds, infused goods, vapes and concentrates.
“This is not a market where there are a dominant couple of companies who are spending large amounts of money on marketing and getting a strong foothold. It’s lots and lots and lots of small to midcap-type companies.”
So, what to do?
“Ultimately, those folks are all competing on things like price. And one of the only ways to break out of that cycle … is to develop a brand that people latch on to,” added Taylor, formerly deputy director of the National Cannabis Industry Association. “That really is the value of a brand. And it’s hard to put a dollar value on it, because it is to a certain extent intangible.”
The marketing hurdles that marijuana companies face are well-documented – federal prohibition, local advertising limitations and social media restrictions, to name a few – but entrepreneurs in the industry have plenty of resources to create and implement a desirable brand.
Marijuana Business Magazine spoke with West and other cannabis marketing experts to produce a comprehensive package on marketing MJ companies and products.
Simply click on the links to gain insights on:
- Making products stand out from one state to the next.
- Finding a target audience.
- Branding specialty products.
- Deciding whether to seek help from marketing professionals.
- How CBD brands can overcome the myriad marketing hurdles they face.
- Strategizing a celebrity partnership.
- Deciding whether a name change would benefit your business.
- How the CPG space prepared industry executives for cannabis marketing.
- Why one company’s branding strategy has changed over time.
