Building a Strong Cannabis Brand Includes the Right Public Affairs Strategy

There’s no easy path when it comes to building a cannabis brand.

Central to the construction of any brand is the story it tells consumers -- the narrative background on what the brand is and stands for. In the cannabis industry, this storytelling is at its most powerful  when it connects with the issues of social equity and justice that cannabis consumers care about deeply.

The stronger that story, and the more work brands put in to build that story in real terms, the more the brand will stand out to consumers and have a better chance to succeed. This will only become more true as the industry continues to evolve and variances in quality among producers narrow. Ultimately, the narrative power of individual brands, which includes the role they play in their communities, will be key to standing out from the crowd.

Building a narrative around a brand that connects with consumers is never easy, and is all the more challenging in the cannabis industry where traditional paid marketing avenues are simply not allowed. Setting aside the recent policy changes made by Twitter, cannabis companies are barred from the vast majority of advertising on television, radio, digital platforms, and out of home placements, such as billboards, either directly by rules established by states or as a result of the ongoing federal prohibition against the plant.

Public Affairs Expands a Strong Cannabis Public Relations Strategy

This means that for cannabis companies seeking to build their brand, they must do so by sharing their stories through a cannabis public relations strategy that centers on what we call earned media, which is press coverage generated from creating news around the brand.  When a new brand launches, a strong public relations campaign can raise awareness among consumers and begin the process of shaping the brand’s public image. This includes telling the initial narrative behind the brand, and, importantly in cannabis, how the brand is supporting social equity and justice efforts in the industry and within communities, particularly those hit hardest by the enforcement of cannabis prohibition.

However, not every cannabis brand will be started by equity licensees, and even those that are, will have to continuously tell their story and strengthen it over time. This means, regardless of who you are, if you’re building a cannabis brand, cannabis public affairs, not just public relations, will be key to your success.

What’s the difference between the two? As Marino Senior Vice President Tom Corsillo recently wrote: “A public affairs campaign is designed with a clear, measurable objective in mind, such as winning approval for a rezoning to facilitate the creation of affordable housing or seeing a policy priority enacted into law.”

In the case of building a cannabis brand, the object in mind is building tangible connections and making investments in the community that are supportive of social equity and justice goals. Cannabis brands looking to stand out need to build coalitions with community leaders and organizations, and develop and support programming that leaves a truly positive impact. This can take the shape of partnering with nonprofits in communities hit hard by cannabis arrests to provide job training. It can be working with local leaders to find space for and launch an incubator that helps equity licensees break through barriers to capital. Or perhaps a partnership with state and local officials to create a prison to cannabis jobs pathway.

The Right Public Affairs Agency Can Help Your Bottom Line

Whatever the programmatic end goal, a strong public affairs agency can build those connections and programs for a brand, and then make sure consumers understand those connections and programs as part of the overall brand.

For a cannabis brand entering the market with no direct ties to equity and social justice, a public affairs agency can deliver a campaign that can be the basis for the story that shapes the brand, and the actual, positive good the brand delivers. This type of campaign that defines a brand, should begin ideally before the brand officially launches, baking the story of how the brand is working to build better communities into its narrative so it’s central to the brand narrative from Day 1. For a brand that enters the market with equity ties from the outset, a strategic public affairs campaign can deepen the brand’s connection to its community and propel its narrative further.

In both cases, the public affairs campaign creates real change, shapes the brand, and provides continuing opportunities to earn media and further raise brand awareness. In other words, public affairs can not only help give life to a cannabis brand, but also drive its marketing.