420 with CNW – Cannabis Giant Unveils Plans to Promote Responsible Marijuana Marketing
Despite being federally prohibited, the state-legal U.S. cannabis industry is already worth millions of dollars in sales and experts project immense growth over the next decade. However, before that happens, the industry still has a lot of kinks to work out, especially cannabis marketing. Cannabis’s status as a controlled substance coupled with the fact that it lacks a comprehensive regulatory structure has resulted in dishonest, unreliable marketing that sometimes even seems to target underage consumers.
As the state-legal industry continues to grow, Cresco Labs, a vertically integrated, publicly-traded company that operates in nine states, is planning on pushing new advertising standards that would completely change how cannabis products are advertised. On October 6, the vertically integrated cannabis company released a proposal to convince other competitors in the cannabis space to adopt the same, or similar rules for homogeneity.
For instance, the proposal pledges to never show when marketing a cannabis product a “consumer lacking physical or mental control over their behavior, movement, or speech as a result of consuming cannabis,” as it seems to encourage overconsumption of cannabis products, “We will never suggest over-consumption is in any way acceptable, fun or desirable,” the proposal states.
Additionally, the rules also ban using a “symbol, image or language that is of primary appeal to those under the legal age, with Cresco putting guardrails on its media buys and experiential activities and taking “every reasonable measure to avoid contact with those under the legal age of consumption.”
In establishing such rules and putting forth high advertising standards for cannabis companies to adhere to, Cresco is hoping to open up more media inventory to run their ads. Since cannabis is still considered illegal at the federal level, publicly traded companies such as Facebook and Twitter do not accept paid cannabis ads, forcing cannabis businesses to rely on privately held media brands.
Cresco, for instance, has been able to buy ads with privately held media brands controlled by Condé Nast, Penske Media, and Vice Media, according to Cory Rothschild, senior VP of marketing for Cresco Labs. By advancing these advertising rules, he says, Cresco hopes to grow that list to media brands like Pandora and Sports Illustrated.
“It’s understandable why publishers would be cautious to move into this space. What we hope to demonstrate is that there are standards and values that we share, that the entire industry shares, that we can all commit to.”
Experts that this initiative is likely to be welcomed by established marijuana firms like Pac Roots Cannabis Corp. (CSE: PACR).
Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the CannabisNewsWire website applicable to all content provided by CNW420, wherever published or re-published: http://CNW.fm/Disclaimer
Despite being federally prohibited, the state-legal U.S. cannabis industry is already worth millions of dollars in sales and experts project immense growth over the next decade. However, before that happens, the industry still has a lot of kinks to work out, especially cannabis marketing. Cannabis’s status as a controlled substance coupled with the fact that it lacks a comprehensive regulatory structure has resulted in dishonest, unreliable marketing that sometimes even seems to target underage consumers.
As the state-legal industry continues to grow, Cresco Labs, a vertically integrated, publicly-traded company that operates in nine states, is planning on pushing new advertising standards that would completely change how cannabis products are advertised. On October 6, the vertically integrated cannabis company released a proposal to convince other competitors in the cannabis space to adopt the same, or similar rules for homogeneity.
For instance, the proposal pledges to never show when marketing a cannabis product a “consumer lacking physical or mental control over their behavior, movement, or speech as a result of consuming cannabis,” as it seems to encourage overconsumption of cannabis products, “We will never suggest over-consumption is in any way acceptable, fun or desirable,” the proposal states.
Additionally, the rules also ban using a “symbol, image or language that is of primary appeal to those under the legal age, with Cresco putting guardrails on its media buys and experiential activities and taking “every reasonable measure to avoid contact with those under the legal age of consumption.”
In establishing such rules and putting forth high advertising standards for cannabis companies to adhere to, Cresco is hoping to open up more media inventory to run their ads. Since cannabis is still considered illegal at the federal level, publicly traded companies such as Facebook and Twitter do not accept paid cannabis ads, forcing cannabis businesses to rely on privately held media brands.
Cresco, for instance, has been able to buy ads with privately held media brands controlled by Condé Nast, Penske Media, and Vice Media, according to Cory Rothschild, senior VP of marketing for Cresco Labs. By advancing these advertising rules, he says, Cresco hopes to grow that list to media brands like Pandora and Sports Illustrated.
“It’s understandable why publishers would be cautious to move into this space. What we hope to demonstrate is that there are standards and values that we share, that the entire industry shares, that we can all commit to.”
Experts that this initiative is likely to be welcomed by established marijuana firms like Pac Roots Cannabis Corp. (CSE: PACR).
Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the CannabisNewsWire website applicable to all content provided by CNW420, wherever published or re-published: http://CNW.fm/Disclaimer
