Cannabis Marketing, Inc.

Advertising for dispensaries and cannabis brands

CMI, short for Cannabis Marketing, Inc., is a US agency built for dispensaries, cannabis brands and related businesses. It describes itself as a leader in dispensary and cannabis-related advertising, and its clients range from dispensaries and farms to product makers and grow light companies.

The idea behind it

The agency starts from the view that advertising a cannabis business is unusually difficult, and that a young industry needs someone who follows changing cannabis law and trends. It describes its way of working as planning like a statistician, thinking like a psychologist, researching like a historian, creating like an artist and executing efficiently. Its stated aim is to build a cohesive, well-recognized brand and a strong return on spend, as a one-stop shop.

Advertising channels it covers

CMI says it knows both traditional and digital media. The services it names include:

• Digital advertising and search engine optimization.
• Dispensary website design.
• Videography and photography for cannabis products.
• Print advertising.
• Radio advertising, which it discusses as a way to get returns when marketing becomes a large expense for a new business.
• Social media support, including the problem that cannabis accounts can be blacklisted, banned from advertising or shadow banned.

Campaigns and content

Its site carries case studies and a campaign called Catch 'Em All, about reaching a competitor's customers. The agency also publishes blog posts about marketing budgets, social media and radio, runs a podcast for people in the cannabis field, and has promoted a community food drive for cannabis businesses. Its blog also covers common objections from owners, such as tight budgets, doubts that marketing will pay off and the habit of leaving promotion to budtenders. The agency also notes that legalization has created curiosity among consumers unfamiliar with cannabis, which gives dispensary owners a chance to build brand loyalty with newcomers and existing users alike.