In order to effectively market to your target audience, it’s vital you first learn all that you can about what they think of your product or service. Their motivations, their reservations, their concerns, etc. We’ve found that one of the best ways to do this is through focus groups. What Are...

When it comes to establishing a digital marketing presence, cannabis companies can’t follow the typical route of mainstream or less regulated industries. In addition to age restrictions, many of the most popular advertising channels are unavailable. Specifically we’re referring to paid search and social ads dominated by Google and Facebook.  Sure,...

Before all is said and done, and you’re about to layout a roadmap for your cannabis brand, I believe there are five rules in building a brand you should know and, hopefully, follow.  I’ve listed them in order of importance, as follows, and while the rules are relevant for any-size company,...

2020 was an unforgettable year in many ways but also in very positive ways for the cannabis industry. The majority of states have now legalized recreational use of marijuana by adults or medical use. The US marijuana business is worth billions of dollars with estimates as high as $30 billion by...

Content marketing is made up of two parts: content and marketing. Once you have developed original content and optimized it for search, it’s time to start thinking beyond inbound traffic to promotion and outreach for that content. Not everyone uses the internet the same way, and so while many people may be finding your...

Editor's Note: this article was lightly updated in May 2020. We hope Google sees the light and opens up more of its platform to legal cannabis, CBD and hemp companies.  Marketers in the cannabis industry have an interesting environment in which to work. The product is in demand and audiences want to...

​The great thing about content is that it can always be revisited, refined, and re-purposed for multiple business and content objectives. In this blog post, we’ll take you through three steps for making sure you’re getting the most out of your cannabis content. Modifying Content for Additional Mediums Not all content...

In its simplest terms, branding is having the courage to stand for something, ensuring, of course, that the target market both wants it and, preferably, is not currently getting it. This is the basis for a long-term relationship that the most successful brands understand connects on both a rational – “I...

Advertising cannabis and CBD brands presents its own unique set of challenges, and we blogged about this some here and here. But if you’re beginning to think about advertising your product/service, let’s talk a bit about what a brand should consider first. Or, put another way, let’s have at least thought...

It’s a little early to tell if October 17th will become a national holiday in Canada, but it’s still a day for celebration. As we congratulate Canada as the first industrialized nation to legalize cannabis as they did a year ago, we want to share some of our insights on what...

In two national surveys designed to uncover American attitudes toward cannabis, legalization and development of cannabis brands, we uncovered a unique subculture of Americans who strongly support legalizing recreational-use marijuana, but do not expect to purchase cannabis or engage with cannabis brands. Except in California, home to a historically bolder and...

LinkedIn is the platform we get the most questions about from our B2B clients focused on lead generation. At Canna Con in Seattle this weekend, most companies with booth space were companies marketing their services and products to Cannabis producers and processors. Including all types of businesses, from soil and seed...

In order to effectively market to your target audience, it’s vital you first learn all that you can about what they think of your product or service. Their motivations, their reservations, their concerns, etc. We’ve found that one of the best ways to do this is through focus groups. What are...

There are a host of challenges for cannabis companies with regard to compliance. But let’s go ahead and add one more to the list—your website. In California for example, cannabis businesses are prohibited from making any false or misleading advertising claims, which extends to the content on your website. This includes...

Being in business, especially one that’s as unpredictable as the cannabis space or even digital media (data breach anyone?), requires planning for the inevitable – a crisis. Regardless of what the actual crisis is, having a plan in place helps you get organized and ready for reacting even if, at the...

A Marijuana culture enjoys a history of slang and alternative word usage, which will assuredly come into play once advertising really ramps up on the new industry. If you’d like a quick primer, here is an excellent place to begin. blazin’ a trail with marijuana slang If asked to create a list of...

The great thing about content is that it can always be revisited, refined, and re-purposed for multiple business and content objectives. In this blog post, we’ll take you through three steps for making sure you’re getting the most out of your cannabis content. modifying content for additional mediums Not all content...

A content playbook is somewhat like an extended campaign brief, it sets the direction and strategy for the content campaign and it’s designed to serve as a resource for the content team members to reference back to as the campaign is executed. Simply put, the content playbook asks these three questions:...

So you’re trying to run AdWords ads for your cannabis brand and want to know how to do that? I won’t lie. It isn’t easy. And as consultants who have been running ads on Google AdWords starting back when those were in cuneiform on clay tablets (it feels that long ago)...

Successful series of studies on the Cannabis Consumer results in pioneering strategic partnership to deliver Fortune-500-caliber market insights. SEATTLE, WA March 20, 2018 – Seattle-based Matters Group and Cascade Strategies, Inc., have formalized a partnership to deliver advanced data science, sophisticated analytics and market research services to the emerging cannabis industry....