Keeping up with the zeitgeist in the cannabis industry

In 2016, the legalization of cannabis was underway in California and a historic dispensary in San Francisco hired me as a marketing strategist to help them stay relevant and in touch with the latest trends.

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Problem: The dispensary, while being a pioneer in the San Francisco cannabis scene, needed to show that it was still current in order to compete in the newly competitive market.

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Solution: With the help of a local artist, Josh Ellingson, a playful coloring sheet was created for the dispensary’s booth at an industry conference. The coloring sheet celebrated its place in San Francisco with anthropomorphic weed-speak text emojis, and capitalized on the adult coloring book trend. The conference was held around Valentine’s Day, so we also handed out custom-printed candy hearts.

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Result: The weed-speak coloring sheet campaign was a success, and the art was then leveraged for a “cannabis-fueled” coloring contest in a local newspaper. The dispensary was able to show that it was still cool and keeping up with the times.