3 Tips to Build Your Brand

Cannabis CEOs- 3 Tips to Build Your Brand

As a CEO, you know that brand building to differentiating your products and becoming a commodity are critical to your company’s ability to capture and retain loyal consumers and grow your piece of the estimated $1 Billion market.  As a senior marketer, with over 25 years of experience in CPG including 5 years building a brand in the Colorado cannabis industry, I’ve found two articles that highlight the importance of brand building in the cannabis industry.

 A Look Ahead: Marijuana Retail, Cultivation & Industry Trends to Watch by John Schroyer

John Schroyer, in a Marijuana Business Daily article, spoke with industry experts to identify emerging business trends.  Among the trends identified was the emergence of branding and marketing.  Schroyer states “Up until about a year or so ago, most marijuana-related companies didn’t put much thought into branding. But it’s becoming more important as the industry continues to boom and as companies look for ways to set themselves apart from their competition.”  He goes to say that growers and ancillary businesses will all be focusing on brand.

Source: MarketingEasyStreet

                                   

Build a Cannabis Brand That Sells Itself: Five Things to Know by Olivia Mannix and Jennifer DeFalco 

Branding is everything. The keys to brand building are knowing your audience, being innovative and not repetitive, knowing local regulations and considering going to the pros (marketing companies such as CannaBrand) to help develop the brand identity and look.

Based on these articles and my experience as cannabis marketer and a student of the social media marketing specialization online program at Northwestern University I have 3 recommendations for cannabis companies trying to differentiate their products:

1. Clearly articulate your brand identity.  What does your company stand for, who are your consumers, what are your core values?  Identifying a positioning and focusing on it are critical to success.
2. Reinforce brand image and identity.  Once you have articulated your brand identity, enforce consistency across all aspects of your business.  This includes, your product line, social media content, website, budtenders, marketing materials and customer service. Ultimately, consumers trust brands that consistently deliver the same experience, and that is how brand loyalty is built.
3. Live the brand identity.  Your brand identity and values help guide decision making from who you hire, what the packaging looks like and how you speak with your consumers.  Words are not enough, everyone involved in the business needs to understand and live the brand identity.

To differentiate your brand and build consumer loyalty, articulate your brand identity, reinforce it across all aspects of your business and finally, the entire organization must live the brand.

I am a Director with Scout Consulting, a CPG focused consulting company in Denver, CO. Prior to Scout Consulting, I was the Senior Director of Marketing for LivWell Enlightened Health, one of Colorado's largest cultivator and retailer of cannabis.  I have over 25 years’ experience in brand development and communication and new product development the creation and introduction of new products. I enjoy identifying and acting upon marketing trends and the evolution of social marketing including through Coursera at Northwestern University (www.coursera.com)   LinkedIn /www.linkedin.com/in/kristin-potts-292b18