Craft farmers, small batch, sustainability: these are the taglines for the world’s first major ad campaign for a cannabis brand.
Flow Kana, a San Francisco based brand that only sources sustainability grown, small batch boutique marijuana strands from independent farmers is behind this campaign in pot-friendly California.
Flow Kana is launching their ambitious campaign with the hopes of appealing to many different types of consumers who favor sustainable food. And their ad campaign to reach those consumers is just as diverse as the customers themselves. Considering that an estimated 71% of people look at the messages on billboards, the company expects to generate more than 15 million impressions with ads on bus exteriors and interiors, as well as advertisements at bus stations and on billboards.
Founder and CEO Michael Steinmetz seeks to bring awareness to the tens of thousands of Californian people, families, and collectives who comprise the state’s cannabis industry, which has up until recently only been run by small farmers and individual entrepreneurs.
With the possibility of legalization looming on the horizon, Steinmetz worries the value of the industry is in danger of being crushed by large corporations that bring a cheaper method of production to the table.
These methods have the potential to pose a threat to our environment and health.
Called “The California Way,” the marketing approach is a progressive step in the evolution of cannabis advertising.
“The media partners that we have been working with have been happy to share this message that goes beyond ‘Hey, come celebrate 4/20 and get high,'” Steinmetz reports to Campaign US.
Their first marketing step is to relate to the wine industry’s approach, where there is a lot of emphasis placed on the product’s origin and appellation. Each cannabis product Flow Kana offers comes packed in a mason jar with brown paper tags attached with twine; the tags list the names and locations of the farmers who grew the buds.
This campaign is set to last for four weeks, but if it proves successful, Flow Kana will plan for a long term branding endeavor.