Aloha from Portland. I'm taking the AdFreak wheel for a few days while David Griner takes some well-deserved time off. And, it may be ironic that I'm writing about cannabis since, you know, Oregon.
Over the past several years, marketing in the space has come into its own. Sure, there are still some groan-worthy puns out there (hello, local retailers), but the market's growing sophistication demands better.
My colleague, T.L. Stanley, took a deeper look at several campaigns that show the industry's innovation, nimbleness and smarts.
There were arty installations, self-aware OOH campaigns, a nifty series starring Jim Belushi (who owns a 93-acre cannabis farm in southern Oregon), Covid-19 pivots and, of course, some Snoop Dogg sightings.
A welcome addition this year, however, was more issues-based content.
Cannabis vape pen brand Besito teamed up with advocacy group Equity First on a series of videos that show the stories of lives impacted by arrests for low-level, nonviolent marijuana-related offenses.
And Weedmaps created a three-part docuseries tracing California's legalization movement and the systemic racism that prevents people of color from thriving in the industry.
There were several other examples of good cannabis marketing this year. It's also safe to say that, with a new administration arriving soon, we'll see even more ambition in 2021.
Have some new creative work to share? Go ahead and send it my way.
Doug Zanger
Agencies Editor, Adweek
[email protected]
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