Marijuana advertising has been a tricky business. TV broadcasters stay far away from ads, and the UN has just last month recommended a worldwide ban on cannabis advertising in any form. They site the higher THC levels for their reasoning, but banning advertising altogether?
In an MJ Biz Daily article, some exceptions are found.
For instance, around 4/20 this year, a local NBC station in Denver broadcasted three 15 second ads from LivWell Enlightened Health, a marijuana retail chain, for three and a half weeks. This was the first weed-centric ads ever broadcasted on television.
This is, of course, an anomaly. Although ads for marijuana are specifically banned in Delaware and Montana, every other broadcaster across the country stays away in case they would lose their FCC license, which is decided by federal regulators.
The more difficult and murky area is social media. Facebook has notoriously prohibited any marijuana advertising, but Instagram’s rules and regulations are more unclear. For instance, MJBizDaily just recently had their instagram account closed down. No word was given to them as to when it could be back up.
“It seems that it’s becoming more of a trend, that they are denying or banning cannabis companies, as it’s getting more welcome in the United States,” says Deming Hinton, their social media manager.
“I’m really wondering when Facebook and Instagram are going to get with the times.”
The article has a list of some areas where you can still get the word out:
- Internet banner ads on popular websites.
- Ads on cannabis-specific websites, including Leafly and Weedmaps.
- Local or satellite radio ads.
- Print ads in magazines or alternative weekly newspapers.
- Online video channels such as YouTube or other platforms.
- Partnerships with online video-streaming services.
- Direct-to-consumer email and text-message marketing.
- Billboards.
- Community events or sponsorships.
- Direct mail through the post office, perhaps with coupons.
- Collaboration with other mainstream brands on endorsements and partnerships.
Cresco Labs, for instance, is testing out ads specifically made for Bar tv’s, which already have the 21+ restriction built in.
The limitations have caused cannabis advertisers to get creative, and maybe, at the end of the day, that’s a good thing.
Read the original at MJBizDaily.
