MJBizMag August 2022 - 8

FROM THE EDITOR Kate Lavin
Instant Message
With more brands vying for space, experts advise focused communication
K
nowing your customer
is a key tenet for any
entrepreneur. After all,
it's hard to create products for
someone whose motivations and
needs you don't understand.
With so many marijuana
companies selling largely the
same products, branding can
mean the difference between
achieving success and being
forced to liquidate your assets.
So, what are the keys to
effective branding?
A Pointed Statement
Allison Disney, a partner at
Chicago marketing firm Receptor
Brands, told MJBizMagazine that
companies often cast too wide
a net when they should be finetuning
their message.
For example, Receptor Brands
helped Red Arrow Farm, an
outdoor cannabis grower in Bangor,
Michigan, with its branding. The
family-owned company creates
marijuana extracts from cannabis
grown on 80 acres in Michigan's
fruit belt. To draw attention to
the company's outdoor ethos, Red
Arrow named its products Sunrise,
High Noon and Sunset, adding the
tagline: A taste of sun for everyone.
The message is not in your
face, but it gets the point across:
Red Arrow's target consumer is
interested in local, outdoor-grown
cannabis.
In this issue's cover story,
starting on page 34, marketing
pros share tips for identifying your
brand's audience and employing
the right strategies to get their
attention.
8 August 2022 | MJBizMagazine
Think twice
before using the
classic green pot
leaf in your logo.
Evaluating logos
in black and white
is a design best
practice.
For Las Vegas marijuana stores
Planet 13 Holdings and Inyo, that
means catering to tourists and
full-time residents, respectively.
Speaking with reporter Omar
Sacirbey, branding expert Dustin
Iannotti said that while the
Planet 13 superstore is full of
" Instagrammable moments " that
capture the attention of tourists
looking to make memories, localsfocused
Inyo's branding is more
" promotion-based " and designed to
draw regulars seeking a good deal.
All About the Visuals
For the story " Logo Cheat
Sheet, " reporter Kristen Nichols
sought out the expertise of
cannabis branding pros who
specialize in making the right first
impression-both at retail and for
consumer packaged goods.
Their advice? Think twice
before using the classic green
pot leaf in your logo. In fact,
evaluating logos in black and
white and adding colors later is a
design best practice.
To get inspiration from noncannabis
sources, Arizona-based
marketing consultant Kim Prince
scours products at Whole Foods
Market and uses a vision board to
identify common themes.
When it comes to lettering,
don't go overboard by creating a
custom font that won't translate
to websites and other advertising
platforms. Sometimes, simple
really is better.
Amp Your Brand
This year, MJBizCon is debuting
an exclusive, all-day event for
cannabis marketing and branding
professionals. Taking place Nov. 15
at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort
& Casino, Amp Your Brand will
teach attendees how to make
data-informed decisions, share
where to get the biggest bang for
your marketing buck and unpack
the value of influencers.
The event will feature top
marketing professionals from
inside and outside the cannabis
industry. We hope to see you
there.
Kate Lavin is the editor
of MJBizMagazine. Reach
her at kate.lavin@
mjbizdaily.com.
MJBizMag

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