Overview
In 2017, Canada was preparing for the legalization of recreational cannabis. Canopy Growth Corporation had already been producing, selling and delivering marijuana for medical purposes. The legalization of cannabis presented a new sales opportunity for the company. The marketing team at Canopy needed to tackle two key issues before early 2018: 1) what is the messaging and target market for the recreational cannabis market? 2) what would the retail rollout and international expansion look like?
The Unique Cannabis Market
Since 2014, Canadian medical cannabis was legally allowed to be distributed via mail. Physical retail stores were not allowed to sell or advertise cannabis products. Not only did this create problems sales and distribution to a non-medical audience, there were also the complexities of setting up cannabis shops including compliance and regulatory protocols. In addition to these hurdles, cannabis must be batch processed, which is not conducive to high productivity. Despite what seemed like insurmountable obstacles, the cannabis industry is profitable, valued at $125-150 million.
The Canadian cannabis market is controlled by 18 industrial growers. Beyond Canopy, the other main players are Aphria, Mettrum and OrganiGram. In addition, “big tobacco” and “big pharma” have both sought out partnerships and buyouts from Canopy because of the potential growth of the cannabis industry.
Canopy & The Cannabis Market
Canopy is without question the leader in the Canadian cannabis industry. With a well-oiled supply chain and the largest licensed sales, Canopy has the manpower to squash competitors and influence the medical professional community. Canopy has changed the conversation on marijuana, reversing the image burnout, slacker hippies getting high to successful, working adults, ages 41-55, who are alleviating chronic pain and using cannabis as an alternative to pharmaceutical products.
Canopy’s Core Messaging
The buyer personas of medical cannabis users are vastly different than a recreational user. The core message(s) for the recreational market are relaxation and socialization for the 18-29-year-old audience. Print imagery should be created with sophisticated, fashionable adults at a dinner party indulging in cannabis—thus normalizing the practice of smoking. You bring wine to a friend’s house for dinner, why not marijuana?
The ad should be run in intellectual and fashion magazines like Maclean’s and Flair, as well as social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook. The messaging and imagery will steer the audience towards cannabis as a way to unwind after work, rather than the normal associations of medically prescribed or other illicit ways of obtaining cannabis.
For a consumer market, it is imperative that there is humor in the messaging. A glamorous, fun celebrity like Paris Hilton would be a great spokesperson for the brand. Miss Hilton’s net worth is $300 million, due to a combination of million-dollar DJ gigs and an enduringly popular fragrance line. Miss Hilton is known for partaking in cannabis use. Her recreational endeavors and business acumen make her a great fit for the Canopy brand. In addition to print advertising, a television and social media commercial should be built around Miss Hilton’s personality. She has great viral potential and speaks to demographics within the millennial market—speaking to legacy reality TV junkies (born 1981-1994) and emerging celebrities like Kim Petras have built music videos around Miss Hilton’s image for the Gen Z generation (born 1995-2002).
Additional benefits within this messaging would be heightened focus, attention, concentration and dosage education. This where the ad copy will be imperative because we have to inform the audience on the benefits of cannabis. The ad must demonstrate the value of cannabis in an everyday society, especially for those born between 1981-1994.
Retail Footprint & Expansion
Tweed Main Street should transition from medical advice center to full-on retail locations where cannabis is sold, including oils. There is wholesale opportunity for Canopy cannabis to pharmacies, liquor stores and smoke shops across Canada. Since this is a product that is being sought out illegally, a pull marketing strategy will be easy to launch. Customers are seeking out the product and would love to come out of the shadows and enjoy purchasing cannabis in the same way they would purchase wine.
Canopy has growth opportunity in Europe, Australasia and South America. This will all be dependent on federal approval within those regions. The United States—an obvious market due to adjacency—is off the table due to federal illegality. In the countries that have barrier for entry, there would be third-party manufacturing. This would be best, so a new infrastructure does not need to be built.