Cannabis Brands Are Banned From Many Advertising Channels. This Partnership Offers a Different Playbook

Weedmaps, a cannabis directory and marketplace, is partnering with international hip-hop festival Rolling Loud. Today, the two brands are announcing a year-round lineup of artist-driven experiences, starting September 10 in Brooklyn with the Kickback New York Lit by Rolling Loud festival.

I got an exclusive first look at the partnership, and it’s a useful playbook for how cannabis brands can market when traditional advertising channels–from mainstream television ads to billboards–are closed to them. For most industries, that would be a death sentence. Jonathan “JJ” Jones, SVP of markets and culture at Weedmaps, sees it differently.

“Restrictions are certainly part of operating in cannabis, but we don’t look at experiences simply as a workaround,” he told me. “When you’re operating in a regulated industry, you’re forced to be more thoughtful about how you connect with people, and that can actually make you a better marketer. You can’t always rely on buying attention. You have to earn it.”

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