To paraphrase iconic philosopher Moira Rose, the best season is awards season.
Due to the strict restrictions on cannabis promotion across the nation, there aren’t enough ways for cannabis brands to promote themselves to potential users. Some states don’t allow any traditional marketing channels at all, leaving cultivators and production brands to find creative solutions for promoting themselves. So, what can these cannabis brands do to keep their business thriving? Well, many take the route of crushing their competition in an official arena- cannabis awards.
Cannabis awards often predate recreational markets and sometimes even medicinal markets (but don’t worry- we won’t judge). These awards typically cover different consumption method products as well as different subsets, such as best rosin indica or best fruit gummy in addition to best overall brands. The trick is though that these awards groups often have a buy-in to participate.
We know how tight your budget is, especially with 280E still keeping margins super slim. With money on our mind, it can be too expensive to participate in every award so here we’re going to break down how you can determine if cannabis awards are worth the effort.
Does Your Brand Need the Reach?
Look at your market penetration. Look at your CRM. Look at your social media following. While your exact numbers will vary based on region, you must analyze how impactful you are in your community. If you’re getting shut out of dispensaries or edged out by competition, you may need the boost to create those connections.
It can be helpful to do a comparative analysis of how your contemporary brands are performing in your area. Look at how many stores they are featured in, how many people are following their pages, and if budtenders in your local dispensaries speak highly of them.
If you see that your competition is outpacing you, then your brand could benefit from the buzz.
How Does Your Brand Compare to Competition?
This may be a situation of connecting with unbiased users or doing some secret shopping. Be real with yourself, your quality, and how your product stacks up in your market. Don’t worry about the sales, just the actual product. If you want to make a night of it, do a blind taste test. But at the end of the day, be honest on whether your quality of products can stack up to what else is in the market. BHO may be healthier for your margin than cold pressed rosin, but it will rarely edge them out in the competition.
Do You Have a Post-Win Goal?
If you feel good about throwing your hat in the ring, then you have to have a plan of action for the best-case scenario. Here are some of our favorite areas of opportunity to target:
- Social following- plan for growth if you start winning awards and getting your products into influential hands. Aim for a specific growth goal like a 10% follower increase or 15% increase in engagement
- Client roster- have a list of 3-5 retailers in mind. Prior to the awards, reach out again to make that connection and have the right purchasing manager’s contact information. Be ready to swoop in once you’ve got your trophy to build this relationship and break into their store. You’ll also have to follow up with brand ambassador visits and employee education, but having a tangible qualification to be on their shelves will support your case to close the sale
- Website updates- be ready to update your website with a banner or dedicated post celebrating your win! If you create additional content like videos, be sure to have those embedded or linked out so curious users can learn more. Have an asset of the award posted so it’s clear you’re an award-winning brand and worthy of consumption and consideration
Ultimately while awards can be expensive to enter into, they can absolutely be worth it. Another way we love to see cannabis companies earn public affinity is by giving back to their communities- you can read more about that here on our blog.
