While the paid media campaign did a great job in targeting consumers nearby the Stok'd stores, the impact of the planned earned media generated across cannabis and general publications, blogs, podcasts, etc is what really launched the campaign and the Stok'd brand into a different stratosphere.

The cannabis consumer is always reading up on different products and 'ingredients'. The place to go for this information is through the cannabis industry publications, etc.

Every cannabis publication was talking about this campaign, and in a very positive light. The word got out. To everyone. Including the target who lived in close proximity.

Cannabis sales in Canada have been legal for years. It's become as common as alcohol sales with literally stores on every corner. But cannabis advertising is highly regulated - to the point of being almost impossible.

While many use cannabis for recreational use, a significant amount of Canadians use it for health and wellness benefits to treat things like: chronic (back) pain, sleeping problems, anxiety, depression and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Whatever the use case, cannabis in Canada is widely accepted and completely legal.

Situation:

Cannabis sales are legal in Canada and have been for years. Cannabis advertising? Not so much. In fact, the entire industry is highly regulated. Furthermore, social platforms (such as Meta and Google) and other media channels (OOH/radio) have sophisticated filters in place to screen out any advertising that promotes cannabis.

So how does a regional cannabis chain promote their stores?

Objective:

Drive traffic to the Stok'd site and in-store, as well as the neighbouring stores, and at the same time create a brand personality that connects with consumers to choose Stok'd over other cannabis retailers.

Advertising cannabis in Canada is illegal and social platforms/OOH companies have sophisticated filters that screen cannabis ads out. By definition, creating a campaign and getting it approved on these sites is newsworthy.

Idea:

When you can’t advertise your store, advertise your neighbours.

Creative launchpad:

Bookstores, nail salons, etc actually have a lot more in common with cannabis retailers than you would first think, in what they offer customers.

The plan:

Create a geo-targeted/adult-gated, multimedia campaign partnering with neighbouring stores to promote BOTH their store and Stok’d. By using shared language/benefits while also promoting the proximity to each other, Stok’d could find an unconventional way to tell customers about their location, products/experience.

By partnering/collaborating with neighbouring stores, Stok’d would be able to outsmart the media company’s sophisticated filters that block cannabis advertising. The ads all finish with a CTA to visit the neighbouring business, which is located ‘Next to Stok’d’.

PR Insight:

Three things that definitely earn media 1) outsmarting the big guys (e.g. meta and google) 2) getting around laws 3) doing something that has never been done before

PR Key message:

Cannabis sales in Canada are legal. Cannabis advertising, not so much. So how does a local cannabis retailer promote themselves? You partner/collaborate with their neighbours and create a campaign that outsmarts social platforms/media companies, while technically staying within the laws.

Target:

Cannabis and business publications, podcasts, blogs, etc

Creation and Distribution of Assets:

A case study detailing the campaign idea and key challenge was created and sent to as many cannabis and business publications through emails and site uploads. Also by using one of the most viewed advertising trade pubs (Ad Age) to feature the campaign, the story through Linkedin was sharable and reached a global audience.

The strategy for PR implementation was a little unconventional.

We knew the campaign was on the 'edge' of what would be legal and approved by media companies. So we ran the campaign in full for a month to very good success. But that was just phase 1 (4 weeks). Phase 2 was the PR (2 weeks).

If PR launched while the campaign was in market, we knew that the media companies would likely shut it down.

So, the PR (phase 2) only began AFTER the media buy was completed. In effect, the campaign had an entire second life through earned media. This is when the cannabis industry saw it and blew the story up and shared with Canada and the world.

Impact:

The campaign was featured in dozens of publications, podcasts, blogs etc. including ALL the top cannabis ones. Featured stories, lead stories, and positive POVs were paramount to help the PR campaign snowball into a major cannabis and business/advertising story. While the campaign reached global PR success, with North America, and specifically Canada, the campaign also reached mainstream news outlets such as the CBC (Canada's main news station).

Results changed behaviour, getting new customers to try Stok'd -

Compared to the same period last year:

26% increase in-store customers

29% increase in new online customers

12% increase in revenue

“We loved the playful and entrepreneurial approach as it’s a perfect brand fit for us. Our neighbouring businesses loved the idea too. After all, more traffic to our stores is good for everyone.” Lisa Bigioni, Co-founder of Stok’d.

Here are a few from top cannabis publications (which reach the target we were aiming for):

"The most creative marketing I've ever seen" - Cannabis Marketing

"Masterstroke Campaign" - Aggressive Organics

"Brilliant" - One World Cannabis

"Genius workaround" - Hobby Grower

"Unmatched ingenuity" - Joint Craft

"Revolutionizing Cannabis Marketing" - Business News Network

Since cannabis advertising is illegal in Canada, we knew this campaign was pushing the limits, although technically legal, since we are advertising the neigbours' stores.

That being said, if we told the story with a serious tone, we knew it would be a more serious discussion. By using humour to tell the story, those on the fence would start the conversation with a smile and a chuckle.

The 'spokespeople' were very authentic, almost extreme in their character to further create a positivity to the brands and campaign. The words we chose for them used simple humour and naturally awkward performances to endear the viewer.

The case study that was the main PR asset was also created with this same tonality of humour. This would bring in the publications to feel the vibe of the campaign assets, but reinforced it by how we spoke about the campaign using the same humour/tone.