This creative strategy was the launchpad to everything. None of the campaign could have come to life without it.

The challenge was monumental. In an industry where you're not allowed to advertise, we needed a whole new way of reaching our consumer with our message. Which seemed impossible until our strategy team came up with the idea to promote Stok'd by promoting the stores next to it.

In addition, the neighbourly approach fit in perfectly with Stok'd's brand personality.

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.

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.

Over the past 5 years in Canada, cannabis stores have popped up literally on every street corner. There are thousands and thousands of them. The challenge is to standout amongst all of the competitors, including large national chains, to bring potential customers in.

But promoting your store is basically illegal. So no one has done it other than some basic branding on "owned channel" posts that social platforms often shut down.

The industry is struggling to find a way. As a result, many smaller cannabis stores have gone bankrupt, and the large national chains keep trying to take over by sheer retail presence.

The target is just looking for a store they feel comfortable and safe in, as some stores are a bit shady-looking from the outside, since the stores can't have window that show the inside.

The outcome desired is to breakthrough the many competitors and bring customers in.

The approach started with strategic and creative workshopping to try and solve this challenge. The client's brand was one that was playful and self-professed pirates in a pirate industry. That gave us the confidence to think outside the box.

A member on our team came up with advertising in a way that was technically within the law but perhaps very subtle or through innuendos. But with sophisticated social platform filters, we knew we had to be more creative. Our team has years of experience/research working with meta, google etc so we knew the creative had to outsmart those filters.

Then the moment hit - advertise the stores next to Stok'd.

The challenge after the conception of the idea was we'd have to produce the entire campaign and not know if they'd be approve until after we upload. Try getting your clients to agree to that!

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 own 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 and experience.

By partnering and 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 right ‘Next to Stok’d’.

The campaign was approved by every platform we submitted it to (social, OOH, and radio). All without technically breaking any laws, as the ads were officially promoting neighbouring stores.

With paid media (phase 1) followed up quickly with earned PR (phase 2), Stok'd was able to reach their local target audience, as well as a national audience, which helped build Stok'd's brand awareness and affinity. Most importantly, this 1-2 punch drove incredible business results.

Compared to the same period last year:

26% increase in-store customers

29% increase in new online customers

12% increase in revenue

Here are a few from top cannabis publications (who reached 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