If you’re an entrepreneur in the cannabis game, you likely built your business without any professional help in the traditional sense of the word. And while you may be used to figuring it out using your creativity, innovation and self-motivation, the dawn of the commercial cannabis industry in the United States means you don’t have to do it all on your own anymore.
No matter what your brand is — the topical CBD rub you spent weeks, months, years developing or the seed-to-sale company you built from the ground up — a good marketing company is a great tool for successfully bringing it to market. And a marketing agency specializing in cannabis brands? Even better.
Benzinga’s roster of the best cannabis marketing agencies is a great place to connect with firms putting their hard-won cannabis expertise to work for entrepreneurs like you.
Best for Cannabis Industry Expertise: 4042North
4042North is a powerhouse marketing team composed of experts pulled from every sector of the cannabis industry, including integrated marketing strategy and brand activation as well as management and operations of vertically integrated cannabis brands.
From strategy and brand development to marketing communications, like social media campaigns and website development, 4042North is a multidisciplinary marketing agency that checks all the boxes. The 4042North team packs a 1-2 punch, bringing expertise in both cannabis consulting and marketing to its clients.
With any highly regulated industry or a new industry where regulations are evolving rapidly, such as cannabis, marketing firms must take into account laws and guidelines that may apply to your product or brand when creating your marketing strategy. 4042North has an established track record of partnerships with brands operating within highly regulated industries (remember when Don Draper had to work around new tobacco advertising laws in Mad Men? Yeah, like that).
You’re a busy cannabis entrepreneur. You don’t have time to keep track of the shifts in marketing compliance laws when you’re got a million other regulations and court cases. Let 4042North take that weight off your shoulders. Its headquarters are in Chicago, but you can get in touch with the group from anywhere here.
Best for Dispensary Marketing: Foottraffik
Foottraffik’s proprietary 1-stop-shop dispensary advertising software does exactly what it says it does: pushes traffic to your brand by drawing online shoppers to your digital storefront. Operating in both Canada and the U.S., Foottraffik uses the latest technology in analytics, data, AI and more to drive your unique marketing strategy.
This agency specializes in e-commerce advertising and marketing for dispensaries specifically. It has a proven track record of working with more than 300 dispensaries, focusing its sights on only the best cannabis brands with skin in the game.
On its website, you’ll find countless testimonials and case studies from a large number of well-established dispensaries and cannabis brands. And there’s tons of useful educational content, like webinars and this article on why Google Analytics is a must for your dispensary brand.
You can schedule a meeting with Foottraffik here. Just fill out some information about your dispensary and brand and Foottraffik will be in touch ASAP.
Best for CBD Brands: 420Media
420Media is a cannabis marketing agency that can handle any marketing needs you have, but it’s the perfect match for CBD brands looking to reach more people with their brand. The much-lauded health and wellness benefits of CBD, or cannabidiol, has translated into a booming industry projected to grow by 3.52 billion between 2020 and 2024 in a report published by Technavio, a market research company.
420Media got in early, working with cannabis and CBD brands since 2014. Its impressive resume includes cannabis ad campaigns that have run during the Super Bowl, which is pretty much peak performance from any marketing agency. With this level of exposure and high key marketing strategy at your disposal, 420Media could be the factor that elevates your brand into the stratosphere.
Its services span 4 sectors: digital strategy, content creation, distribution and self-service advertising. As with cannabis, much of the legal status of the CBD industry resides squarely in what we’d call gray area, with unclear laws and regulations that are always changing. 420Media is prepared to help you navigate these murky waters, keeping an eye on the shifting landscape so you can put your all into your business.
Best for SEO Marketing: Dispensary Team
SEO, or search engine optimization, is a hugely important resource for any brand looking to capitalize on their digital presence to increase traffic. Dispensary Team provides SEO marketing services and web design to cannabis brands looking to use search engine algorithms to route new customers to their brand.
As a Dispensary Team client, you’ll have access to the following services and features:
- Fully Managed Marijuana SEO
- Industry-Related Web Design
- Full Website Maintenance
- Dispensary Marketing
Dispensary Team offers a free 1st-time investigation to all new clients. You can schedule a consultation or request a quote and website audit here.
Best Boutique Agency: Cannabis Brands
Cannabis Brands is a boutique marketing agency, but don’t let its smaller size fool you. Boutique firms are great to work with because they provide an intimate, personalized touch to their client services. Your branding and marketing strategy is sure to stand out with Cannabis Brands on your side.
Cannabis Brands offers a comprehensive menu of services to choose from. It can assist your brand with branding strategy, content creation and public relations management, digital cannabis marketing and data analytics. The team at Cannabis Brands also specializes in dispensary web and mobile design along with cannabis video production, tools that will definitely give your business a leading edge over the competition.
To date, Cannabis Brands have worked with 300+ clients, won 17 awards for its work in just the past 2 years and have more than 20 years of combined experience under their belt. If this type of reputation is exactly what you’re looking for in a marketing agency, get in touch with Cannabis Brands here to find out more.
Browse More Agencies
The firms above were our favorite cannabis marketing agencies but we don’t want to limit you, either. With so many fine marketing firms bringing their A-game to the cannabis industry, you’d be doing yourself a disservice by not comparing as many options as you can.
That’s why Benzinga created the Benzinga Cannabis Network, or the BCN. This is an incredibly useful tool for any cannabis entrepreneur. Not only can you search for the perfect cannabis marketing agency, you can connect to a wide variety of other firms, companies, agencies and vendors, all doing business in the rapidly growing industry that is cannabis.
You’ll be connected to hundreds of professional cannabis companies and services. Clicking on any search result will reveal a summary of the brands’ manifestos and services along with important details, like website and contact information.
Search for cannabis attorneys, consultants, labs and more using the BCN. You can filter your searches by location and among private and public companies. The dispensary search is another great function. You can differentiate between medical and recreational or look for a delivery service near you.
Why a Marketing Agency Matters in Cannabis
Nobody knows your cannabis business better than you. That’s why enlisting the expertise of a marketing agency with a working knowledge of cannabis branding is a must. A marketing expert carries the knowledge and skill set necessary to bring your vision to life and translate it into a message that attracts — and keeps — customers.
Any one of the marketing agencies on our list will do right by your brand, but why stop there? There’s a whole world of new, innovative companies bursting onto the scene to meet the needs of savvy cannabis entrepreneurs like you. Use the BCN to explore all the cannabis industry has to offer.
Grow your Cannabis Brand with a High-Level Marketing Strategy
Unless you have an in-house marketing team, a full service marketing agency is a must if you’re looking to grow your business. The right marketing agency can supercharge the growth of your cannabis business by reaching a much wider audience, elevating and scaling your marketing strategy as you expand to regional, national and global audiences.
Using digital strategy and marketing communications, a marketing agency with an eye for cannabis branding can be just what you need to step your game up to the next level. Use the Benzinga Cannabis Network to link with professional-grade marketing agencies well-suited to the needs of cannabis companies.