First cannabis advertising soon available on Spotify

Chicago-based marijuana company Cresco Labs Inc. announced Thursday that it will be “the first cannabis company to launch cannabis advertising on Spotify, the world’s most popular audio streaming subscription service with more than 551 million users and 220 million subscribers.”

The advertising campaign will promote Sunnyside, a pharmacy chain operated by Cresco Labs, and will include “30-second audio and in-app digital banners leading to the retailer’s proprietary e-commerce platform,” the company said in a press release.

These ads specifically target Spotify listeners (and potential Sunnyside customers) in Illinois, where recreational cannabis is legal.

“Audio streaming services represent a huge opportunity for brands to target large audiences, and we’re excited to partner with Spotify to launch our national retail brand Sunnyside’s first-ever cannabis ads,” said Cory Rothschild, Head of Cresco Labs. the president of National Retail said in a statement Thursday. “Our Sunnyside advertising strategy is built on a data ecosystem that enables world-class targeting and measurement. Spotify’s platform will enable our marketing team to consistently and profitably target our ads to our core customers in Illinois, where we have a leading retail share. This important partnership is not only a step toward normalizing cannabis, but also demonstrates the sophistication and quality of marketing we have unleashed at Cresco Labs.”

Advertising is a difficult issue for cannabis companies looking to market in the United States, where marijuana remains subject to federal prohibition.

Marketing Brew published a story in 2021 detailing these challenges, emphasizing that publicly traded company Cresco Labs “has a podcast advertising strategy that is just as nuanced as you would expect” and that its “core strategy is the interface between these challenges”. Host read and programmatic ads.”

The outlet reported that the company “only advertises in states where cannabis — and therefore the marketing of cannabis products — is legal.”

“We follow the letter of the law when it comes to our content,” Matt Pickerel, senior director of performance marketing at Cresco Labs, told Marketing Brew. “Because we insert podcast ads dynamically, we only operate in the states where we have a presence and all the licenses we need.”

Pickerel explained that podcast company Headgum has allowed Cresco Labs to “dynamically insert pre-recorded, host-read ads into states where Cresco wants to advertise.”

“Because measuring podcasts is still in its infancy,” says Pickerel, Cresco tracks success using “some pretty basic metrics.” “This includes the number of impressions, conversions, discount code redemptions and website visits when Cresco’s URL is mentioned in the podcast,” Marketing Brew reported at the time.

“While Cresco hasn’t jumped headfirst into the podcast advertising landscape because of these measurement concerns, Pickerel told us the company is doing more than just dipping a toe in, with about 15% of its marketing budget going toward podcasts.”

According to Cresco, its mission is to “normalize and professionalize the cannabis industry through a CPG approach to building national brands and a customer-centric retail experience, while serving as the industry’s steward on legislative and regulatory initiatives.”

“As a leader in the cultivation, production and distribution of branded products, the company leverages its scale and agility to expand its portfolio of brands, which includes Cresco, High Supply, FloraCal, Good News, Wonder Wellness Co., Mindy’s and Remedi belong to national level. The Company also operates highly productive pharmacies nationwide under the Sunnyside brand, focused on building patient and consumer trust and providing ongoing education and convenience in a wonderfully traditional retail experience. Through year-round policies, outreach and SEED initiatives, Cresco Labs assumes responsibility to support communities through authentic engagement, economic opportunity, investments, workforce development and legislative initiatives aimed at creating the most responsible, respectable and robust cannabis industry possible,” the company said in Thursday’s press release.

According to Business Insider, Cresco Labs CEO Charlie Bachtell is “a keynote speaker at the upcoming Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference on September 27th and 28th in Chicago, where he will no doubt provide further insight into the new partnership with Spotify.”

In addition to the Benzinga conference in Chicago later this month, Cresco Labs announced that Bachtell will also appear at the ATB 2023 Life Sciences Institutional Investor Conference on September 20th in New York City and the AGP Annual Virtual Cannabis Conference on October 4th.

Sunnyside has pharmacies in seven states: one in Arizona, 33 in Florida, 10 in Illinois, four in Massachusetts, four in New York, five in Ohio and 14 in Pennsylvania.

Sunnyside opened a new location in Palm Bay, Florida last month.

“We continue to expand the Sunnyside brand and increase access to high-quality cannabis products in Florida’s most significant markets,” Bachtell said at the time. “Palm Bay is the most populous city in Brevard County with over 129,000 residents, and the city’s location southeast of Orlando will allow Sunnyside Palm Bay, along with our many other stores in the East Central Florida region, to serve tens of thousands of patients with theirs Cannabis needs.”