Cannabis advertising is a tricky business in Canada, where strict regulations and platform policies limit the options for retailers to reach their customers. However, one Ontario-based chain of cannabis stores has found a clever way to get around these challenges by partnering with neighbouring businesses and using puns and innuendos.
Stok’d Cannabis and its Neighbors
Stok’d Cannabis is a regional chain of cannabis stores in Ontario, with five locations across the province. The brand likes to have fun and provoke, and it has a playful approach to its marketing. In January, the chain launched a campaign called “Next to Stok’d,” which featured ads for various businesses that are located next to or affiliated with a Stok’d outlet.
The ads included businesses like a bookstore, an electrician, a nail shop, and a sandwich shop, all of which mentioned Stok’d Cannabis in relation to their own products or services, often using cheeky puns or double entendres. For example, one ad for a nail salon said, “Get your nails done at NuNail, next to Stok’d Cannabis. Because sometimes you need a little extra polish.” Another ad for a sandwich shop said, “Try our new ham and cheese sandwich at Sandwich Express, next to Stok’d Cannabis. It’s a real hit.”
The campaign ran across multiple channels, including paid and sponsored posts on social media platforms, pre-roll videos, evening radio, and transit shelters. The ads were geo-targeted to adults within 5 km of each store and were designed to be compliant with the federal and provincial regulations on cannabis advertising, as well as the platform policies that often screen out or shut down cannabis-related content.
The Challenges and Benefits of Cannabis Advertising
Cannabis advertising in Canada is governed by the Cannabis Act, which prohibits any promotion that could appeal to young people, that shares information about price or distribution, that shows the inside of a cannabis store, or that could evoke emotions such as glamour, recreation, excitement, vitality, risk, or daring. Additionally, social media platforms like Meta and Google have their own rules and filters that can block or remove cannabis-related ads, making it hard for cannabis retailers to reach their target audiences online.
Lisa Bigioni, co-founder and CEO of Stok’d Cannabis, says that the chain has faced issues with advertising to the public due to these restrictions and has had its social media accounts shut down in the past. She says that the “Next to Stok’d” campaign was a way to circumvent these hurdles and put the store on consumers’ minds without violating any rules or policies.
“We think that the Health Canada restrictions we understand, and we did our part to not go against those restrictions. It’s the social media challenges that we have that I think are the bigger win. The ads were put out almost a month ago, and no one caught that there was this cheeky innuendo about a cannabis store,” she says.
Bigioni says that the campaign has been successful in increasing web traffic, new user checkouts, and foot traffic to the stores, as well as building on the brand personality of Stok’d. She also says that the local businesses that participated in the campaign appreciated the approach and the exposure.
“We wanted to be authentic with the different businesses we were partnering with and find a common language that promoted both. It was also a lot of fun to come up with the puns and the jokes,” she says.
The Agency Behind the Campaign
The “Next to Stok’d” campaign was created by Angry Butterfly, a Toronto-based agency that specializes in cannabis marketing. The agency says that the campaign was a creative solution to the challenges of cannabis advertising and that it was careful to keep the story out of the ad industry press until the media finished its run to avoid any potential pushback from the platforms.
“The trickiest part was that while we thought this could work, we weren’t entirely sure until the ads went live and passed through all the different filters. We had plans B and C ready to go, just in case,” says Bernice Lo, VP, Executive Creative Director, Angry Butterfly.
Erin Kawalecki, Partner and Chief Creative Officer, Angry Butterfly, says that the campaign was a boundary-pushing and innovative way to promote Stok’d and that the agency hopes to work with the chain on more projects in the future.
“We love working with clients who are willing to take risks and try new things. Stok’d is a great example of a cannabis brand that has a POV and a personality, and we’re excited to see what we can do next with them,” she says.