Pot Brand Old Pal Taps Into 'Grow Your Own' Houseplant Trend

Old Pal, a budget-priced brand with a proudly working-class ethos, wants to democratize the process of cannabis cultivation with a “grow your own” promotion for 4/20. The brand will be selling three semi-mature plants—the citrusy-sweet Hifi Lemon strain—in fully fertilized 2-gallon containers at select dispensaries in Southern California. Each plant, which will produce weed in the relatively modest 15% to 22% THC content range, comes with a Hifi Lemon pre-roll so gardeners can sneak peek their crop. Though the promotion launches for the April 20 holiday, considered the most revered date on the calendar for weed fans and retailers, it will continue into May as Old Pal capitalizes on the home-gardening trend. “We were seeing a resurgence in consumers tending to and growing more houseplants during Covid as a way to bring nature into their own settings,” Annabel Worrall, Old Pal's director of digital marketing, told Adweek. “Cannabis is an agricultural product like any other.” Brand building on the highest holiday In kicking off its 4/20 marketing, Old Pal joins a number of brands in trying to grab cannafans' attention and break into the mainstream during a pivotal period. Weedmaps, Wana and others are planning original content, event sponsorships and charitable donations as part of their efforts. It's becoming a jam-packed space, with cannatech firm Fyllo estimating that ad spending this April will nearly triple over April 2021. While much of the paid marketing will come from large multi-state operators, stand-alone brands will contribute their fair share, according to a Fyllo report, "indicating that cannabis companies see brand equity as a key to winning in an increasingly competitive market." Listening to your weed Old Pal's "Grow Your Own" program, which had a small test run in 2021, brings back partner Ladybug Farms this year and layers in a musical element, aiming to dovetail into the sonic branding movement and the interest in plant sounds. Old Pal collaborator PlantWave captured sounds from fully-grown Hifi Lemon plants and turned them into musical tracks, compiled in a “Pot Sounds” playlist. Aside from producing some trippy, meditative songs, the PlantWave deal highlights Old Pal’s own musical aesthetic—a number of employees are musicians, and its social media soundtrack is painstakingly curated, Worrall said. “Since it’s part of our DNA, we wanted to bring that to our community,” she said, noting that a QR code will lead buyers to the playlist. “And we’re showing that technology can enhance our relationship with nature, rather than hinder it.” Creating a 'stoner symphony' As part of the “Grow Your Own” campaign, Old Pal created a long-form video for its dedicated website to show buyers how to care for their plants, which prefer “stress-free environments” and lots of sun for a harvest in less than six weeks. (The tips and hacks work for any home cultivator.) The brand also produced a behind-the-scenes short film with PlantWave founder Joe Patitucci that shows how he gathered his data—by attaching electrodes to the plants to measure electrical variations—and interpreted it through musical instruments for a unique “stoner symphony.” Old Pal, which now sells in seven U.S. states, is surrounding “Grow Your Own” with marketing tactics like influencer content and emails to fans, programmatic and display ads, digital and social media.

Cannabis

Cannabis Brand Old Pal Taps Into Houseplant Trend for 'Grow Your Own' 4/20 Stunt

A related playlist captures a 'stoner symphony' from mature pot plants

T.L. Stanley

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T.L. Stanley