Cresco Labs Becomes First THC Brand to Advertise on Spotify

Illinois-based Cresco Labs, a multistate cannabis conglomerate, has become the first company in the industry to place advertising on Spotify. The deal—which includes programmatic buys, in-app digital banners, native and connected TV ads—potentially opens the door for other weed brands searching for mainstream marketing avenues in a tightly regulated environment. Audio streaming services represent “a major opportunity for brands to reach large audiences in a targeted manner,” according to Cory Rothschild, Cresco Labs’ national retail president. Weed in Your Feed: Twitter Expands Rules for Cannabis Ads, but Industry Reaction Is Mixed Spotify is particularly attractive given its 551 million users and 220 million subscribers. “As we try to normalize and professionalize cannabis, Spotify is a tremendous platform that has credibility with consumers plus massive reach,” Rothschild told Adweek. Through a spokesperson, Spotify pointed out that it has already accepted “cannabis-related” advertising “in a restricted capacity for several years.” Gummies, oils and topicals maker cbdMD has advertised in the top-rated The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, for instance. Since hemp and CBD products are legal across the U.S., they’re not subject to the same ad restrictions as THC-laced products or their retailers. Most publishers and platforms draw a line between the two—CBD and hemp are generally allowed, while THC is not—but Spotify puts them under the same banner. 'Wellness,' not weed Cresco Labs’ deal, which will span several months, promotes the company’s Sunnyside dispensaries, aiming to draw new and existing customers to the brick-and-mortar locations and ecommerce site. Being a first-of-its-kind media buy, the brand worked closely with Spotify on the content and imagery of the messages, always sticking points for weed advertising, per Rothschild. The audio ads stay away from common descriptors in the cannabis category, instead calling its wares 'wellness products.' The campaign, shepherded by Cresco’s creative agency Sister Merci, could identify Sunnyside as a dispensary but could not use the words “cannabis” or “flower” or other common descriptors in the category. Sunnyside’s THC-spiked flower, tinctures, edibles and other wares are called “wellness products.” The resulting 30-second audio spots are somewhat generic in their scripts, describing the retail chain as “your one-stop shop” to “enjoy fantastic deals from store-wide promotions to savings on your favorite brands,” though “med patients” and “recreational users” are name-checked. The ads specify that shoppers must be 21 or older. The months-long process to get Sunnyside ads on Spotify has been worth the effort because of the sophisticated tracking, targeting and measurement that’s built into the media buy, Rothschild said. Rejected Cannabis TV Ad Calls Attention to Opioid Crisis With Big Pharma Parody Good omen The ads come on the heels of encouraging news for the industry out of Washington, D.C., where the Department of Health and Human Services has recommended that cannabis be rescheduled from Schedule I to the less restrictive Schedule III. Though a number of governmental hurdles remain, industry watchers say the recommendation could be a boon for business even in the near term. Against that backdrop, weed companies may find more outlets willing to accept their advertising. Cresco’s buy on Spotify could be a harbinger of more such alliances to come, Rothschild said. “It reinvigorates the conversation for any publisher or platform in the role they want to play in a very large, growing industry that they aren’t currently partnering with,” Rothschild said. “We think it can help others reconsider their position.”

Cannabis

Cresco Labs Breaks Ground as First THC Brand to Advertise on Spotify

Promos for Sunnyside dispensary don't say 'cannabis' but can tout 'wellness products'

T.L. Stanley

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