How Legal Seafoods Jumped the Shark on Legalization
How will iconic brands adjust to the new legal cannabis world?
When discussing branding and marketing in the cannabis space it is usually centered around startups and CBD as that makes up 90% of this nascent industry. Subtract out a few Canadian wooly mammoths and a few publicly traded giants in the US, the industry is largely startups and entrepreneurs with big dreams looking for funding and financing. For a small brand to pivot or change its message is not a big deal, sometimes it is just creating a new logo, creating a new Instagram story, or just doing a flash mob sale or meetup. But what if you are a major brand, an iconic brand, that must be aware that, although we are moving toward a legalized cannabis country, we are not there yet. For every poll that says 75% of Americans favor marijuana legalization, it also says 25% of them DO NOT favor cannabis legalization.
If you are a big brand with a long history, that is just one fact to think about as you try and capitalize on the CBD and hemp movement, let alone the marijuana legalization movement. Can you afford to lose 25% of your customers who may not like the idea of legal cannabis? What are the political ramifications if you are a mega-international firm like Nike or Microsoft and you decide to come out in favor of marijuana legalization, or you decide to work the current legalization subject into your marketing? Can you afford to run on the wrong side of conservative politicians who may represent your district or state? What about international ramifications for your business? Just because there is a marijuana legalization fever here in the States, your marketing message may not translate well to your Asian country clients or Middle East business interests.
Pro Cannabis Media and Cannabis.net got to sit down with Roger Berkowitz, founder and CEO of Legal Seafoods, to ask him all these questions and more! Legal Seafoods ran a very successful marketing campaign around the Massachusetts recreational marijuana movement and Roger is a big proponent of CBD, hemp plastics, and how big brands need to be aware of what is on their customers’ minds.
The campaign, “We’ve been legal for a long time” was a great example of how brands can tastefully play with the legalization movement without alienating their conservative or anti-pot customers. As discussed in the interview, how come he didn’t just go with some tuna taking a bong hit?
Watch the full interview on YouTube below and leave a comment on if you think Legal did a good job in adjusting to cannabis legalization and if you think other iconic brands can do the same pivot and win both sides of the discussion.
One great part of the interview is how consumers have responded to his funny commercials and how they monitored ROI from those video showing times.
Large and small brands will be adjusting their marketing to consumers' taste in the future, and if cannabis legalization is a wild hit, brands will need to be cognizant and aware of this excitement as they build out marketing plans.
What could be next in New England?
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