David Paleschuck - Branding Bud

BRANDING BUD

THE COMMERCIALIZATION OF CANNABIS

DAVID A. PALESCHUCK

BRANDING BUD: THE COMMERCIALIZATION OF CANNABIS

Copyright 2021 David Paleschuck

Published by Quick American Publishing

A division of Quick Trading Co.

Piedmont, California

Printed in the USA

First Printing

ISBN: 9781936807512

eISBN: 9781936807529

Cover Design Concept: David Paleschuck

Cover Design Artwork: Billi Kid

Book Design: Kory Kirby

Production: Christy Quinto

Chief Editor: Andrea Larson

Photographic imagery courtesy as noted

Library of Congress Control Number: 2021930834

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without the prior written permission of the publisher. In creating this book, the author and publisher have used all reasonable efforts to credit the sources of material and information including but not limited to data, statistics, imagery, and or copy and in no way is any copyright infringement intended.

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties concerning the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for any loss of profit or other commercial damages, including, but not limited to, special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.

To Benjamin: My love; my joy; my pride.

To Stephanie: For giving me the best gift ever.

To Toby: Always loved. Never forgotten.

To Moe: I really appreciate it.

by Brian Wansolich, Co-Founder, Leafly.com & Headset.io

Reading an early manuscript of Branding Bud: The Commercialization of Cannabis instantly made me nostalgic for the heady days of 2010, when my partners and I were hard at work launching leafly.comarguably the largest cannabis website in the world.

As part of that, I learned about building a cannabis brand the hard way, which is to say completely on my own and in a vacuum. And perhaps because of this book, you wont have to endure those same hardships. Written to inform and educate, the perspective Branding Bud provides is hugely valuable for entrepreneurs, marketers, and anyone else looking to create a brand presence in the rapidly expanding cannabis industry. Even for legacy players, the insights contained within the book can serve as a new roadmap to help revitalize their brands as they forge ahead in the increasingly competitive cannabis landscape.

David and I first met at an early Marijuana Business Conference in Kissimmee, Florida. The event took place at the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center. Given the fact that Florida had harsh penalties for possession and at the time hadnt yet legalized medical marijuana, this seemed an odd state and venue to host the largest cannabis business conference in the world. Having an ounce of weed in Florida was a felony offense and could land you in jail for five years. But here we were, amongst the guns and gators talking about the newly forming cannabis industry.

The conference went ahead and thankfully brought me into contact with David. At the time, he was Dope Magazines Vice President of Licensing & Brand Partnerships. I wasnt quite sure what that meant, but I could tell by our initial conversation he came from a place of real-world knowledge and expertise. We talked quite a bit about the rapid evolution in the cannabis industry over the past few years, and the astounding explosion of new product segments and brands that have come along with it. Davids grasp of the brand landscape was complete, speaking knowledgeably about how cannabis brands could and should begin differentiating themselves within that landscape.

There, I learned that before entering the cannabis industry, David had worked at American Express, MasterCard, PepsiCo, and Microsoft in marketing and branding. His work for those behemoth companies was not lost in the opacity that typically comes with working for large organizations. Rather, he worked on some extremely visible and effective marketing programs that continue to leave a lasting impression with well-known campaigns like MasterCards Priceless and Pepsis Do The Dew. Despite his long working career for world-class brands, David remains humble and eager to soak up all the cannabis industry has to serve. He knows how to push brands to the forefront while orchestrating the behind-the-scene intricacies of brand management and stewardship.

And how, exactly, do you build a standout brand? From my own experience, I see a brand as being a subtle blend between how a company represents itself and how the public perceives that representation. Apart from being a logo and occupying a visual position in the marketplace, a brand is composed of other elements that stretch far beyond the realm of design. This includes a brands voiceits messaging, content, and social presence. Another part of that blend is customer service and user experience, which directly influence public perception. To have a successful brand, companies must keep these elements in balance.

While branding in the cannabis industry rests on these fundamentals, it is also unique in that the cannabis industry is still evolving. Opportunities like this only come along once in a lifetime, and it behooves us to take advantage of this opportune adventure. Our industry is working through what it wants to be, and as business owners, employees, consumers, and patients, we all play an active role in how that manifests.

While many are here for monetary gain above all else, there are just as many who see cannabis as a panacea, something that can heal the damage of the drug war, provide valuable medicine to patients and generate prosperity in the process. The industry could potentially set itself up in such a way that it incents businesses to build more sustainable models of success, supplanting our current obsession with (unsustainable) monetary growth. This simple plant can do a lot, but to do so, our industry must get its message across, and get it across in a way that engages a broader segment of the population.

Branding Bud covers many relevant topics but one that struck me most is the chapter on brand identity and developing cannabis brands. In 2010, when we were developing leafly.com, canna-branding and marketing were firmly rooted in stoner culture. This was fine at the time, as only hardcore cannabis enthusiasts and lovers of weed sought out the stereotypical, counterculture imagery. To be a successful brand at that time, one needed only to cater to this one segment of consumers. Pot leaves, tie-dye, overuse of words like weed, 420, and Mary-Jane, not to mention objectifying images of bikini-clad babes. What I found most interesting about this chapter is it looks beyond the typical stoner stereotypes and offers insight into how entrepreneurs can make their brand appealing to the new cannabis customer.