Complete Story
04/24/2018
Why it's so hard to market marijuana
The marijuana industry is booming, but it's hard for pot growers and sellers to advertise and promote their products.
Why it matters: Most media industries don’t accept weed ads, or have rules that make it nearly impossible to place them. These challenges, combined with the changing politics around pot, are hindering marijuana marketers.
Social media companies typically don’t allow marijuana groups to purchase ads. Both Facebook and Twitter prohibit the promotion of drugs and drug paraphernalia globally.
"There's a huge problem with legal cannabis business that are basically blocked from advertising on social media," says Michael Weiss, President and Founder of Nature’s Dream, Inc., which has a mobile app to help people research different marijuana strains.
There are some digital advertising networks, like Mantis, which is aimed at people with interests like cannabis, yoga and wellness. But even those networks are limited by the publishers that accept their ads.
And getting ads accepted on radio and television can be a nightmare.
