With Legalization in New Jersey, Will Cannabis Billboards Be a Thing?

On November 3rd, 2020, New Jersey voters authorized the legalization of recreational marijuana to customers 21 and over.¹ Since then, we’ve seen news around the decimalization of weed, logistics of weed legalization, the Cannabis Regulatory Commission, and more (which you can keep up to date with in our cannabis news blog). But with all these bills and laws being drafted, there hasn’t much talk about cannabis billboards and other advertising in New Jersey.

Scott Rudder, president of the New Jersey Cannabusiness Association, said back in 2019 that “It’s common sense to have restrictions now,” as the legalization of recreational cannabis began to ramp up hype for the 2020 election.² By this, he meant the expectation that the marijuana industry should (and most likely will) follow other 21+ restrictions similar to tobacco, alcohol, and gambling.

What Can the Cannabis Industry Learn from Big Tobacco?

If there is anything the cannabis industry needs to do when it comes to advertising, it’s avoid Big Tobacco’s “Joe Camel” mistake. As cannabis already faces such a strong negative perception, companies need to be careful how they choose to advertise their products and services. This means avoiding ads that show over-consumption as well as using cartoons or characters that appeal to younger audiences. Advocates have struggled for years to legalize cannabis, so they have an additional motivation to remain responsible, respectful, and to play by the rules.

What Can Be Expected from Cannabis Billboards?

Cannabis billboards are already a thing in New Jersey. From medical dispensaries, delivery services, and accessory brands, drivers are already seeing these advertisements across state highways. So, it is possible to advertise cannabis via billboards, but of course within rules and regulations. While there may not be clear laws from New Jersey just yet, billboard companies have their own set of rules. For example:

• No QR, text codes, or anything of the like that would encourage distracted driving
• No nudity, profanity, graphic violence, hate speech, or personal attacks
• No negative or potentially controversial ads

Of course, each billboard company has the right to approve or reject an advertisement. To increase your chances of having your cannabis billboard design approved, stick to a simple and clean message with minimal product imagery.

Where Can I Design a Cannabis Billboard?

If you’re struggling to get your cannabis billboard approved, or don’t even know where to start, you’ve landed on the right page. Herban Creative is a cannabis marketing agency—and one of our specialties is branding & design. We can create a brand from scratch, revamp your current branding, or work with your logo and colors to create a cannabis billboard.

To get started, contact a team member online.

How Weed Legalization in NJ Advocates for Social Change

Over the past several years, researchers have been studying the various changes that have taken place in states with legalized marijuana. Amongst these changes have come significant shifts in social issues. As New Jersey has become one of the most recent states to legalize recreational cannabis, we can now speculate what social changes may occur.

Let’s look at the positive social changes that we can expect from weed legalization in NJ.

The Social Benefits of Weed Legalization

Shift in Public Perception

As more and more states move to legalize recreational use of marijuana, the public’s negative perception has begun to change. According to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in 2010, 52%³ of Americans were opposed to the legalization of marijuana on a federal level. A decade later, that number has decreased to only 32% – highlighting the shift in public opinion since the ongoing increase of recreational use decriminalization and legalization within states.

Helps to Alleviate Crime & Racial Injustice Issues

Marijuana has played a significant role in the mass incarnation of hundreds of thousands of Americans, the majority of whom are Black or Latinx. The criminalization of marijuana has severely impacted these communities and has caused major social injustice issues. But as more and more states move towards the legalization and decriminalization of marijuana, the tide is beginning to turn, and the War on Drugs will hopefully decrease in severity and end decades of unjust arrests of these minority groups.

Increase in Public Health

States that have legalized marijuana have seen a significant decrease in opioid-related deaths and overdoses. According to a 2021 study⁴, researchers found that counties in legal states had lower rates of opioid-related deaths. Through their research, they found that there was a 17% drop in opioid deaths in counties with more legal dispensaries.

What This Means

Although much more data will need to be recorded to fully support these claims, so far, the data that researchers have been conducting is beginning to show a pattern of positive social change in areas of legal marijuana use. From this, it can be assumed that as more states make the change towards legalization, the more positive social effects will come.

Stay Up to Date with Herban Creative

Whether you’re in the marijuana industry or just keeping up to date, Herban Creative is here with the latest happenings in New Jersey regarding marijuana legalization.

Native Advertising Tactics in the Cannabis Industry

Until marijuana is legalized at the federal level, cannabis and marijuana-based brands will continue to struggle with advertising restrictions that are set in place. Despite this, there are several ways to strategically market your cannabis brand, such as native advertising, to fit the cannabis industry’s regulations.

What is Native Advertising?

In simple terms, native advertising is paid content. This includes blogs, infographics, videos, etc., that can be promoted on different platforms. But let’s be honest, no one loves having obnoxious ads pop up on their browser consistently. That’s why native advertisements are carefully created to mimic traditional content that is placed on a site to make it challenging to distinguish ads from existing content. With native ads, customers are less likely to opt-out, paying more attention to what’s being promoted.

What Form of Native Advertising is Best for Your Cannabis Brand?

Paid Social Ads

While paid in-feed social posts are a favorite form of native advertising, CBD and cannabis brands must be wary when implementing paid social media ads. Due to critical platforms such as Facebook and Instagram’s highly regulated advertising rules, many cannabis brands cannot advertise without removing all images, pricing, copy, etc., related to cannabis. As a result, this may not be the ideal choice of native advertising for most cannabis-related brands.

Content Recommended Ads

These types of ads are typically found on the side or bottom of a piece of content, usually a blog post. These ads are tabs that link to other pieces of content and are most commonly used to promote press coverage, news stories, blog updates, and more.

Paid Search Ads

Paid search ads are also considered a form of native advertising. These paid ads show up on Google’s search engine results page (SERPs) and mimic the appearance of organic rankings. While Google does regulate cannabis content on their platforms, they accept hemp-related keywords in search advertising. Therefore, many cannabis brands that utilize this approach typically swap cannabis/marijuana to hemp in order to advertise on the platform.

Why You Should Implement Native Advertising into Your Marketing Strategy

Native ads are a significant driver of engagement. They garner 53%⁵ more views than display advertising and create an 18% increase in purchase intent. If this doesn’t have you convinced, cannabis brands can benefit even more from native advertising due to its potential of reducing stigma and preconceived feelings towards the cannabis industry. When cannabis ads are placed on high-quality sites and surrounded by non-cannabis-related ads, users feel more comfortable interacting with them because it lowers the historical stigma of cannabis products by associating it with other high-quality products and sites.

How Herban Creative Can Help

While the regulation of cannabis and CBD remains a consistent issue for marketers, native advertising offers unique benefits and capabilities that can still drive engagement to your brand’s site. If you’re looking to implement native advertising into your cannabis brand’s marketing strategy, don’t hesitate to reach out to Herban Creative. Our expert team can help market your brand strategically to fit the cannabis industry’s restrictions. Contact Herban Creative today.

Millennials and Distillery Marketing

Distilleries, breweries, wineries, and the like typically have an audience that transcends generations. After all, who doesn’t like to enjoy a well-crafted drink in a comforting space? So, why should the adult beverage industry focus more on millennials?

Millennials are actually the largest living generation and the largest alcohol-consuming segment in the U.S. They also respond differently to marketing than boomers, meaning there’s more work to do than simply lowering the age range of your Facebook ads.

Millennials value an experience more than a product. Your distillery could have the best-made brew in the area, but if your location is lacking a certain allure, chances are you’re not reaching most millennials. Here’s how you can up the game of your distillery marketing.

Create a Brand That Resonates

If a millennial is going to spend their money on something, you can bet it’s from a brand that they relate to or enjoy more than just the product. This is where creating a brand is different than just creating a business. Your branding goes beyond your logo, colors, and fonts—although they’re important too! It should also hold a consistent feel, voice, tone, message, and overall look.

Encourage Two-Way Communication

To be relatable to millennials, encourage two-way communication. Especially on social media, be sure to like and respond to comments. Also, if a customer ever tags your distillery in a post or story, always repost it! This creates a fun way to communicate with your customers, gives a human touch to your brand, and provides an incentive for users to interact with your account.

Be Consistent

Being consistent is KEY to gaining the trust of millennials. For example, if one of your social media accounts is active but the other hasn’t been updated in months or years, this inconsistency can raise a red flag to a millennial. Another major player in trust for millennials is your website; does it provide accurate information and have a modern look? Having a user-friendly site could be the determining factor if a millennial chooses to visit your distillery.

Beyond your digital footprint, your physical location should be branded as well. We’re talking about employee uniforms, napkins, shot glasses, murals, and more.

Work with Herban Creative

We know, distillery marketing sounds like quite the undertaking. That’s why we make it as easy as possible for our clients at Herban Creative to launch a brand, website, and digital campaign. We’ll take care of the details so you can stick to distilling fine liquors. Get in touch with our team today!

How Programmatic Display Advertising Can Be Beneficial to Your Cannabis Brand

According to Search Engine Land⁶, programmatic display advertising uses automated technologies to buy, place, and optimize display advertising inventory. In simple terms, programmatic display advertising uses artificially intelligent software to buy digital advertisements automatically.

What are the Benefits of Programmatic Display Advertising?

Boosts Brand Awareness

Programmatic advertising provides marketers with the opportunity to expand their reach. This is due to programmatic advertising’s ability to reach ad exchanges⁷, ad inventory, and marketplaces across the internet. As a result, this allows your brand to reach much wider audiences.

Extreme Efficiency

Unlike some traditional forms of marketing campaigns, programmatic advertising provides marketers with real-time reporting – directly after launch. With programmatic advertising, you won’t need to wait until the end of your marketing campaign to receive reporting metrics.

Precise Targeting

Programmatic advertising will help create a seamless targeting experience for marketers. With the correct data, programmatic advertising will work to put your ads in front of the right people at the right time.

Why Programmatic Display Advertising is Valuable to Your Cannabis Brand

Programmatic platforms are extremely valuable to your cannabis brand’s marketing strategy. Due to governmental restrictions placed on cannabis advertising, programmatic advertising can offer an alternative to Facebook and Google ads. Although these platforms account for a significant percentage of US digital ads, programmatic advertising can open your brand to massive amounts of ad inventory.

Different programmatic platforms offer unique benefits and capabilities that depend on your cannabis brand. If you’re looking to implement programmatic display advertising into your cannabis brand’s marketing strategy, don’t hesitate to reach out to Herban Creative. Our expert team can help market your brand strategically to fit the cannabis industry’s restrictions. Contact Herban Creative today!

Update as of March 24, 2021

On March 24, 2021, Governor Murphy announced a staffer in U.S. Sen. Cory Booker’s office, Charles Barker, would complete the five-member Cannabis Regulatory Commission. This announcement comes after Murphy’s office received flak from the NAACP for his initial makeup.

NJ’s Cannabis Regulatory Commission Receives Criticism from NAACP

NJ’s Cannabis Regulatory Commission is under fire following Governor Murphy announcement of his five appointees to the Cannabis Regulatory Commission⁸. This commission will be responsible for the regulation job of the state’s newly legal marijuana industry and the licensing distribution to new dispensaries and growers. Despite this significant step towards establishing a legal recreational-use cannabis marketplace, there has been much criticism surrounding Murphy’s appointees.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is among many that are criticizing Murphy’s commission selection for failing to include a Black man or someone that is a racial justice advocate. Despite the commission including Dianna Houenou⁹, a Black woman and former worker for the ACLU¹⁰, a group that fights racial injustice, there are no Black men nor a representative that the NAACP deems an acceptable candidate.

Why is the NAACP Pushing Back?

Despite Houenou’s work history, the NAACP would like to see a Black man appointed due to Black men being disproportionately arrested for marijuana offenses for decades in the state’s history. Legal marijuana sales in NJ will not commence until the commission establishes rules and regulations, distribution guides to licensing, tax revenue allocation, and several new additions to the new marijuana industry. As a result, these five appointees will hold much power concerning this new industry, making the need for an NAACP-approved panel even more critical.

What Happens Next?

According to NJ.com¹¹, Murphy’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the letter from the NAACP. According to an anonymous source, Murphy believed that Houenou met the criteria needed due to her previous work with the ACLU.

However, a spokesperson for Murphy said the commission seating has not been finalized, hinting that there may be a change in the appointee. Following the NAACP and Black advocates’ pressure, Murphy is likely to change an appointee to New Jersey’s Cannabis Regulatory Commission.

Stay Up to Date with NJ Cannabis News

Stay up to date on the latest happenings in NJ regarding legalization with Herban Creative.

Reasons a New Web Design is Worth It for Your Cannabis Business Plan

For many industries, a website is the first impression of your brand—and the cannabis sector is no different. Having an effective cannabis web design will ensure your user experience is a great one. Here are five reasons your cannabis business plan should include a new web design:

3 Weed Legalization Bills Will Launch a Marijuana Industry in NJ

When Governor Phil Murphy came into office in 2018, one of his biggest goals was to legalize the recreational use of marijuana for New Jersey’s 21+ residents. After three years of failed legislative attempts, Murphy has officially signed three bills that together will launch a marijuana industry in New Jersey.

The route to legalization was put on hold in January 2021, just months after New Jersey voters voted to legalize marijuana during the 2020 election. Murphy had refused to sign both the legalization and decriminalization bills until lawmakers created a new bill detailing the penalties for those under 21 caught with possession of marijuana.

On Monday, February 22, Murphy signed the bills after the Senate and Assembly voted to pass a third bill that clearly outlines the penalties for being caught with marijuana under the state’s legal age limit—making marijuana officially legal in New Jersey.

What Happens Next?

The signing of these three bills will launch a new marijuana industry in New Jersey but sales of marijuana are realistically not going to take place until the end of 2021. Existing medical dispensaries and new recreational ones will need licenses to meet public demand, which could take months.

Currently, New Jersey has 13 medical marijuana dispensaries and is looking to open more throughout the upcoming months. Unfortunately, New Jersey’s marijuana supply has struggled to keep up with the state’s 100,000 registered patients and must prioritize their needs before they can begin selling to the public.

Murphy announced his appointment of Dianna Houenou as Chair and Jeff Brown as Executive Director of the Cannabis Regulatory Commission¹² on November 6, 2020. However, the entirety of the Cannabis Regulatory Commission needs seating for the marijuana industry to be effectively overseen.

Despite these purchasing delays, New Jersey residents will not have to wait until they can purchase marijuana for possession arrests to stop. The decriminalization law¹³ will allow people to possess up to six ounces of marijuana, stop police from approaching young people if they smell marijuana, and will enable police to give out warnings to people under 21 with marijuana. Additionally, if police break this law, they will be charged with deprivation of civil rights.

Stay Up to Date with NJ Marijuana Marketing News

The signing of these three bills puts an end to the long and chaotic process of legalizing marijuana in New Jersey. It also opens marketing possibilities for recreational use. Current and new dispensaries will need to better advertise their services, products, and policies.

Stay up to date on the latest happenings in NJ regarding legalization with Herban Creative.

How CBD Oil Can Help Manage Your Migraines

For thousands of years, hemp and cannabis were used as medicine for illnesses and chronic pain.¹⁴ Therefore, it’s no surprise that people are beginning to widely accept the pain-relieving benefits that come from taking CBD. Before getting into the benefits of CBD oil and migraines, let’s review what CBD is and its common effects.

What is CBD?

According to the US National Library of Medicine, Cannabidiol (CBD) is a chemical compound found within the Cannabis Sativa plant.¹⁵ Unlike tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), another chemical compound found in cannabis, CBD is not psychoactive.¹⁶

What Are the Effects of CBD?

Considering that CBD is in the plant’s non-psychoactive component, consuming CDB products will not result in feeling euphoric or altered in any way. Despite this, there are still many benefits to using CBD. Although research is limited, there are reports of CBD alleviating chronic pain, anxiety, depression, and migraines.¹⁷

Can CBD Help Relieve Migraines?

Migraine attacks are one of the most intense forms of headaches. Symptoms can include sensitivity to light, noise, movement, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, lightheadedness, or malaise.¹⁸ Several over the counter pain medications can temporarily alleviate these symptoms but may cause additional side effects. This is where the appeal of using CBD comes into play.

Research of CBD and Migraines

Currently, there are no official published studies that focus on the effects that CBD has on migraines. This is partly due to restrictions placed upon CBD and cannabis regulations. However, there are some lavatory studies¹⁹ that show that CBD can help with chronic pain, including migraines.

How to Use CBD to Help with Migraines

Although CBD and cannabis products are still widely understudied due to legal restrictions, CBD can still be tried as a natural pain reliever.²⁰

CBD oil can be applied topically, ingested, or vaped. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) states that the inhalation process delivers the compounds to your bloodstream much quicker than other methods.²¹ As a result, in an extreme migraine attack, inhalation may bring the quickest relief.

Need help navigating the regulations of CBD marketing? For assistance with branding, web design, and integrated digital marketing, contact our team at Herban Creative today to learn more.