6 Reasons Why You Need to Invest in Good Branding.
By Melanie Formica, owner of cannabis agency Osobnost
By Melanie Formica, owner of cannabis agency Osobnost
For many cannabis businesses, branding can be an expense easily overlooked. With the recreational boom just now taking off across the United States, many feel like their product will sell itself. In a way, they might be right, but what happens when the market becomes saturated, and you're just another dispensary, grower, or supplier in the sea of new cannabis businesses? A great example would be the already developed cannabis industry in California or even Canada.
How do you become a recognizable dispensary, for example, when you have massive businesses already setting up shops in multiple locations with loyal customers? The key: distinct, consistent, and unique visual identity and brand strategy. Here are six reasons why you should invest in branding.
This may seem like no big deal, but having consistent logos, colors, illustrations, call-to-action messages (CTA), and business values across all platforms will set you up for success. In fact, this reason alone is the foundation for all of the reasons next on the list. Having a consistent brand identity will create a sense of familiarity to your existing customers, and let new customers know you are a reputable brand that is well organized.
With a consistent brand identity, more potential customers will see your brand and recognize its messaging. For example, A striking billboard on the side of the highway will stay in a passerby’s subconscious. They then see your storefront 30 minutes later with similar colors, icons, and messaging. This places another visual marker in their head. Now, this potential customer will remember your brand, and will be more likely to give you their business!
Similar to reason one, organized branding will make your customers feel like they connect with your business more than just a traditional business-customer-relationship. With more personalized messaging to your target audience, you can gain your customers’ trust and loyalty. Existing customers will also remember your brand identity and will be more likely to keep coming back. Since you have established yourself as organized and reliable to your customers, it is easier to retain their business.
Having an organized brand gives your employees a place to be proud of. Would your employees want to wear a T-shirt with a poorly designed logo? Would they want to represent a company that has an embarrassing website, app, or instagram page? Even business ideals such as: having eco-friendly packaging, promoting organic products, actively donating profits to charities, or supporting minority or women cultivators/ businesses. All of these ideals can be woven into your brand identity. Your company stands for “x”, and we know this from your branding, which trickles down into something as simple as your logo. This simple action of publicly standing for, or promoting “x”, is something your packaging, logo, and employees will also stand for. Making this a part of your branding will give your employees a sense of pride, and will make your work culture another positive return on investment (ROI) for good branding.
With a solid visual identity and branding strategy, you show not only your customers, but also investors, that your business is professional, organized and well run. This investment in branding also increases your reputation in the industry, which will set you apart from other companies that maybe don’t consider their outward appearance to be investment worthy. This is a shame when we consider the “fake it till you make it” effect that comes along with investing in your brand identity. An eye-catching social media campaign paired with great packaging design, a professional logo, and a well designed website will all make your company seem far larger than what it might be. In another way, this will increase the visual value of your business, and can attract more customers. With more investors and more customers taking note of your business, your company will continue to grow, gain capital and increase its profits, thus making your business a valuable one!
Probably the most important reason to invest in a brand strategy for your cannabis company is to help change the culture of the cannabis industry. The culture of cannabis has evolved drastically over the years. From hippie culture in the 60’s, its relevance in Reggae music culture, to the “stoner” culture of the 90’s until now. Cannabis has always been branded to the “off” crowd. Never has cannabis been mainstream like it is today. Along with this, cannabis culture has historically pictured women as props to help glamorize the plant. Women were never seen as the cultivators or innovators of the industry. With modern branding strategy, we can set up the entire industry for success in the years to come. Opening up the industry's culture to minorities, women, and older generations through modern branding will only propel the entire industry forward, and open up opportunities in different markets and audience groups.
So, after reading these reasons to invest in your company's branding strategy, hopefully, you consider an up and coming cannabis branding agency, Osobnost. A small but mighty agency from Detroit, Michigan, Osobnost can help your cannabis business at any stage in its growth. Osobnost specializes in packaging, branding, marketing, social media content creation, and much more. Whether you are a dispensary, edible brand, CBD brand, cultivator, or any other cannabis related business, Osobnost is here to help create your unique brand and brand strategy!
Melanie Formica
CEO at Osobnost
melanie.formica@osobnost.xyz