What advice do you have for sellers that are pitching to the cannabis vertical?

 

Alyssa Hamm:

Dig deep! Start by determining the client’s goal for the campaign and then work to find both endemic sites as well as larger reach sites to find the right audiences to target. Many are surprised to find that cannabis brands are targeting demographics far and beyond the “typical stoner.”

Will Bolles:

The best advice I could give a seller when pitching to cannabis marketers would be to focus on a well-rounded media plan with a good mix of tactics and targeting. It can be easy to focus on just pitching the cannabis contextual keywords, but with the consumer landscape shifting it is important to keep your targeting broad and allow your buyer to utilize the Basis DSP optimization tools to drill in on target audiences that perform well towards the KPI.

Carson Bodnarek:

Do your homework! Sellers that spend a little extra time understanding their state’s legislation in this vertical can demonstrate that they know more than the average joe about the cannabis industry—and in turn can both fast-track their way into a landing a meeting and make a good impression with a prospective client.

Justin Amundson:

Be confident! A lot of money is spent in cannabis marketing and the options for who will accept it are limited. As a seller, I always loved when I could go after a vertical that others didn’t accept or would be afraid to target. Basis accepts it and gets great results for it!

Jaimie Hefelfinger:

When pitching the cannabis vertical, it’s important to remember that things have been constantly in flux for these advertisers. A format or tactic that might not have been available last year may have scale this year. Also, don’t let your assumptions get in the way of who they are trying to target. Cannabis & CBD are much broader markets than they were in the past. Treat this like a typical needs assessment and dig into who they are trying to reach and where they want to reach them.