The Gift of Ganja: Brand Positions Cannabis Like Top-Shelf Booze

As far as holiday traditions go, people have been giving weed to each other since long before the plant was legal across 40 U.S. states.

As likely as not, though, those particular gift exchanges have happened outside the confines of Thanksgiving dinners or white elephant parties. But in 2023, isn’t it time for this clandestine practice to leave the garage and formally join the festivities?

That’s the question asked—and answered—in a campaign from cannabis brand Vivid, whose Missouri-based parent company, Show-Me Organics, has dropped a specially designed gift box inspired by top-shelf alcohol. 

To announce the offer, the brand and agency Bandits & Friends have created a yule log-centric video and vintage-style print ads. Both lean into classic Americana—artwork is an homage to Norman Rockwell paintings and classic beer advertisements—while advancing the thoroughly modern notion that cannabis can be an out-and-proud participant in the season.

“We’re trying to elevate cannabis onto the level of a fine bottle of scotch or whiskey,” Tony Billmeyer, the company’s chief marketing officer, told Adweek. “The whole idea is to bring it out into the open, put it with the rest of the wrapped presents, and start to make it feel more acceptable. We hope it will spark conversations.”

The ad copy notes that oversized bottles of booze are routinely part of the gift mix, so why not consider “a half-ounce of Missouri’s finest medical-grade flower” in a “regal, dark wood box that screams ‘completely appropriate holiday present inside.’” 

Cheeky taglines for the full-page ads include: “What do you give the man who has it all? You give him the munchies,” and, “This year give her flowers. Dank, crunchy, terp-rich flowers.”

Consumers in Missouri can snag the limited-time product at select dispensaries when they buy four eighth-ounce jars of Vivid, with the promo intending to broaden the reach of a brand known as a cannaseur’s favorite.

The move comes as gifting has become more of a formalized trend in the cannabis industry—fourth quarter reportedly accounts for 60-70% of dispensary gift card sales—though rules vary from state to state. 

Along with potential legal hurdles, gift givers should consider the implications of buying products for newbies or others with low tolerance, according to Emily Paxhia, managing director and co-founder of investment firm Poseidon.

“Come prepared to share information as well as sharing the product itself,” Paxhia told Adweek. “That’s the best way to give cannabis.”

Green Wednesday and Danksgiving

Vivid’s campaign kicks off a crucial period for the American legal cannabis market, which is expected to reach $33.6 billion in sales by year’s end.

One of the season’s most important days is Green Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving—also known as Danksgiving—which became a weed holiday after retailers noticed that consumers were regularly stocking up on flower, tinctures, vapes and edibles before travel and family gatherings. It’s grown into the second-largest sales day annually, next to the weed extravaganza April 20, with single-day sales in 2022 topping $116 million, per Akerna.

“The industry loves Green Wednesday because it’s a huge vote of confidence—it says cannabis has a place at the table,” Paxhia said. “And it can be cross-generational, from boomers using it for health and wellness to their kids” using recreationally.

Sales on last year’s Green Wednesday increased 48% compared to a typical Wednesday in November, per Headset, with discrete categories like beverages, edibles and topicals spurring the most interest from buyers.

Retailers saw a 14% jump in average basket size, per Springbig, a martech firm that noted an overall 63% increase in sales on Green Wednesday compared to the rest of the month.

Embracing Green Wednesday’s momentum “is not just a trend, but a strategic imperative for retailers,” according to Jeff Harris, co-founder and CEO at Springbig.

The holiday “is more than a sales spike,” Harris told Adweek. “It’s an invitation to deepen your brand’s narrative and craft thoughtful campaigns that resonate with the spirit of this day and highlight the essence of cannabis culture and the value your brand brings to consumers.”

Prepping for the rush means doubling or tripling staff levels at Jars Cannabis, a dispensary chain with 35 locations across Michigan, Colorado and Arizona, according to Donovan Adam, sales director.

“We expect a real ramp-up of customers on both Green Wednesday and Black Friday, when we’re having a new giveaway with $200 worth of goodies for the first 50 people in line,” Adam told Adweek.

Race to the bottom?

Mainstream retailers run doorbusters and deep discounts as bait to get consumers to spend on other items or to make multiple trips at this time of year. Dispensaries have adopted the model, but it doesn’t translate directly to the weed world, per cannatech company Treez.

Instead, the practice can commoditize the product, “eroding brand value and encouraging consumers to simply show the lowest price. Customers stockpile products are their lowest cost and don’t necessarily continue to buy those brands or products again,” according to Elling Hofland, director of product management at Treez, who called the now-traditional severe discounts “a seemingly unending and unwinnable race to the bottom.”

Treez advises that brick-and-mortar stores exercise restraint, especially in discounting bestselling products.

A better approach is to protect premium brands while concurrently launching bang-for-the-buck value labels, as Ascend did with Simply-Herb and Verano with Savvy, according to Paxhia.

“That signals a maturing in strategy, with products at different price points, different quality levels, aiming at different consumers,” Paxhia said. “I hope to see more of that this season and going forward, rather than more BOGO deals.”