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Case Study - Cannabis Brands Targeting Women
After conducting an in-depth search, we were not able to determine the cannabis brands or companies that are successfully targeting women. However, we established that 48% of women in the United States are more likely to engage in cannabis, and 39% of new cannabis users are women. Nine states in the United States have legalized marijuana for recreational purposes.
Methodology
First, we began searching through case study publications on cannabis brands targeting women. We looked through credible sites like the Hubspot Case study directory, McKinsey, NCBI, and Cannabis Med with the intention of finding case studies about cannabis. However, this yielded no helpful results. Most of the information found was about the legalization of cannabis and the online directory of cannabis. We then expanded the search to cover the whole cannabis marketing. This again yielded no helpful result as no case study about cannabis brands was found.
We extended our search and looked for any advertising, marketing or campaign conducted by cannabis brands or companies specific to women as well as showing the result of the advertising, marketing, & campaign conducted. We searched through Forbes, Crowd Spring, Wick and Mortar, The Guardian, High Times, and Thearcane. This research did not yield any helpful results. Most of the information found was on campaigns conducted by cannabis directory listing companies, cannabis advertising agency, cannabis branding, and content company. Nothing specific to the cannabis brand itself. We gathered helpful information including the restriction provided by the tech companies such as Google, Facebook, and some federal restriction in the United States as presented in the key findings. The only cannabis brand that conducted a campaign targeting women was Apothecanna, in which the company created a blog article on the benefit of cannabis during menstruation for women. But unfortunately, no success rate in terms of social media followers or sales were provided.
Given that there were none case studies, articles, reports, or blogs found from a trusted database to follow up on, we broadened our search and looked for the top Cannabis brands in the United States. From the list of top Cannabis brands such as Caviar Gold, Marley Natural, Wana Brands, and Apothecanna, we searched each of the cannabis brands marketing campaign targeting women through their company websites. Unfortunately, this research strategy did no yield helpful results as well.
The possible reason as to why the requested information can not be found on the public domain could be because of the restriction in the Cannabis industry. Facebook, Instagram, Google, and other social forums have strong policies that prevent cannabis-related material and marijuana advertising.
CANNABIS MARKET SIZE
The cannabis market was estimated to be at $7.2 billion in the year 2016. The market was projected to grow at a CAGR of 17%. This implied a decline of 28% growth rate in the year 2016. The medical market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 13% up to 2025. The market will grow from $4.7 billion in 2016 to a projected $13.3 billion in the year 2020. The adult use sales are also projected to grow at a CAGR of 25% around the same time, from $2.6 billion in 2016 to a projected $11.2 billion in 2020.
Cannabis MARKET SPECIFIC TO WOMEN
According to Havard Business Review, it is observed that women decide on a majority of purchases. This constitutes 94% of home furnishings, 51% of consumer electronics, 91% of homes, 60% of automobiles, and 92% of vacations. Around 74% of the Americans who consume cannabis are men and 26% are women. Around 48% of women are more likely to engage in cannabis. Around 39% of new cannabis users are women. This is according to white paper research released by the Green Market Report.
LEGALIZATION AND RESTRICTION OF CANNABIS INDUSTRY
A majority of traditional advertising avenues restricted cannabis advertising. This includes Google, Facebook, print, radio, and billboards. It is technically illegal to advertise marijuana at the federal level. Advertising agencies do not sell ad spaces to business in the cannabis industry. Nine states in the United States have legalized marijuana for recreational purposes. Around 30 states in the United States have legalized marijuana for medical usage. Since the product is illegal at the federal level, there are restrictions and regulations that limit the cannabis businesses from advertising on social media platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Google, Facebook, and YouTube are platforms that dominate online advertising. The companies have banned any advertising that could promote drug use. The ban applies to even the legal substances. Facebook launched a campaign in shutting down cannabis-related products. The company deleted and suspended a big number of accounts that were operated by marijuana brands. Facebook also deleted the profiles of the users running those pages. Instagram has its policy clearly stated out that providing sexual services, purchasing or selling of illegal/prescription drugs, and promotion of recreational drug use is not permitted.