Hawke Media Is not Waiting for Federal Cannabis Approval to Develop Strategic Marketing Options Amid Current Advertising Restrictions

The following post was written and/or published as a collaboration between Benzinga’s in-house sponsored content team and a financial partner of Benzinga.

Madison Fiore, Head of Growth at Hawke Media and a pioneer in cannabis marketing, presented at the Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference on June 3, 2021. He participated in the panel "Leveraging Tech & Services to Scale the Cannabis Retail Footprint," discussing market trends and predictions to help companies make more informed decisions about inventory, go-to-market strategies and emerging markets.

By Mark Gilman

Imagine for a moment you're the "head of growth" for a national marketing company, and you've decided to focus solely on growing an industry that's currently so regulated you can't advertise on Facebook, Google or broadcast media. That person is Madison Fiore at Hawke Media in Los Angeles, and he's developed some innovative go-to strategic marketing propositions to keep his growing roster of cannabis clients very happy.

"Hey, for the cannabis industry, it's where the internet was in 1995. There's so much that's been thrown at the wall," Fiore said. "We're in the very early stages of the potential of the cannabis industry and there's going to be massive iterations in the next 15 to 20 years."

Though cannabis revenue only represents 10% to 15% of Hawke Media's total business, the company, which markets itself as "your outsourced CMO," sees tremendous growth ahead with an industry that's on the cusp of getting a federal green light. But in the meantime, how does Hawke get around all the advertising restrictions on cannabis?

Hawke Media is using what it refers to as a top-of-funnel awareness program that doesn't include Facebook advertising but creates alternative influencer campaigns using affiliate marketing in combination with some display ad development. It has no interest, for instance, in Twitter, and Fiore admits to a lot of "trial and error." That said, he believes Hawke Media has "built a funnel that's working very well for over a dozen cannabis brands right now."

As for the near future, the advertising restrictions on cannabis may be on the verge of change. A new movement afoot in Washington, D.C., aims to get approval for cannabis advertising to make up for COVID-related media shortfalls. As an example, radio, which was especially bludgeoned by COVID, losing 24% of advertising revenue in 2020 alone, has sent a legion of lobbyists to the district to secure congressional approval for cannabis radio advertising. However, because broadcasters are federally licensed until marijuana is made legal at the federal level, they can't take cannabis advertising money.
For Fiore, the cannabis marketing challenge also is more important to him personally than just a means of developing rapid growth for Hawke Media. "There are so many ways for the industry to grow. I've seen first-hand the impact prescription drugs and alcoholism have had on families. If we can use cannabis to provide an alternative to poisonous pills, the world would be a better place," he said. "This is why I'm so passionate about this industry."

Hawke Media understands that there's a lot of competition in the cannabis marketing space but emphasizes what sets it apart in its Los Angeles and New York operations is a focus on giving its customers what they want and solving their problems.

Learn more about Hawke Media at www.hawkemedia.com.

The preceding post was written and/or published as a collaboration between Benzinga’s in-house sponsored content team and a financial partner of Benzinga. Although the piece is not and should not be construed as editorial content, the sponsored content team works to ensure that any and all information contained within is true and accurate to the best of their knowledge and research. This content is for informational purposes only and not intended to be investing advice.