In this episode of The Haze, Peter sits down with Michael Chock from Fyllo. Michael and his fellow co-founders are marketing vetrans with their fingers on the pulse of the evolving cannabis marketing landscape.

Together, they built Fyllo, a cannabis marketing platform that powers compliance at scale. The central idea of Fyllo and its technology, which they coined “Cannabrain” used AI to structure, analyze and activate the richest source of customer and cannabis data on the market.

Their technology ensures compliance, understanding and execution through numerous digital marketing platforms. In the podcast, Michael talks about the challenges of stigma and hesitations surrounding the association with cannabis companies, as well as how marketing cannabis in the United States differs from marketing in Canada. If you want more information about Fyllo, feel free to reach out to the team by checking out their website at www.hellofyllo.com.

On this episode of The Haze podcast, Peter sits down with Connor Young, the Director of Marketing with Sundial Growers. Connor says that he feels like he’s “seen it all” in the 15 months since he’s been with the company. Connor brings years of experience in the corporate marketing world and says that in general, the cannabis industry is like other regulated industries, but with a different set of challenges since the industry is still so new.

At Sundial Growers, they have been able to reach their target audiences in Alberta, B.C, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario through their current marketing plan but are looking to expand efforts to a national level, while also focusing in on specific event opportunities in their existing provincial markets.

Connor says that yes, we are very limited by the Cannabis Act and provincial boards, but having said that, there is still a lot of opportunity out there. These regulations force you to be creative and think outside the box and that’s what he credits to being successful within the cannabis industry.

The bottom line that Connor gives, is that you need to have an open mind, be flexible, and be ready to pivot at any moment. Every day is going to different and you need to prove yourself!

Want to learn more about Sundial Growers? Check out their website at https://www.sundialcannabis.com/ and while you are there, be sure to sign up for their email newsletters. You can also find Sundial on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn. Connor is happy to have a conversation with anyone who has more questions about marketing in the cannabis space and says its easiest to reach out to him on LinkedIn.

In this episode of The Haze, Peter sits down with Tanner Stewart, serial entrepreneur and CEO of Stewart Farms, an LP applicant building an organic indoor vertical aquaponics cannabis production facility. At Stewart farms they use aquaponic farming to grow cannabis naturally with fish and plants working together to create quality product. An impassioned believer that the quality of our agriculture will dictate the quality of our nutrition and natural medicines, Stewart has long been an advocate for, and entrepreneur in Canadian’s vertical farming and aquaponics industry.

A significant part of Tanner’s advocacy work over the last 4 years has been his role as executive producer of the documentary film “The Need To Grow”. Narrated by Rosario Dawson (Marvel’s The Defenders), “The Need To Grow” delivers an epic story of solutions and the incredible challenges faced by those implementing change. The film forces viewers to think differently about the food they eat and the system from which their food comes. The documentary is about enlightening consumers to the resilience and brilliance of those fighting to change the global food system.
From October 10th – 15th “The Need To Grow” is being shared with the world for free. Stewart explained that the rare opportunity to change the conversation around the global food system is so important that, “We are sharing this movie for free with the entire world because it is not about profits – it’s about feeding the world and protecting our future,” said Stewart. “This is a story about passion, resilience, courage and what it means to never let the fear of failure get in your way.”

For more information about Stewart farms visit their website: www.stewartfarms.life

For more information about “The Need To Grow” and to register to watch the film for free Oct 10-15th visit: www.TheNeedToGROW.com

Link to trailer on youtube: https://youtu.be/0pBYu4U525Y

In this episode of The Haze, Peter sits down with Andrew Udell to talk about how The Cannalysts used Reddit to build an audience and their evolution to a multi channel marketing approach to share their work.

The company of three was started to provide independent financial analysis and commentary in the cannabis sector and grew to a subscriber-based website, YouTube channel, highly active Twitter presence, and a podcast on iTunes.

Listen as Andrew discusses the company’s unique approach to reaching their target audience, while navigating the world of new media. Using their personal brands and platforms, they are learning as they go, and they believe the key to succeeding is being themselves – authenticity and in-depth analysis is the formula they are working with and it is getting results!

Want to learn more? Check out The Catalyst’s website at https://thecannalysts.blog and follow them on social media at @thecannalysts or catch Andrew on his personal account @mollytime777.

Also be sure to tune into their YouTube channel by searching The Cannalysts, for highlight videos of their recent Edmonton conference!

In this episode of The Haze, Peter sits down with Nicholas Jones, Corporate Shaman and Brand Strategist with the agency Brand Is Truth, which has been working closely with Licensed Producer Boaz Pharmaceuticals on the creation of their corporate brand.

Listen as Nicholas explains the brand strategy behind Boaz Pharmaceuticals and the need for meticulous care and attention to be brought into a brand’s creation to ensure the brand’s elements are consistent with the company’s fundamental values. With a unique and holistic approach, Nicholas shares how he only works with brands that have “the insides to match the outsides”. Meaning that they are committed to being authentic, genuine, honest, and truthful to who they are as a client.

If you are working on your cannabis brand or want to gain a deep understanding into what should go into a brand development project, you won’t want to miss this episode – Peter and Nicholas go deep into the topic of “brand” using Boaz as a case study.

To find out more about Brand Is Truth, visit their website at www.brandistruth.com or follow them on social media @brandistruth.

In this episode of The Haze Podcast, Peter talks to Jessica Moran, Director of Marketing and Communications at Strainprint Technologies Inc. With 17 years of experience in marketing and public relations, Jessica ran her own consultancy prior to coming on board with Strainprint.

Peter and Jessica talk in depth about public relations as a key avenue for cannabis companies to tell their story and build an audience. They also dive deeply into Jessica’s experience as a cannabis industry professional with respect to social media platforms, the importance of authenticity, corporate versus personal brand development and much more.

Strainprint launched as an app – “the fit bit for weed” as Jessica describes it, for cannabis users to track their cannabis use for medical purposes. Now they are the leading source of medical cannabis data in North America, with over 1.2 million tracked cannabis patient outcomes and over 65 million data points.

You can download the Strain Print app for free in the Google Play store or from the Apple store by simply typing Strain Print into the search.

Looking for more information on Strain Print as a whole? You can find everything at www.strainprint.ca or follow them on social media at @strainprint.

If you like this podcast, please like, comment and share – it really helps us a lot and we appreciate it!

In this episode of The Haze, Peter sits down with Stephanie Ostrander, the founder of Cannabiz Social and now account manager of Keystone Labs. Stephanie found herself in the cannabis industry after craving some change from her previous roles and started the Women Grow Chapter along side Alison McMahon after realizing the lack of networking opportunities.

Stephanie is a tireless connector and networker, and this is something she credits her success in the industry to. She has been active in supporting industry networking in Alberta and western Canada and she has supported those activities through active online engagement.

In this episode, we talk to Stephanie about her approach to personal and corporate brand building through networking events and social media and we get some practical tips on how to become well known in the industry.

Stephanie shares her drive to connect those in the industry. By utilizing her network, she is building a sense of community that she thinks is an integral part of the cannabis industry in attempts to help everyone involved grow.

Keystone Labs is always happy to answer any questions and provide education to those wanting to learn more. Check out their website at www.keystonelabs.ca

If you are wanting to connect with Stephanie directly, she will gladly answer any questions via text message at 780-224-2095 or follow her on social media @stephostrander.

Like this podcast and want to hear more? Be sure to comment, subscribe and share. Find out more about Cannabiz Social at www.cannabizsocial.com.

In this episode of The Haze, Peter sits down with Chris McGrath, Business Development Manager at Atlas Growers. Chris has been working in the cannabis industry since October 2017, initially working for one of Atlas’s joint venture partners. Now located in Edmonton, Chris has grown with the company, doing everything from web development to communications to trade show planning and much more.

Chris understands the challenge of marketing in a restrictive industry and says, “you have to get inventive with your marketing strategies”. Atlas has been focusing its marketing on science backed information in order to educate their target audience – that is until they have products to offer!

In the podcast Chris highlights the importance of cannabis production infrastructure and what that means in terms of quality, human capital and having a meaningful story to tell.

You can connect with Chris McGrath by following him on Instagram and Twitter @myrceneman and following Atlas Growers @atlasgrowers or their website atlasgrowers.com

Like this podcast and want to hear more? Be sure to comment, subscribe and check out our website at www.cannabizsocial.com.

In this episode of The Haze, Peter speaks to Ryan Roch from Lake City Cannabis, a retailer with a store in Chestermere, Alberta. His previous experiences with medical and recreational cannabis sparked his interest in the industry and he decided to open Lake City Cannabis, located on the shore of Chestermere lake. With a successful career in telecommunications under his belt, Ryan felt this was a natural next step for him.

Ryan believes in the importance of brand building and using social media marketing to make an impact. He wants his clients and audience to connect with his brand saying “personally, I like to use a lot of myself inside of it, my personality and my context to the brand itself so that it feels welcoming, it feels open, and it feels accessible”. Ryan is focused on brand simplicity and doesn’t want his clients to feel the negative stigma around the plant.

You can connect with Ryan Roch by following him at @lakecitycanna on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter or by checking out Lake City Cannabis’ website - www.lakecitycannabis.ca.

Like this podcast and want to hear more? Be sure to comment, subscribe and check out our website at www.cannabizsocial.com.

The cannabis marketing environment is restrictive and challenging. Welcome to The Haze where we clear the smoke around cannabis marketing. Every two weeks, Cannabiz Social President, Peter Pilarski speaks to industry professionals and entrepreneurs about marketing and communications strategies. The Haze uncovers best practices, winning strategies and favourite tactics for building successful and enduring cannabis brands. If you work in the industry, run a cannabis company or have any role in building a cannabis brand, this podcast is for you.