Curaleaf
Curaleaf is the world’s largest cannabis company, and it’s making its mark in the wellness space. As a senior copywriter with ACD-level responsibilities, I was part of it’s massive growth over for almost four years. Our team was an all-purpose internal design studio that did everything from create 360 brand campaigns to day-to-day marketing materials including CRM emails, social media, banner ads, print, web, in-store, and out-of-home.
Case Study 1
Launching a brand: Find.
Curaleaf was positioning Find., a new brand of quality cannabis, as a more budget-friendly option.
What they needed
A campaign that conveyed the product’s quality and affordability in a complex market of US states with different laws.
In a crowded market full of premium products for both experienced and new customers, we needed to show that Find. was a good choice that was also budget-friendly. An option for both types of consumers, particularly those who buy in bulk.
Additionally, we had to consider the unique legalities for each state we operated in, which meant having more playful or conservative language depending on the market. We needed variety.
How we did it
Create playful language adjusted for diverse markets
We developed a campaign to hit different markets. Playing with the old stock market adage “buy low, sell high”, I came up with “Buy Low, Get High-Quality Flower”, which worked for the more progressive markets. The clever typographic design allowed the main phrase “Buy Low, Get High” to shine through while maintaining compliance language.
For the more conservative markets, we used ‘Get High-Quality Flower for Less”, which kept some of the original language while complying with local regulations.
The campaign included websites, banner ads, emails, social media, and in-store material.
Results
Find. is now a top-selling brand
Find. became one of Curaleaf’s most profitable products and a market leader in the category. It has been sold wholesale to many other cannabis brands’ stores and can be found in dispensaries throughout the US.
A tagline for conservative markets
Playful IG post for the Missouri market
Playful IG post for the Arizona parmet
In-store collateral with the tagline
In-store collateral with the tagline
Promotional email
Playful IG post for the Massachusetts market
Case Study 2
Creating a partnership: Rolling Stone + Select
Curaleaf owns Select. When Rolling Stone reached out to partner with them to create a co-branded vape for an event in Las Vegas, we were asked come up with the design.
What they needed
A campaign that synced the benefits of Rolling Stone with Select products.
How we did it
A straightforward use of the brand and benefits.
We came up with a variety of options, one in particular that leveraged Select’s brand promise at the time, “better”. Originally, we pushed for a more robust campaign, with allusions to music and cannabis like “Santana and Sativa” and “Indigo Girls and Indica”. But they chose to keep it simple and go with our line “Music and Cannabis, Better Together”.
Results
Rolling Stone and Select enjoyed a successful launch.
Curaleaf/Select got some serious popular culture cred being associated with Rolling Stone. And Rolling Stone got to start playing in the high-end cannabis space—a natural fit for their brand.
Case Study 3
Updating a successful brand: Bites 2.0
Curaleaf owned Select and wanted to update their brand of gummies called Bites, positioning it more aggressively in a market that had become very competitive.
What they needed
Come up with a new campaign that paid of Select’s brand promise, i.e. “better”.
How we did it
The concept we arrived at was adding an “er” to words that already ended with “er” as a playful way to show that these gummies are not just better, they’re betterer.
And we also presented some ideas that used onomatopoeia to visually show how something tastes better, as well as misspelling words to imply the consumer is salivating over how delicious the gummies are.
Results
Bites became a top-selling product for Curaleaf/Select. This was a leading driver of growth for the company as it opened more retail stores and supplied their products wholesale for other dispensaries.
