Rebranding a B2C product for a hot new market Case Study

The Challenge

A large, experienced agricultural products company wanted to launch their first Business-to-Consumer product for the lucrative Cannabis market. They needed guidance on everything from naming, brand creation, ecommerce set up, marketing, pricing and more. And they wanted help fast – after planning had stalled for a few months, they still hoped to launch the product in approved states within a three-month timeframe.

Their UX designers are talented. Their development team’s extraordinarily talented and approached tasks from a digital marketing perspective. They’re not just coding to the specifications. They understand how their work impacts the bigger picture, which was useful. They’re fluent in cutting-edge digital marketing practices.

The Process

After agreeing to the project, we moved forward in four key areas;

Research – We were able to simplify and clarify the value proposition to a consumer audience after talking to industry experts and the product development team. At the same time, we researched the influencer market to find a way to build audience awareness quickly.

Marketing Strategy – Based on our research and the initial (aggressive) sales goals, we developed a marketing strategy that incorporated influencer marketing, pre-planned print and digital tentpoles, and digital advertising to activate the target consumer – a hobbyist grower who had already attained some knowledge.

Brand Development – Our creative team developed the full brand execution, including naming, visual components, and tone for print, web, and product packaging.

Ecommerce Phased Approach – The original go-to-market plan was primarily an ecommerce play, so our ability to quickly and securely stand up ecommerce capabilities that would be scalable over time was of critical importance.

The Results

The resulting product launch was highly successful, launching the new product in approved states on-time and within budget, helping to build a strong influencer foundation, and helping to put a superior product in front of a rapidly growing consumer market.

The original launch pilot resulted in key learnings that allowed for a strategic evolution to embrace retail as an additional channel.