Is Martha Stewart the Secret Weapon for De-Stigmatizing Cannabis?

This article is published as part of the Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) thought leadership initiative.

A conversation between Dr. Aimee Huff, Dr. Ashlee Humphreys, and Dr. Sarah J.S. Wilner, authors of The Politicization of Objects: Meaning and Materiality in the U.S. Cannabis Market for the Journal of Consumer Research. The three discussed challenges for marketing the product and ways to foster legitimation within the U.S. cannabis market.

Daniel Kramer: “How can IMC's core principles be applied to cannabis products to further legitimize and de-stigmatize the plant in consumers' minds?” 

Dr. Sarah J.S. Wilner: “The kinds of advertising and marketing communications that we've all become familiar with, like influencer marketing, are an important force here and what comes to mind is a gift that I sent my mother. I ordered online and sent my mother over the holidays, not just CBD [a nonintoxicating cannabinoid found in cannabis and hemp, Merriam-Webster], gummies but beautiful, fruit-flavored, hand-curated by Martha Stewart [gummies]. For my 85-year-old mother, it wasn't about "CBD is scary," it was Martha Stewart. So once Martha Stewart is in this industry, we're communicating a lot. That education is embedded in our schema or knowledge of the producers and the endorsers and that whole complex of information. Martha Stewart is in her 70s; if this was going to be dangerous to an older crowd, to a novice crowd, it's not because Martha is the producer.”

Dr. Ashlee Humphreys: “From an IMC perspective, I think [it's] so interesting how interwoven the media and marketing are, so you have a Martha Stewart co-branded product. You also have the press covering the product saying, "this is legit- Martha's doing this, and she's legit." So, you have this very complex network of certifications around the product and the message.”

Dr. Sarah J.S. Wilner: “Even in the absence of formal purchased advertising time, those are the mechanisms by which we are educated and learn about a new product form and its legitimacy and trustworthiness.”

Dr. Aimee Huff: “The question for me is we know Martha Stewart has this effect for a particular demographic; what will that be for Gen Z? They might not be as familiar with Martha Stewart. We see this in gun advertising too - where they have to rely heavily on influencers, and it can be a potent channel for cultivating legitimacy.”

Dr. Sarah J.S. Wilner: “Embedded in that product form is, it's not Martha Stewart anything. It was a fruit jelly, a French form of a confection that [Martha] made with esoteric flavor. There were these layers of exoticism but also, they format this as a dessert, this is a treat. A lot of information is embedded in this one piece of confection. It's not a pot brownie, and that's a confection, and you could do an upscale brownie but the idea that this was a very specific set of flavors, colors, with a beautifully formed box. It was limited edition, which is a huge influencer [trend utilizing] the idea of scarcity, and it was something like 30 pieces of this fruit jelly was $60 bucks - it was nice.”

Dr. Ashlee Humphreys: “And if you look it up, it says The New York Times.”

Dr. Sarah J.S. Wilner: “Embedded in all of this is constant and reiterative signaling about what makes this different and what makes this okay. There's no health warning on it, and there's no "do not drink and drive" It's a luscious piece of confection that Martha made you. These discursive properties and sensory properties are being layered on to say, "this is self-care, this is it during a pandemic, you deserve a moment of peace, and Martha Stewart can get you there because that's what Martha Stewart is known for."

Dr. Ashlee Humphreys: “Where you're somewhat limited in the channels, it leads to a lot of innovation in IMC and other communication strategies, where you don't have the traditional routes. Firms are much more creative about communicating the message.”

Dr. Sarah J.S. Wilner: “In the case of cannabis, which is put on hold because of the pandemic, experiential marketing has become incredibly important because you can't outwardly advertise using traditional IMC mechanisms. Therefore, things like word of mouth are effective when we have regulations covering what companies and brands can say about their products - but not what consumers can say. If you can get an influencer to talk on social media about an event that he or she was at or an experience he or she had, it's leveraging more contemporary versions of media that have become more prominent and important in the IMC constellation. Media choices are now even more important in these industries where they may be regulated in such a way that they have to become more innovative about how they communicate.”

Click here to read the full article on The Politicization of Objects: Meaning and Materiality in the U.S. Cannabis Market within the Journal of Consumer Research.

About Northwestern Medill IMC

Northwestern Medill Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) is a leader in research, industry expertise and teaching. IMC focuses on understanding consumers and balances qualitative and quantitative data to build strong brands in the digital age. Medill offers a master’s degree full-time in Evanston, IL, as well as part-time in downtown Chicago and fully online. Learn more at www.medill.northwestern.edu/imc.