Cannabis advertising, promotion and branding: Differences in consumer exposure between ‘legal’ and ‘illegal’ markets in Canada and the US

Abstract

Relatively little evidence exists on the impact of exposure to cannabis marketing, including potential differences between ‘legal’ and ‘illegal’ cannabis markets. The current study examined cannabis advertisement exposure and brand awareness across three jurisdictions: (i) all Canadian provinces immediately prior to legalization, (ii) US states that had not legalized non-medical cannabis (US ‘illegal’ states) as of August 2018, and (iii) US states that had legalized non-medical cannabis (US ‘legal’ states). Data are from Wave 1 of the International Cannabis Policy Study, an online survey conducted from August 27–October 7, 2018. The current sample (n = 26,710) included respondents from Canada (n = 9840), US illegal states (n = 9578), and US legal states (n = 7292). Regression models were fitted to examine cannabis advertisement exposure and brand awareness. Exposure to cannabis advertising and brand awareness differed across jurisdictions. Respondents in US legal states were more likely to report noticing advertisements, while those in Canada were more likely to report higher brand recall. Across jurisdictions, social media was cited among the most frequent channels from which cannabis advertisements were noticed in the past month. Higher rates of advertisement awareness and brand recall were also associated with greater frequency of cannabis use and self-reported proximity to cannabis retail stores. Results from this study indicate that advertisement exposure was higher in legal cannabis markets, although brand awareness for cannabis products was low across all jurisdictions. The findings reflect the relative novelty of legalized cannabis markets and provide a benchmark for evaluating the impact of cannabis advertising as legal markets become established.