Marijuana Business Magazine February 2019

Marijuana Business Magazine | February 2019 62 Canada Gets Clinical Redphone, a boutique branding and graphic design agency in Alberta, Canada, counts among its clients Acreage Holdings, a multistate marijuana company based in New York. Redphone also has designed products for mainstream clients such as beer giant Anheuser-Busch, which is now dipping a toe in the MJ industry. Redphone entered the cannabis space in the past two years. To help dissect the design dilemmas in Canada and to contrast the situation in the United States, Marijuana Business Magazine spoke with Redphone’s creative director, Glen Kayler. What is the biggest challenge of designing brands for cannabis companies compared to other industries? It’s a completely new segment. It’s fascinating from a brand perspective. It is restrictive—that really puts you in the sandbox; it makes it interesting. How do you work with those requirements and those restrictions? I can’t think of anything else that looks like this industry. What is the difference when designing for Canadian cannabis companies versus those in the United States? The conversation up here is very Canadian. We talk about the packaging at a nationwide (conversation) versus U.S. packages, where every state and market has very siloed situations. The U.S. is so fragmented between states that trying to consolidate brands across the border or between borders is hard. In one state, you can’t use marijuana imaging, and in one state you can, which means there are different packaging requirements for every market. What is the biggest challenge or pitfall to the lack of freedom within branding? Consumers get left in the dark. When they go into the shop, they don’t know what to order. They don’t know what to buy. It becomes a difficult decision for people. The tools that people usually use to decide are not as readily available. Brands must think creatively or think outside the box. How do they engage consumers? Whether it’s through social media, websites or more subversive ways, there are also limitations there. Given Canada’s restrictions, what are the best ways to engage with consumers? Only time will tell which method will truly succeed in communicating to consumers about the product and ensuring that consumers understand what their positioning is, what their propositions are. The reason there were so many big lineups outside the store here (on legalization day) was because people wanted to pick up something—go in, experience it. Without packaging, you take that experience—to engage with it, pick it up, hold it—away from the consumers. That engagement is gone, and it’s hard for businesses to make it up. Do you believe Canada will eventually loosen its branding restrictions? I have to believe once that initial fear over something so new has rubbed off somewhat, people start to see that some of these laws aren’t necessary. – Lindsey Bartlett This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Glen Kayler is Redphone's creative director. Courtesy Photo Canada Versus the States: Q&A with Branding Guru Glen Kayler