Re-Branding "Reefer": The Effects of Branding on Consumer Attitudes Towards Legal Cannabis

Abstract: Legal cannabis markets have begun rapidly emerging around the world and the trend seems poised to continue spreading. But even after the fight for legalization has been won, there awaits an entirely new battle for actors in the cannabis market: undoing the decades of stigma, stereotypes, and controversy surrounding the world's most valuable cash crop. Yet even in legal markets, little effort has been made to change the image or reputation of cannabis, as firms continue to use branding and marketing practices that only reinforce the stereotypes of the past. This study explores the absence of branding practices in the legal market and investigates how new branding practices might affect consumer attitudes towards cannabis - which, presumably, would influence the development of this controversial market. A quantitative experiment was conducted with a sample of 381 respondents who were randomly assigned to one of the two treatment groups. Respondents were exposed to a series of images that depicted legal cannabis through either Immature (unbranded, stereotypical) or Mature (branded, professional) branding practices, and the respondent's attitudes toward each image were tested. The results show that new branding practices - such as the creation of cannabis brands, efforts to stray away from cannabis stereotypes, and improved retail design - can generate more positive attitudes towards legal cannabis. However, the presence of familiar brands in the cannabis market through brand extensions can prompt more negative attitudes. After confirming that new branding practices can affect consumer attitudes towards cannabis, the study supports the theory that improved branding practices can affect the development of the legal market, and therefore serves as an encouragement to stakeholders in the cannabis industry to improve their branding practices.