Randall Huft once crafted ad campaigns for United Airlines and Nestle. Now he’s schmoozing with clients inside a Marriott ballroom near Disneyland, at the California Cannabis Business Conference.
“Now we’re one of the leading ad agencies in the cannabis sector," said Huft, creative director at the Innovation Agency. “It’s probably about 80 percent of our work right now.”
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With recreational marijuana sales becoming legal in California on Jan. 1, cannabis-related businesses are looking to score a chunk of an expected $5 billion market. That sounds like a big opportunity for advertising firms and media companies that host cannabis ads, but selling, using and advertising marijuana is still illegal under federal law, and navigating the maze of regulation isn’t easy.
This year, Huft made his first cannabis industry TV commercial. It was for a device that vaporizes cannabis oil, from a company called Eureka. But it was tricky, because broadcasters operate under federal licenses, so they’re especially cautious about taking ads that could violate federal laws.
Top image: danr13 | Adobe Stock
