Page 8 - Shango Case Study

Strategic Marketing
Using the massive cache of information gleaned from the SDS, BRAND set to work nalizing the RMC brand and marketing strategies. We began by touring retail cannabis “dispensaries”
in Colorado, where the sale of medical cannabis had been legal for many months.
• BRAND quickly determined what the RMC brand and customer experience would not be.
° Many dispensaries were little more than barren spaces equipped with a few well-used
display cases and a cash register.
§ The products were poorly manufactured and packaged.
§ Their names were steeped in the traditional, illegal cannabis culture and not
appealing to more sophisticated and af uent, mainstream consumers who
The Company
would eventually become the largest cannabis consumer segment.
° Many had armed “Hell’s Angels” guards openly displaying their weapons. Shango, a subsidiary of Rexroad Marquis Corporation (RMC), is an integrated cultivator,
§ Since cannabis businesses could not yet legally use the banking system, processor, distributor and retailer of premium cannabis products based in Portland, Oregon.
dispensaries always had large quantities of cash on hand, but seriously.... It is also an emerging leader in the exploding American Cannabis Industry.
§ Threatening your customers does not inspire trust and loyalty.
Currently, Shango has cultivation facilities in Oregon and Washington, and ve retail stores in ° Other dispensaries had begun implementing rudimentary branding.
the greater Portland area. The company is poised to enter new markets for cannabis opening in
§ Almost all focused on appealing to medical cannabis patients and the Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii and Nevada. It is also planning to extend its presence across
medicinal aspects of their products
the country as other states legalize recreational and/or medicinal cannabis.
• Many brands incorporated ”health,” “wellness,” “care” or “relief” in Shango is commited to: their names.
• Far too many brands featured identical “Green Crosses,” a ubiquitous • Rede ning cannabis as a positive and respected addition to the nationwide marketplace.
pneumonic device denoting “any” cannabis dispensary.
• Changing how§mTillhioenses obfraAnmdserwicoaunlsdrheaspveonlismibitlyedpurerclehvaasnec, eusteo amnadinesntrjeoaymca, nnoanb-mis.edical consumers when recreational sales became legal.
• Transforming the production and sale of cannabis products into a prosperous business, as
well as a pro table investment.
• The RMC brand would be ready for primetime from the get-go.
° It would identify the company, not as a medical dispensary or a cultural throwback to • Creating America’s rst and nest national cannabis brand.
the psychedelic 60s, but as a modern, mainstream, customer-centric business.”
§ It would have the vision to see beyond the medical market to the nationwide legalization of cannabis for all adult consumers.
§ It would be created to position RMC as an established, national brand even though the company was barely a start-up.
° BRAND’s Master Architect created store interior design studies that promised a unique retail customer shopping experience.
§ These featured:
• Sleek, contemporary, custom-built casework.
• Luxury wood, metal and stone nishes.
• Touch-screen customer registration, product information, product menus and ordering systems.
Define. Differentiate. Dramatize. 2017 | brand | confidential | 16