Instead of relying on billboards and social media ads, marijuana businesses have been handing out their merchandise at music festivals, pamphleting at concerts and placing their names in people’s line of sight as sponsors at music festivals, parades and outdoor events.

St. Louis area dispensary chain Swade has partnered with Evolution Festival, Paint Louis and Music at the Intersection. Though the brand has been at events during the years medical-use marijuana has been legal, this year has felt different, said Brian McCormac, the company’s marketing director.

“I would say once [recreational] adult-use went into effect the whole mindset shifted dramatically,” he said. “Some events or cultures would not touch a cannabis sponsor when it was still medical because it was still a little taboo, but now we’re at the same level as beer.”

Missouri voters approved marijuana for recreational, by adults 21 and over, in November 2022 and legal sales began in February. Voters passed medical marijuana in November 2018.

The marijuana market is still fresh in Missouri, said Michael Mayes, founder and CEO of cannabis consulting firm Quantum 9, Inc. Cannabis is on a downward swing in states where recreational marijuana has been legal for longer, so brands here are laying the groundwork that will benefit them down the road.

“It’s important that dispensaries are doing this initial marketing,” Mayes said. “They’re planting their flag to encourage brand recognition. With brand recognition, people will seek it out and we know that someone has to see something three to five times before it sinks in. The more you can hit people, the better it is.”

This summer, Swade has been the exclusive cannabis partner of numerous local music festivals and outdoor events. Though companies can only make sales at dispensary locations, per state law, they use booths to engage potential buyers in person, hand out company swag and discount cards, and sign up customers for loyalty programs.

And dispensaries can give away cannabis or samples, rather than sell it, at public events, according to Mayes. There is no such thing as too much when it comes to cannabis marketing, he said.

“There’s a subculture of people where it doesn’t get old. It’s been black-market for so long. Brands are going to push it as far as it can go,” he said.

Lionel Collins Jr., assistant marketing manager at Luxury Leaf Dispensary, said many people are still apprehensive of cannabis, but being able to partner with event organizers has helped the company move closer to destigmatizing cannabis use.

“The response has been exceedingly positive,” Collins Jr. said. “We have received a plethora of customers and patients at Luxury Leaf who have been referred to us from our sponsored events, or heard about us from a friend who attended an event.”

A change in attitude toward cannabis was apparent at this year’s Gateway Cup, an annual series of bike races held around St. Louis on Labor Day weekend. Swade set up a front-row spectating lounge and had various CBD products featured at the event, including a wellness/recovery cold-pressed juice shot in collaboration with Hello Juice.

“Prior to adult-use, we could not get into the cycling community, but now they’re seeing how you can use balms or tinctures for muscle recovery or gummies for pain recovery,” McCormac said. “It’s crazy to see how it shifted in, what has it been? Six months?”

Brett Boyle, a marketing professor at St. Louis University, said this strategy — a brand inserting itself into an event such as a festival, baseball game or concert — is called experiential marketing.

“It’s effective because there’s a mood state that’s elevated,” Boyle said. “People are receptive to marketing messages at these events because they are more memorable. They’re an attraction for memories.”

He likened this tactic to asking your dad for allowance when he’s in a good mood so that there’s a higher probability of getting the money you want.

“That’s kind of what this kind of marketing does,” Boyle said. “It’s where a person is receptive to hearing from you.”

Shareeff Williams, chief marketing officer at Village Brands, Viola STL’s parent company, said Viola STL participated at LGBTQ pride events this year and the business often hosts in-store specials for concerts, soccer and baseball games, he said. The brand has also been a sponsor at a few events.

Depending on the event, Viola STL will hand out flyers with QR codes for discounts or set up a booth with merchandise and product samples.

“It definitely helps drive traffic to our store and increase awareness,” Williams said. “It builds our presence around our city.”