New specialty rolls out as 83% of Canadians report plans to maintain or increase cannabis consumption post COVID-19
TORONTO, June 25, 2020 /CNW/ – Leading global communications consultancy Ketchum today introduced a new cannabis specialty in Canada as part of its existing Ketchum Cultivate offering, a suite of strategic consulting services dedicated to helping food and wellness brands with a natural, organic and sustainable focus achieve business success.
Ketchum Cultivate will continue to focus on food and wellness, as well as expanding to help new and established companies in the cannabis and hemp space differentiate and elevate their brands as they navigate the evolving Canadian market and growing consumer demand – a market predicted to reach $5.8 billion in Canada by 2024.
“Canadian cannabis companies are under pressure to transform quickly as they compete for consumers and satisfy investors in an industry that is increasingly at risk of being commoditized,” said Erin Manning, associate managing director, Ketchum Canada. “Ketchum can help by leveraging our 20 years of experience in the Canadian market helping to build many of the world’s best-known brands in consumer packaged goods, technology, health and wellness, food and beverage, retail and e-commerce.”
Ketchum Cultivate is bolstered by a Canadian team with deep expertise in brand reputation, data and analytics, issues and crisis management, and social and digital marketing.
Research points to increased consumption post COVID-19, four buyer archetypes
Ketchum Analytics, one of the largest in-house research and analytics teams in North America, conducted research that shows 83 per cent of Canadians plan to continue using as much or more cannabis after COVID-19 restrictions are lifted. An estimated 30 per cent reported increased use currently while staying home to comply with social distancing guidelines.
When asked where they go for cannabis information, almost half of Canadians (46 per cent) pointed to friends, family or a trusted staff member at a dispensary.
“There is a huge group of consumers who are ready and willing to engage, but the strict regulations around cannabis marketing in Canada means that brands need to find smart and unconventional ways to connect,” said Manning.
Ketchum’s analysis of the survey data also revealed four buyer archetypes within the general population, each consuming cannabis for different reasons.
For more information on these archetypes and implications for brands, visit www.ketchum.com/canada.
About the Canadian Cannabis Research
Ketchum used Maru/Blue to conduct a national online survey of 1,521 randomly selected Canadians from May 15 to May 17, 2020. For comparison purposes, a probability sample of this size has an estimated margin of error (which measures sampling variability) of +/- 2.5%, 19 times out of 20. The results have been weighted by education, age, gender and region (and in Quebec, language) to match the population, according to Census data. This is to ensure the sample is representative of the entire adult population of Canada. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.
