Making Californians Happy with HashBones
Hollister Cannabis Co (HashBone)
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Marketing Management: Branding, Copywriting, Social Media
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Hollister Cannabis Co (HashBone) // Marketing Management: Branding, Copywriting, Social Media //
TLDR: Kasen’s creative branding and product marketing strategies helped build a pre-roll brand by:
Launching a B2B promotion that increased wholesale revenue 192%
Enabling sales across 280+ dispensaries in California
HashBones are a like a Double IPA. And Wolfies? Those are like a Triple IPA.
That’s just one of the key brand messages Kasen crafted and leveraged to kickstart the growth of popular pre-roll brand, HashBone.
After serving as a budtender at Caliva in 2019 and falling in love with the cannabis industry, in early 2020, Kasen started working for Hollister Cannabis Co. Although Kasen executed marketing and design initiatives for Hollister’s full portfolio of brands, his primary focus was on growing Hollister’s line of infused pre-rolls: HashBone.
About HashBone:
HashBones make people happy.
HashBones are premium hash-infused pre-rolls that feature an artisan blend of 75% top-shelf flower and 25% cold water bubble hash – more hash than any infused pre-roll in California! Boasting enhanced flavor and potency, HashBones are crafted to provide a smooth burn and consistent experience… every time.
HashBone is the pre-roll for people who don't even like pre-rolls. There’s nothing worse than a “premium” pre-roll that’s packed too tight, full of stems and shake, and doesn’t burn evenly no matter how many times you huff and puff. That’s why at Hollister Cannabis Co, we make HashBones by paying close attention to the details. We control our whole process from seed to shelf, and filter out what most cannabis companies still use in their pre-rolls. We only use the best greenhouse flowers from top California farms, never use solvents to make our bubble hash, and carefully weigh and hand-pack each HashBone to make sure it’s just right.
The Situation:
Hollister had just launched HashBone in dispensaries with the help of Indus Distribution, but had no brand, marketing, or sales enablement assets to support brand growth and product sales. Hollister was also about to release a pack of HashBones as well, which still needed a packaging design.
The Solution:
Kasen developed all product photography, product menus, and PDF sales slicks to help Indus sell HashBones to dispensary buyers. He started creating HashBone’s social content to kickstart the brand.
Kasen worked with Hollister’s CEO to manage and outsource the design of a custom pre-roll package. The idea behind the packaging was to give new customers something to engage with and be delighted by. After receiving the boxes, Kasen repeated the photography and asset creation process for HashBone Minis:
HashBone, California’s most hash-infused pre-roll, is now shareable!
HashBone Minis are the essential pre-roll pack for social distancing. Each pack of HashBone Minis comes with 5 .5G HashBones, so you and your friends can each have one and don’t have to puff-puff-pass your germs around. Or, just smoke the whole pack yourself!
Ancient OG is an indica-dominant descendent of Snow Lotus, and provides a stress-relieving, uplifting experience. Cookies in the Sky is a hybrid relative of GSC, known for its euphoric effects. This Minis blend is rich in limonene - a citrus-scented terpene that dissolves stress and anxiety.
True to both strains, this hybrid HashBone boasts hints of citrus and pepper. Made with 75% Ancient OG flower and 25% Cookies in the Sky cold water bubble hash, each potent .5G hash-infused pre-roll provides a relaxed and happy high.
Soon after the HashBone Minis hit shelves, the HashBone Wolfie started being manufactured. The process was, one again, repeated.
Right after the Wolfie was released, COVID-19 forced a shutdown. Manufacturing slowed, so Kasen’s focus shifted to supporting sell-through of current inventory.
He initiated having HashBone pre-rolls reviewed and rated on A Proper High, as he knew it would give HashBones more credibility with buyers and customers. He also worked to get HashBones listed properly on IHeartJane.
When in-store budtender education opportunities became limited due to COVID-19, Kasen partnered with Leaf.vip to promote and educate HashBone pre-rolls to both budtenders and buyers in as many California locations as possible. He produced the below video to use on Leaf.vip’s platform.
Last, he ran a “HashBone Happy Hour” virtual in-store promotion over the summer to drive sales while offering tiered wholesale discounts to dispensaries.
The Results:
Thanks to the “HashBone Happy Hour” program, HashBone sales in the month of June 2020 skyrocketed 192%. Total HashBone sales in Q3 2020 grew 624% over 2019. HashBones are currently in 280+ dispensaries across California.
