By Nicholas Kovacevich

The two-wheel smart balance scooter is the hottest trend in consumer products right now. Everywhere you look you see people riding around effortlessly — spinning, dancing, gliding, and generally having a blast!

I needed one badly, so I went online to find a bunch of different companies selling the same product. But, how do I choose which one to purchase? And how do I know the one I buy is legit?

Consumers are asking themselves the same two questions in the Cannabis Industry.

Legal cannabis is no different than any other hot, new product. Branding, and more importantly, legitimization through compliancy, are the differentiating factors that separate the brands that people trust, know, and purchase, from the ones that sit on the shelf.

Here’s the moral of the story: Invest in building your brand and operating compliantly above all else!

It should not surprise you when I tell you that I ended up buying an iCruze for my smart balance scooter. In true Steve Jobs fashion, iCruze has branded themselves as unique, classy, and reliable. Even the website, icruze.co, (which looks like it was recently put up) stays in line with the clean, simple look.

The box I received was all black with a white inscription: “iCruze – Let Technology Move You.” And the product works great! Branding and perceived legitimacy led me to purchase from iCruze even when I had a myriad of other options available.

Branding and compliance navigation

Branding is a visible and communicative stamp or signature on a company’s identity. When thought through properly from start to finish, branding can have a tremendous impact on the way a company is perceived. Demonstrating a strong commitment to compliance can be an important component of every brand.

This is especially true in the Cannabis Industry. As we all know, compliance is an ever-present topic that demands our attention, because the regulatory environment is evolving and changing all of the time.

By branding your compliance and creating visible examples to this effect throughout a company, businesses in the marijuana industry can demonstrate to the public, the government, prospective investors, and the media, that they are taking a proactive approach to ensuring that their company is doing the right thing.

This not only means that a dispensary uses quality child-safe packaging (and not a Ziploc bag), but it extends to creating a logo, tagline, mission, and signage that speak to the company’s commitment to integrity and compliance.

The importance of branding in the Cannabis Industry

Recently, I’ve seen examples of both good and bad brand messaging in various forms. I was shocked to see the Ohio Pro-Legalization team use a “Super Hero” character in their public appearances. “Buddie” is a fuzzy, ever-smiling pot bud in a bulging white muscle suit with green trunks, gloves and boots. He arrives in a truck painted with marijuana leaves declaring: “Yes on legalization.”

While some may think this is harmless and cute, I worry about the bigger picture and potential public backlash.

Perhaps some in this industry are too young to remember “Joe Camel” – the cartoonish character that almost single-handedly tore down the tobacco industry’s ability to advertise and market their products in a variety of media, because it was alleged that the image appealed to under-age, highly-impressionable minors.

Is “Buddy” really the right way to demonstrate to an already suspicious public that the Cannabis Industry cares about child safety and “doing the right thing?”

On the other hand, I’ve seen dispensaries that are totally dialed in and have created brands that not only attract consumers and generate strong feelings of loyalty, but also demonstrate a sense of ethical business practices, responsibility, and honesty.

In addition to a clean, well-kept store (with no dirty hand prints on the entrance and exit doors), these dispensaries have considered all the aspects of their public appearance: From the paint on the wall, to their signage, to branded labels that clearly show potencies and other required disclosures, it’s all done in an attractive, professional manner.

Branding is more than just your logo. It is an opportunity to demonstrate to the public that “you care.”

In an industry that will turn more and more into a commodity, companies that have a strong brand and take a proactive stance on implementing quality and consumer-safety measures will succeed, and far outpace competitors that are reluctant to spend time or resources on updating their image or procedures.

There are compliance brand-boosting opportunities in many places throughout a business. Those who find them and take full advantage are the ones that end up winners.

Nicholas Kovacevich is Co-Founder and CEO of Kush Bottles, Inc.