By: Lauren Benson, Traffic Manager

As a “millennial”, they like to say that my generation has seen more “once in a lifetime events” than anyone else, most of which are negative. We have seen wars, pandemics, terrorist attacks, and climate change, just to name a few. Every time the new year comes along, we think to ourselves “this can’t be as bad as last year”.  (Spoiler alert, we were wrong.)

However, as a country, we have been witnessed and unlocked a new style of a “lifetime event”, which is the legalization of a once banned substance. Marijuana, also known as cannabis, weed, pot, reefer, & mary-jane has been illegal in most states up until recently. Many states in the country have already legalized marijuana or are in the process of fully legalizing marijuana.

If you are asking yourself where the direction of this blog is going, or how this relates to advertising. Hold on…we’ll get there!

First, let’s recognize the many amazing things the legalization of marijuana will do for our country. For starters, this new change will be very financially beneficial for our local and state governments which hopefully, in the long run, will translate to positive changes in our towns and states.  This will create more jobs and new opportunities for people to invest and become involved in very a lucrative industry.

Not only will this help our economy, but this will also affect policing and the decriminalization of some very antiquated laws that disproportionally effect minorities. Many people who have seen their lives be held back because of prior weed related arrests or charges will be able to remove those from their records and start living a life without certain restrictions.

And for the OOH industry? We have opened a whole new category of advertisers. Marijuana advertising has exploded over the past few years. We have worked with countless local dispensaries and have seen firsthand their successes. There are even advertising agencies out there that specifically work with marijuana clients only. Smoke shops have also seen a rise in advertising through out of home in the most recent years. They don’t sell marijuana themselves but provide the tools and paraphernalia to participate.

Cannabis is a HOT category right now, so don’t be surprised if you see more marijuana related advertisers on the street soon. The cannabis industry is growing rapidly, with annual market values expected to reach $30 billion by 2025*.

We kindly invite any local smoke shop or dispensary to look at our inventory and work with Keystone Outdoor for any of your advertising needs! We can get you high sales and help increase your revenue!                                                                                                                                                   *OAAA, 2019