A Look at Cannabis Branding Language in Michigan

A Look at Cannabis Branding Language in Michigan

Lily Adzigian

The main goal of this paper is to examine the linguistic techniques utilized by cannabis companies to market their product and brand themselves.  Cannabis companies are not allowed to advertise their product on tv the way beer, wine, and coffee all can.  They must rely on the descriptions of their product and company to define their image. Cannabis companies can use techniques from other products to overcome its stigma and redefine their product.  Using websites that are databases for cannabis strains along with cannabis companies’ websites, the descriptions of numerous brands and strains were observed.  Dan Jurafsky outlines ways high-end restaurants use language to promote a “farm to the table” experience to demonstrate the quality of their product. Cannabis companies utilize these same techniques to inform their consumer of the healthy origins of their product.  This paper demonstrates that companies are utilizing language to align their product with modern, healthy companies to break the negative stigma and brand themselves as being on the cutting edge of health and wellness.