Top Cannabis Promotions for 4/20

Get the most out of the 4/20 holiday with these proven cannabis promotions and prep list.

It’s no secret that 4/20 is the big one when it comes to cannabis holidays. However, few people want to find themselves in a dispensary day-of. That’s why we suggest getting an early start so you (and the crowds) have plenty of time to prep for a day of chill af sessions.

Here are our tips for planning and preparing for the occasion, along with the most successful promotions we’ve seen launched around the 4/20 holiday.

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Your To-Do Checklist for 4/20

First and foremost, get an early start! Failing to plan is planning to fail, this goes for businesses as well as customers.

1. Plan ahead

Let people know your 4/20 specials are ready for customers to capitalize on as soon as they are ready. After all, they don’t want to get caught twisting in the wind if their favorite products are sold out on the holiday itself. 

Remind them to pick up their gear before the holiday for a stress-free experience with early offers, scheduled deliveries, and pick-up orders, where available.

On the business-side of things, get your dispensary in order ahead of time. This includes:

• A headcount to estimate staff on-hand for both prep activities and day-of service 
• Coordinating any co-marketing and vendors present for the event
• Parking. This is going to vary depending on location. Do you have enough? Do you need someone in the lot to keep things moving? If street parking is the vibe, have you communicated with your neighbors?
• As always, send shareable links to any event invitation and use text or email to get an RSVP headcount 

2. Advertise early and extend the holiday

You’re already planning out your store’s 4/20, and cannabis consumers who celebrate will begin making their plans (and likely some purchases) before the day-of, too. Set up your SMS, email, and mobile campaigns well before the event. If you’ve got the design chops or have the resources to contract out some help, make your menu and outreach unique to the holiday to catch some eyes and whet some appetites along the way.

Who says 4/20 is a one-day-only event? The calendar?! It’s a fascist, forget what it says.

Go BIG and celebrate the occasion with your customers all month - the data shows that consumers aren’t treating 4/20 as a one-day-only holiday, with purchases higher than average in the weeks before and week after the day itself. 

3. Cast a wide net 

Ask your regulars to bring a friend, invite those customers who haven’t shopped with you in a few months, cover your neighborhood with flyers if you can. 4/20 is more of an event than a sales day, and it attracts everyone from the canna-curious to the marijuna-maestros.

You may even consider capturing the attention of out-of-towners to stop in from afar with adverts for bulk discounts on big purchases to increase your reach and your revenue.

Big bonus points to retailers that partner with local businesses nearby for some smart comarketing, like we just saw with Stok’d Cannabis Co. in Ontario.

4. Bring authenticity to the celebration 

Remember that 4/20 is about celebrating the culture as much as the feeling we get when we imbibe.

Make this occasion an opportunity to connect with your community around a shared interest. Show your community why you’re celebrating 4/20 and connect with them through the meaning of the holiday (yes, we’re sharing our love and sentiment for a plant and that’s ok!)

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4/20 Promotions to Run With

These are just a few of the promotions we’ve seen making an impact on revenue for dispensaries around the country on Happy Marketers. Peruse the collection and see if anything resonates with you or would be especially fitting for your store over the holiday period.

• Pre-420 - We saw retailers sending deals leading up to 4/20 as early as 3/19!, not saving it all for ‘the big day’
  • Also beneficial to run winback campaigns or bring-a-friend promos during the month prior 
  • From our records, campaigns sent 4/19 outperformed campaigns sent 4/20

• Post-420 - The party didnt stop on 4/20, some retailers ran sales for the remainder of the month to keep the fun going (or were you overstocked?) and truly crush it in the revenue department.

• In-store attractions - Doorbusters, spin the wheel, raffles, goodie or mystery bags, food trucks (it’s safe to assume 4/20 is a great day for the food biz, too!), live music, show-this-text incentives, the list goes on.

• Meet our team - give customers a chance to chat and mingle with your budtenders, leadership, grow teams, and others to cement that connection and build relationships. 

• Meet the brands - Give your consumers the opportunity to learn more about the products you sell from the people who make them.
  • ‍Bonus - partner with brands for product or accessories giveaways or sales! Brands rely heavily on retailers as the intermediary between them and the consumer (your shoppers) and are often willing to collaborate. 

• Play up the numbers - $4.20, $42.00, even $420.00 specials for big ticket items and bundles. Broad 20% or 40% off deals have a lot of appeal for price shoppers, as well.

• Mix and match deals, bundles - introduce consumers to new categories/products they might not have regularly tried. Add in special items your typical buyers may spring for but don’t typically buy, and put ‘em in a Spring basket!

• Plant sales, education, and workshops - after all, getting people interested and involved beyond the spark is the essence of what the holiday is all about.

• Learn from the pros - Joint rolling lessons! For those with dexterity issues, how to use a rolling machine or mat is a nice option, too.

• Dispensary merch giveaways and sales - let your customers be a walking billboard for you! Bonus points if you collab with a local artist to make sure your merch is desired.

• Special menu ads - let your customers know about limited-edition or exclusive products with a specially curated menu for the occasion.

• Contests - Some ways you can incorporate communal participation could be to hold contests: be it the form of art, poetry, short essays, or stories on how they connect with cannabis and the community around it or what it means to them. Promote those unique elements of your homegrown 420 crew and display them proudly in your space, in exchange for a little green on the holiday. Winners and runners up can perform or present their submissions on the holiday, if they’re up for it.

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Looking for more ideas and tools to support your dispensary marketing, not just on holidays, but every day of the year? Schedule a demo today and we'll show you what's possible using purpose-built tools made with you in mind.