Along with Brian Applegarth at Applegarth Strategies, we created an interactive app on the Bandwango platform to help visitors find recommended dispensaries, cannabis lounges and related experiences for our client Visit Santa Rosa. The Santa Rosa Cannapass app launched in 2024, and we continued to promote it through 2025 with seasonal articles highlighting the pass along with travel itineraries that pair cannabis with nature, art, and culinary experiences in Santa Rosa. As a Santa Rosa resident and marketer for one of the dispensaries on the pass, Doobie Nights, this project was definitely right up my alley!
Brian and I worked closely with the Visit Santa Rosa team to create outreach emails that engaged local businesses, and built a strategy that helped encourage them to become Chamber Members and help promote the Cannapass. While Brian took lead on the strategy, my role included:
- Building of the app in Bandwango.
- Creating graphics promoting the app and encouraging visitors to download it.
- Writing copy for stakeholder outreach communications and seasonal travel itinerary articles for the Visit Santa Rosa blog.
- Putting together a Launch Kit folder with social media and email graphics, sample copy for newsletters and posts, and instructions for downloading and navigating the app to share with stakeholders.
Visitors are able to check into dispensaries, use coupons on their purchases, and accumulate points which earn them a Cannapass beanie that they can pick up at the Welcome Center. This gamified passport engages visitors, offers a fun way to explore the city’s thriving cannabis culture, and normalizes cannabis as part of the destination’s activities and offerings. It was amazing working with a destination so supportive of engaging their local cannabis economy!
The seasonal articles highlighting the 420 and 710 cannabis holidays tied the Cannapass into the greater destination story. These weekend travel itineraries included stops on the Cannapass along with places to stay, eat, enjoy the outdoors, and explore the area. We highlighted dispensaries alongside other businesses who are Chamber Members and used Brian’s effect pairing method to pair cannabis cultivars and effects with various nature, art, and culinary activities in Santa Rosa.
Projects that combine some of my favorite things, like travel and cannabis, are definitely dear to my heart. As cannabis travel continues to be a growing niche, Santa Rosa is leading the way with the Cannapass. Next time you’re visiting beautiful Sonoma County, be sure to download the Cannapass and hit up some of our locally owned shops!
