The Cannabis Trail Coop Campaign

The Cannabis Trail Map 2024

At the end of 2023, I lost my full time job and decided to go back to the freelance life at least while I searched for something new. I heard from a former colleague at The Hybrid Creative, Brian Applegarth, who has been developing a Northern California cultural attraction called The Cannabis Trail for the past decade or so. Brian is kind of THE Cannabis Travel guy, and The Cannabis Trail tells the story of the cannabis counterculture and the advocates and pioneers who paved the way for legal medical access to the plant in California.

2024 would mark a pivotal year for The Cannabis Trail, because for the first time, three Destination Marketing Organizations along the Trail came together to support a Cooperative Marketing Campaign, which Brian’s consultancy Applegarth Strategies would manage and execute. So Brian brought me on board as Marketing Director for The Cannabis Trail Coop Campaign (and all of his client work / brands) and I could not be more excited to support this exciting and growing niche market serving the cannabis-curious travel audience.

Over the course of the year, we set goals with our destination clients, built a Marketing Plan and put together a Paid Media Mix to amplify The Cannabis Trail. My work managing all aspects of Marketing and Creative for the Coop Campaign included:

  • Assisting with the creation and editing of a Press Release, amplified across all owned media channels and partner media channels. This helped us receive almost half a million dollars of Earned Media Value.
  • Leading Content Creation and Creative Assets for The Cannabis Trail owned channels: managing the website & blog, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn channels, and designing print pieces like stickers, signage and brochures.
  • Helping to manage relationships with Cultural Landmark locations along the Trail including site visits, content capture, email communications, and installation of signs; as well as overseeing communications with Media Partners and Clients.
  • Project Management and a Paid Media Strategy that was executed over the course of the campaign, including communications and creation / editing all copy, graphics and photo assets needed for: programmatic advertising, web banner ads, dedicated email campaigns, event activations and other digital campaigns. Managing and allocating the budget, tracking and reporting on data, and executing strategic decisions to maximize ROI.
  • Creating interactive gamified passports, travel itineraries, trackable QR codes for all printed materials, event activations and creative video content that connected real-life experiences with the digital space.
  • Writing and Editing articles, blog posts, media partner content, social media content, ad copy, and partner and client communications and maintained marketing, event, and team travel calendars and planning.
  • Creating Systems and Processes to manage all content planning and marketing for this campaign as well as all of Applegarth Strategies‘ owned brands and client projects.

It’s been a busy year but the results speak for themselves! We have activated our Landmark partners across the Trail, started creating travel infrastructure so the Trail is ready to welcome tourists, and built solid Brand Awareness across a huge audience that spans various segments.

Travel and experiences can broaden our horizons, help us find balance in life and connect us with amazing people. The same can be said of cannabis! Merging these two realms with my work on The Cannabis Trail Coop Campaign has been a rewarding journey. We traveled the Trail, worked hard, laid foundations, and measured the data along the way to support the future growth of The Cannabis Trail and of all cannabis travel experiences around the world.

I’m so proud to continue my work with Brian Applegarth on The Cannabis Trail and far beyond, we’ve been building out more brands, growing partnerships and planting seeds along the way. It’s been a great opportunity to expand my skills, learn and grow, and experience amazing cannabis hospitality in California and around the world, and I am so grateful to everyone we’ve been able to work with.

Akasha Micro

Akasha Microdose product photography by Megan Pru.

I created a content marketing strategy for a local herbalist and coach offering microdosing support called Akasha. The project included creating educational social media content, fact sheets, email campaigns and sales materials. As we got to know her audience, the content focused on education, engagement and coaching those interested in supporting their mental health and expanding their minds in building a microdosing practice.

As a marketing consultant and social media manager for Akasha, I’ve set up systems for managing and tracking all aspects of marketing the small business, educating customers and discreetly leading them on the buyer’s journey. Along the way, my client has pivoted her offerings to suit the needs of this growing niche market and we’ve nurtured an engaged and grateful community.

Because the project began with a detailed marketing plan and customized scalable marketing systems, Akasha has grown into a successful stream of income as well as an enriching practice for the client and the customers she supports on their microdosing journeys.

Each client’s needs and audience are unique and so the process and my work with them is completely customized to their business, budget, and the audience they serve. It’s been a pleasure growing a mycelial network around the Akasha brand and you can see my continued work on their Instagram page.

Doobie Nights Marketing

Doobie Nights printed materials I designed.

As the Marketing Director for Doobie Nights, a unique experiential dispensary in Santa Rosa, I led and managed all aspects of digital and in-store marketing for the store, building a solid community that has resulted in steady growth in loyalty subscribers, website traffic, and social engagement on all platforms from the ground up.

Doobie Nights Website - I project managed, wrote and edited copy, and served as creative director for this project.
  • Created social media strategy and content that resulted in engagement rates of 5%+
  • Customer and vendor communications across multiple touchpoints, growing our loyalty membership to almost 15,000.
  • Led a website redesign project as creative director and project manager, working with the development team and authoring or editing all website copy. This project improved SEO performance and increased traffic to over 10k monthly followers, with consistently growing traffic and conversions.  
  • Led event planning and production for many successful in-store and offsite industry events, strengthening our brand’s visibility and reputation in the community and increasing sales volume at the store during events. 
  • Created in-store signage and product merchandising displays that showcased our products and specials for consistent sell-thru. 
  • Led marketing strategy and operations, including managing advertising and vendor relationships. Built a Partner Marketing Deck and tracked vendor sponsored in-store activations, bringing in thousands of additional annual revenue by selling in-store ad space to our brand partners.
Doobie Nights Brand Strategy
Doobie Nights social media management.
Doobie Nights printed promotional materials I designed.
Doobie Nights Partner Marketing Deck screenshots.
Doobie Nights screen graphics I designed.

The Hybrid Creative

The Hybrid Creative Instagram

As a Sales Support Specialist, Marketing Specialist, and Executive Assistant, I supported the Sales and Marketing teams and served as the first point of contact for about a year at this busy creative agency. Achievements and responsibilities included:

  • Managing the Hubspot CRM Sales and Marketing funnel, responding to and tracking incoming leads and building customer journey messaging and touch points.
  • Organizing the agency’s participation in events, including scheduling, booking travel, and coordinating trade show booth setup and staffing. 
  • Creating and scheduling marketing and social media content to reach our niche B2B audience, giving all platforms a cohesive brand voice and aesthetic that showcased our work to potential clients and our community. An example of a blog post I created is How a Purpose Driven Brand Does Pride.
  • Managing the CEO’s schedule, travel, speaking engagements, and communications.
  • Supporting marketing strategy and consultation for our clients as well as managing and executing our internal B2B marketing efforts. 

Lucidity Festival Marketing

I joined the Lucidity Festival Marketing team to promote the 2015 event, and have been a part of creating the magic of this gathering ever since. As the Marketing Operations Lead, I oversaw the daily operations of the Marketing Department for, working closely with the Marketing Director and the creative and production teams. I also picked up other roles over the years, serving as blog editor, street team coordinator, and media team support. My responsibilities and accomplishments included:

  • Facilitating meetings and organizing media for marketing annual and spin-off events. 
  • Envisioning and overseeing marketing campaigns, organizing projects and timelines to meet deadlines and consistently sell out events.
  • Creating content and building community on various social media platforms, managing both organic and paid content. 
  • Managing and training marketing interns, street team promoters, and blog writers.
  • Working closely with the media team onsite at events to art direct and guide photographers and videographers in capturing the content we needed to successfully market events.
Lucidity Festival Instagram

Enchanted Forest Gathering Marketing

Enchanted Forest Gathering email header graphic.

I wore many hats in this constantly evolving role, supporting the growth of this small independent festival over several years. As the Marketing Operations Manager I kept the Marketing Department organized and operating in a fast-paced and competitive environment. Job responsibilities & accomplishments included:

  • Planning and implementing marketing campaigns that attracted new audiences to the event.
  • Managing and creating content for various social media platforms, growing the Instagram account from 0 to 25,000 followers in 3 years with organic and paid content strategies.
  • Organizing media assets and working onsite with the media team to direct creation of assets for marketing use.
  • Creating and sending email newsletters, updating the website, tracking promotional agreements, and providing admin support for the marketing team.
  • Managing the street team including building and management of a communications and tracking system for their tasks and earned rewards.
  • Curating, booking, and scheduling workshop content for the festival’s Flow Zone.

Moscow Hempfest

Hemp Fest 2011: We Can Do It!

Moscow Hempfest is one of my oldest and dearest regular clients from the little town in Northern Idaho where I lived for 6 years and attended the University of Idaho. I’ve created the posters, flyers, logotype, and t-shirt graphics many times over the years, always reinventing the annual event each year with a different theme. I’m very happy to support the educational, musical, cultural event taking place in the park in the center of Moscow, Idaho.

Moscow Hempfest 2014 PosterHemp Fest 2011: We Can Do It!Hemp Fest 2009 (Woodstock)Hemp Fest 2006 T-ShirtHemp Fest 2006 Poster