Before she was managing a multi-million-dollar annual marketing budget for the multi-state cannabis operator Battlegreen, Nicole Stanley was gaining valuable consumer insights with traditional companies like Walgreens and management consulting firms like Gartner.
“I came from the CPG world and learned a lot about customer purchasing behavior and ways to structure promotions,” Stanley says. “I’ve been able to apply that knowledge and experience to the cannabis industry.”
Stanley says she was initially drawn to the cannabis industry after learning about its “fast-paced and highly regulated” nature from a family friend. Seeing the industry’s explosive growth and how the products help medical patients prompted Stanley to get involved.
Stanley oversees the annual marketing for Battlegreen brands, which include the UpTop dispensaries in Massachusetts and Terrasana dispensaries in Ohio, and oversees its social media, email campaigns, advertising, promotions, events, product training and community efforts. Navigating regulations in Ohio and Massachusetts can be tricky at times, but Stanley says there are similarities in how the company can best engage with its consumer bases.
“We’ve found that educational content and product information resonates the most with our audience,” she says. “We also spend a lot of time listening and learning, and getting customer feedback, especially on Reddit. This helps us understand our customers and the market better.”
Among her personal achievements, Stanley says helping launch UpTop dispensaries and the Neighborgoods brand of products in Massachusetts was “tremendously rewarding.” But her proudest milestone is helping the company’s charitable efforts on its Day of Giving initiative.
“To date, we have raised $96,642 and our biggest donation so far was in April 2023, where we raised $15,375 for Equality Ohio,” she says.