Cannabis has transformed from a criminalized drug to a global boom in just the last few years. While the industry has erupted, a main challenge for consumers and brands alike is a lack of education. PAX Labs, an innovator in the cannabis technology space that develops high quality vaporizers, embraced this challenge in 2019 with a never-been-done before activation. PAX went directly to the consumer to normalize the cannabis conversation and grow brand awareness. Working with G7, PAX created a first of its kind activation program targeting music fans 21+.
The five-festival tour kicked off at Boston Calling in May, where PAX was the only cannabis brand onsite, before continuing on to LA Pride (CA), Country Jam (CO), Capitol Hill Block Party (WA), and finally PAX’s hometown San Francisco for Outside Lands as part of GrassLands, a history-making, curated cannabis experience. We broke barriers in the activation space as this was the first locally permitted festival to allow cannabis sales and consumption. G7 strategically developed an approachable footprint that focused on multiple points for consumer engagement all with visual appeal in mind. At the forefront, consumers were greeted with oversized, grass-covered PAX letters, a highly instagrammable photo opportunity. Once inside, consumers could view the PAX product line, which was displayed in custom wall mounted cases with multi-colored light up shelves. Set between product displays, was a touchscreen looping videos featuring the PAX app, which connects via Bluetooth to the device and allows the user to control and customize their experience.
Consumers had the opportunity to select designs to personalize and engrave on their PAX device. An eight-foot wall with to scale PAX engraved product images not only served as an additional photo engagement, but also a large sized menu of available engraving options. Four engraving designs were unique to each festival, including one created by a local illustrator who also created a mural that consumers had a creative hand in coloring in. Further localizing the footprint, PAX provided a display area within the footprint for a local brand filler partner. This allowed consumers the ability to learn more about the PAX platform, mobile app, and pod and flower options available to them. At the end of the tour, thousands of festival attendees had the opportunity to experience the PAX brand and benefits, and over 1,000 devices were sold.
