In search of a buzz, branding: Legal pot shops need name
The name of the government agency that will sell pot to Ontario has been revealed: the Ontario Cannabis Retail Corp. Doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue.
But neither does LCBO, the name of the provincial liquor monolith that sells us whiskey and wine. That acronym is so well known in Ontario that today no one bothers to spell it out.
Will the acronym for the new marijuana agency — OCRC — become just as familiar? It has a certain slurry symmetry. It could lend itself to a nickname. How about “Ock-Rock,” suggests Trina Fraser, an Ottawa lawyer who specializes in cannabis business law.
But don’t memorize OCRC yet. That’s the legal name of the agency, but Attorney General Yasir Naqvi suggests something jazzier might be used for the actual stores.
“There will be branding that we’ll do,” he told the Toronto Star Wednesday after the province tabled cannabis legislation.
It’s likely the stores — the province plans 150 of them by 2020 — won’t be known as Ontario Cannabis Retail Corporation outlets, he said. Consider that a challenge. After all, the province might need some help.
The last time an Ontario empire devoted to altered states of consciousness was re-branded, your local “Brewer’s Retail” shop was transformed into “The Beer Store.” That has a certain utilitarian charm, but lacks panache.
Don’t bet on “The Pot Shop,” though. Too punchy and promotional. Ontario — echoing the federal government — has emphasized that the point of legalizing marijuana is to strictly control and regulate it, not encourage its consumption.
There’s an inherent contradiction, of course, in selling a substance while telling people they really shouldn’t use it.
And the promise of “branding” implies the province will cook up a more appealing name. But probably not too appealing. Cannabis4all? Definitely not. Cannabis Shop? Maybe. Another prediction: The word “marijuana” will not be in evidence.
The term is falling out of favour because it conjures up decades of reefer madness.
“Cannabis” is preferred by many businesspeople and activists whose goal is to end the “demonization” of the drug and push it into the mainstream. “Cannabis” sounds neutral, serious. It doesn’t carry negative connotations.
It’s a challenge to transform it into something catchy, though. There’s only so much you can do with “canna,” although businesses have tried, from “CannaGreen” and “CannaBotanix” (illegal pot shops in Ottawa) to CanniMed, a legal medical marijuana grower in Saskatchewan.
The name debate also provides an opportunity for commentary.
Jodie Emery, the activist who helped create the Cannabis Culture brand and chain of illegal pot shops, said she’s upset the Ontario government will have a monopoly on sales. She has her own suggestion for the real meaning behind the acronym OCRC: It stand for “Oppressing & Criminalizing Rights & Cannabis,” she tweeted. Or perhaps “Ontario Corruption & Reefer Croneyism” or “Our Charter Rights Crumble.”
Another detail that might help with the naming challenge: the shops will also sell bongs, rolling papers and other pot paraphernalia.
Of course, a store name is only one element of branding. That’s a point well made by Dave Bigioni, who recently left a job as chief marketing officer for Molson Coors to join Canopy Growth, the huge marijuana grower in Smiths Falls.
A brand is created by everything from the furniture to the atmosphere, the products to the customer service, he notes.
After all, one of the most successful brands ever created goes by the inexplicable name Apple.
The brand should reflect the objectives of the government, suggests Bigioni: providing safe, regulated, high-quality products; educating consumers about cannabis; and creating a “welcoming” store environment that will lure customers away from the illegal dispensaries and street dealers supplying them now.
And what name might help evoke all those things? He didn’t have an immediate suggestion.
But lots of other people did, starting with Bruce, the reliably clever guy who sits next to me.
He started the ball rolling by suggesting a few names: Reef, Baked, The Blunt Truth, The Smoke and Toke, the Headquarters.
Readers and Twitterers took it from there, suggested many more, from the smart to the silly and back.
Join the discussion by commenting on this story, sending a tweet to #namethatpotshop or send an email.
We’ll forward the best to Attorney General Yasir Naqvi himself, who may or may not look at them.
There is no room in a respectful workplace for the intolerant objectification of women.
MICHAEL BINDER, president of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission.