{"id":2532,"date":"2020-02-17T14:53:41","date_gmt":"2020-02-17T14:53:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.geek.com\/featured\/-1818671\/"},"modified":"2020-02-17T14:53:41","modified_gmt":"2020-02-17T14:53:41","slug":"cannabis-companies-sponsor-colorado-highways-in-advertising-loophole","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/itteacheritfreelance.hk\/wordpress\/index.php\/2020\/02\/17\/cannabis-companies-sponsor-colorado-highways-in-advertising-loophole\/","title":{"rendered":"Cannabis Companies Sponsor Colorado Highways in Advertising Loophole"},"content":{"rendered":"

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A Clean Colorado highway sign sponsored by The Green Solution marijuana dispensary (via Andy Cross\/The Denver Post)<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Cannabis companies are the leading sponsors of Colorado highways.<\/span><\/p>\n

But their motivations are about as altruistic as their products.<\/span><\/p>\n

More than 50 marijuana dispensaries are responsible for cleanup on two-thirds of state roads, according to<\/a> <\/span>The Denver Post<\/span><\/i>, which reported on a loophole in Colorado’s strict limits on advertising.<\/span><\/p>\n

By adopting a highway, firms can easily (and legally) splash their name and logo across busy roads, ensuring their brand is seen by hundreds of thousands of drivers every day.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rules governing how and where cannabis companies can advertise “are famously strict,” the <\/span>Post<\/span><\/i> said.<\/span><\/p>\n

In an effort to prevent sending messages to minors, state regulators prohibit plugs on TV, radio, in print, and on social media.<\/span><\/p>\n

You can’t always count on someone Googling the right set of keywords to direct them to your site. So enterprising merchants instead began sponsoring highways instead.<\/span><\/p>\n

Clean Colorado signs with the details of local dispensaries and growers can be seen on a majority of the state’s major highways, the <\/span>Denver Post<\/span><\/i> explained. Most are strategically placed near the exit for their corresponding business.<\/span><\/p>\n

Though “not intended to be an advertising medium,” the Colorado Department of Transportation said, these placards\u2014less than an ad, but more than nothing\u2014have become a clever workaround.<\/span><\/p>\n

“They’re a different kind of signage on the side of the road,” Harsha Gangadharbatla, associate professor of advertising, public relations, and media design at University of Colorado Butler, told the <\/span>Post<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n

“They tend to stick out a little bit more than billboards,” he continued. “Consumers do pay a little bit more attention to anything that’s novel or different from the formats they’re used to.”<\/span><\/p>\n

They also shine a positive light on marijuana stores, suggesting that the money made from cannabis sales is put to something good\u2014”like keeping up roads and transportation that everyone uses,” Gangadharbatla said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Unlike their sister service Adopt a Highway (which enlists volunteers to pick up litter twice a year), Sponsor a Highway charges a fee for the cost of a cleanup crew.<\/span><\/p>\n

Prices vary by roadway and how frequently they are used.<\/span><\/p>\n

More on Geek.com:<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n