Another goal for both collaborators is further de-stigmatizing cannabis, “elevating stoner culture everywhere, challenging outdated stereotypes and bringing the plant to the forefront of mainstream conversations,” said Randa McMinn, Weedmaps’ chief marketing officer.
With that strategy in mind, Weedmaps has historically leaned into live and streamed entertainment, both creating its own content, like the Vice series Tumbleweeds with Killer Mike and partnering with musicians, artists, comedians and other performers.
Brands get lit
The creative team around The Freak Brothers has embraced brand alliances since the show’s beginning in 2021, integrating Google into its first season, followed by Pernod Ricard’s Chivas Regal.
Aside from the Weedmaps cameo, a mainstream beer marketer will get face time in the coming episodes, continuing what Goldner called “a very selective process, not a billboard full of brands.”
The placements “need to showcase what a brand wants to accomplish in a meaningful and fun way, and they have to flow naturally” within the storylines, Goldner said. “Brands can’t be dropped in to tick and box or collect a check.”
In addition to on-screen partnerships, The Freak Brothers have reached into media and retail—High Times magazine and Amoeba record stores—for some trippy co-promotions and limited-run swag. The show also worked this year with specialty roaster Onyx Coffee Lab for a Wake and Bake blend to celebrate the weed industry’s biggest annual holiday, April 20.
To help hype its first season, The Freak Brothers opened a themed pop-up shop at Fred Segal’s flagship location on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles. The activation, with a Haight-Ashbury vibe and mushroom decor, sold exclusive merchandise like customized Nike Air Force 1’s by Schlep’s, hand-blown glass bongs and Free & Easy streetwear.
“This is a playful IP that’s always been way ahead of its time—it’s about critiquing the establishment,” Goldner said. “We look for brands and partnerships that share those values.”
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