710: Where Should You Concentrate Your Cannabis Marketing and PR?
Updated March 2025
As cannabis marketers prepare for the industry's second-biggest retail moment of the year, 710 represents more than just an upside-down word for "oil." This concentrate-focused holiday has evolved into a crucial opportunity for brands to showcase innovation, build consumer loyalty, and drive significant sales growth in the expanding extracts category.
Recent market analysis reveals the cannabis concentrate sector's impressive trajectory, with global sales expected to reach $2.4 billion by 2030. This sustained 6.3% compound annual growth rate signals not just category resilience, but a fundamental shift in consumer preferences toward more potent and sophisticated cannabis products.
The Evolution of Concentrate Culture
Hash is no longer just for heads—and neither is budder, rosin, crumble, distillate, live resin, wax, sauce, shatter, diamonds, honeycomb, sugar, bubble hash, CO2 or Rick Simpson Oil (RSO), to just scratch the surface.
The concentrate category's double-digit growth outpaces many other cannabis segments, with sales rising 11.8% year-over-year from 2022 to 2023. This surge reflects growing consumer sophistication and demand for premium experiences. Modern cannabis consumers are increasingly discovering that concentrates are one of the most interesting categories in cannabis.
As awareness grows, more and more shoppers seek out live resins, solventless extracts, and other high-end concentrates that deliver both potency and flavor. Extract products run the gamut from some of the oldest consumption formats on earth (like hash) to some of the newest technologies in the game (vapor-static extraction). True to the name, concentrates cut right to the heart of the matter, distilling the plant’s terpenes and cannabinoids down to their more intense, accessible forms.
Sure, there are some barriers to entry with concentrates—from operating expenses and equipment to mastering techniques. But as cannabis legalization becomes more widespread and consumers more educated about the array of products available to them, things are changing, adding to the history and vocabulary that make hash culture so rich.
Indeed, 710 has become the third-biggest retail holiday in the cannabis industry, behind its better-known big brother 420 and Green Wednesday—the day before Thanksgiving when everyone panics about a marathon of both eating and navigating conversations with their relatives.
The Origins of 710: A 420 for Concentrates
The exact origins of 710 (that’s OIL spelled upside down and backward) are rather murky. Some say it’s a reference to the Grateful Dead’s Ashbury Street address, others link it to more contemporary artists like Salt Lake City rap duo Task & Linus. Whatever the impetus, every July 10 comes with brighter spotlights on concentrates and a reasonable excuse to do a dab, whether it’s first thing in the morning, a lunch launch, or right around dinner time.
While 420 remains the biggest retail holiday in cannabis, 710 offers brands a unique platform to connect with concentrate enthusiasts— a demographic that tends to be both knowledgeable and willing to spend more on quality products. This presents an opportunity for brands to showcase their expertise, innovation, and commitment to quality.
Crafting Your 710 Marketing Strategy
Successful 710 campaigns require careful advance planning and a multi-channel approach. Starting three to four months before July 10th allows brands to develop comprehensive strategies that resonate with both consumers and industry stakeholders.
The most effective 710 campaigns begin with a strong narrative foundation. Rather than simply promoting products, successful brands tell compelling stories about their extraction processes, quality standards, and commitment to innovation. These narratives should flow seamlessly across earned media, owned channels, and retail touchpoints.
Consider how your brand can contribute meaningful perspectives to the concentrate conversation. Are you pioneering new extraction techniques or consumption technologies? Have you identified emerging consumer preferences in your market? These insights can form the basis of thought leadership content that positions your brand as a category leader while driving media interest.
How to Plan Your 710 Marketing and PR Campaigns
The media are naturally more interested in 710 in the weeks leading up the holiday—especially as concentrates become more mainstream with both new and seasoned cannabis consumers. Journalists on any beat seek fresh angles on category growth, product innovation and consumer trends. Brands that proactively develop newsworthy narratives and cultivating relevant media relationships at both cannabis trades and mainstream outlets stand the best chance of securing meaningful coverage.
1. Lean into consumer education. Bloom CEO and Co-Founder Vitaly Mekk was right when he wrote that cannabis consumers need help to shop smart. Both B2B consumer education and B2C consumer education are hugely important in newer industries like regulated cannabis, and especially in emerging markets.
States where cannabis has been legal for longer, like Colorado, California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington, have some of the highest sales of cannabis concentrates in the country—in part because consumers have had more time to discover the category. Even smaller, newer markets, however, may have the right conditions in place for shoppers to discover vape carts, rigs and concentrates in their many forms.
Iowa, for example, stipulates that medical cannabis patients cannot purchase flower. Instead, consumers are nudged away from traditional inhalables and encouraged to purchase concentrate-based products, including edibles and tinctures.
Regardless of how or when consumers discover concentrates, there’s a learning curve to all the jargon, dosages, consumption methods, equipment and other nuances. That learning curve is one of the biggest opportunities for brands to earn consumers’ trust in their expertise and authority. Cannabis producers and retailers alike need only unlock the door to cannabis concentrates for consumers to walk through and find their own comfortable corner, whether they’re exploring 510 thread carts or investing in a cannabis accessory like the Puffco Peak.
2. Practice active listening. Consumer education isn’t the only learning curve in the cannabis concentrates category. Producers and retailers have a lot to learn about consumer desires and what they’re really after. Practice active listening when customers ask for product recommendations or speak to what they’re hoping cannabis might solve for them.
Medical cannabis patients, for example, might appreciate higher doses of THC per hit and richer terpene concentrations when they’re combating chronic pain or seeking an alternative to opioids. Apartment dwellers or parents could be looking for discretion without all the smoke and combustion. Couchsurfers, dirtbags and frequent travelers might appreciate the portability. The list goes on and on—if you’re listening.
3. Put concentrates in context. One of the biggest barriers to consumer education around concentrates is piquing the interest of mainstream journalists. Cannabis trade publications and many alt-weeklies get the hype and already understand the difference between, say, solventless extraction and what you can accomplish with a little butane.
Mainstream publications need context from publicists to understand why their audience would be interested in a category that still claims less than 20% market share. Pieces like Puffco Founder Roger Volodarsky’s informative hash op-ed in Salon are a great example of how publicists, executives and journalists can work together to make concentrates make sense for mainstream audiences.
A good publicist will not only have a variety of ideas on how best to convey why concentrates are so enduring and innovative, they will also know what different journalists and editors are looking for when it comes to coverage.
Maybe it’s a technology angle for a reporter who typically covers Apple and Adobe’s offerings. Maybe it’s a labor angle exploring how extraction processes can be made safer for workers. Or maybe it’s folding a concentrates product into a general shopping guide ahead of other retail holidays like Father’s Day or best-of product roundups—O.pen’s Sesh accessory was declared the Best Way to Share a Vape Cartridge by Denver Westword in 2024, for example.
4. Celebrate with smart collaborations. Strategic partnerships between like-minded brands are a great bridge to build between a niche category like concentrates and a total addressable market.
For instance, Housing Works Cannabis Co’s partnership with SaltDrop, a beloved LGBTQ+ owned fitness studio in New York City, empowers customers with consumption-friendly workout classes. And O.pen teamed up with one of Colorado’s favorite fast-casual chains, Illegal Pete’s, to offer a special deal for National Queso Day.
The only thing a concentrates purveyor needs is to create an opportunity to organically showcase exactly where and how concentrates fit into consumers’ busy lifestyles. Taking an integrated approach resulted in coverage across cannabis trade publications, mainstream business media, and local news outlets, significantly expanding the brand's visibility during the crucial 710 sales period.
Retail Activation Excellence
While earned media builds awareness and credibility, retail execution ultimately drives 710 sales success. The most effective campaigns coordinate closely with retail partners to create compelling in-store experiences. This might include budtender education programs, branded merchandising displays, and special promotions that drive both sales and brand engagement.
The key is ensuring all marketing touchpoints work together cohesively. Your earned media coverage should support your retail story, while your owned media content reinforces key messages and drives consumers to participating dispensaries or deeper into the B2B or B2C sales funnel. This integrated approach maximizes impact across all channels.
Measuring Success Beyond Sales
While 710 retail performance is crucial, sophisticated brands track multiple metrics to gauge campaign success. Media impressions, share of voice, social engagement, and website traffic all provide valuable insights into campaign effectiveness. These metrics help optimize future marketing investments while demonstrating marketing ROI to stakeholders.
Remember, most PR and marketing is a long game. A smart strategy can help boost sales and a brand’s bottom line around retail holidays like 710. But the true value of those campaigns is the increased brand awareness, loyalty and market share that can develop over time from a consistent, diligent and strategic approach to messaging and communications.
Looking Ahead: 710 2025 and Beyond
As the concentrate category continues to mature, 710 campaigns must evolve accordingly. Brands that invest in authentic storytelling, quality-focused messaging, and integrated marketing approaches will be best positioned to capture market share during this key season.
The most successful 710 campaigns will be those that combine category expertise, creative storytelling, and flawless execution across earned, owned, and retail channels. This requires both deep cannabis industry knowledge and sophisticated marketing capabilities—exactly the combination that has helped our clients achieve consistent success during previous 710 seasons.
Is your brand ready for 710? Reach out to Grasslands today to craft a tailored marketing plan for 7/10 and beyond that elevates your brand and concentrates products above the competition. We’re always ready to talk through your brand’s unique needs and pain points to find custom solutions. And if you aren’t ready to start that conversation yet, you can learn more about how we transform brands like yours with our proven process.