• by Les Luchter , Yesterday

In today’s cannabis environment of vapes and pre-rolled joints, Zig-Zag wants imbibers to slow down and roll their own.

Armed with a new tagline, “Life’s Fast, Burn Slow,” the venerable brand of rolling papers is greeting the upcoming 4/20 “pot holiday” by sponsoring music-centered festivals in six states this weekend.

The brand aims to, is to reach festival attendees -- who tend to spend their time rushing around -- with lounge areas to “slow down and take a moment, where people actually want to stay in -- a place to roll up, sit back, relax, talk to friends, listen to music, and get something fresh to drink,” brand marketing director Maggie Streng tells Marketing Daily. “We’re trying to make it more comfortable for them to enjoy the festival.”

“Life’s Fast, Burn Slow,” Streng says, is a tagline that’s “tapping into something that’s happening in the larger culture, a broader mindset all about being more present and taking something that is maybe routine and making it more meaningful."

“A lot of cannabis brands are focused on high strength and speed,” Streng adds. "We’re going the opposite way. It’s not about getting as stoned as possible, but about taking a moment for yourself to reground in the moment. It sets us apart from the rest of the category.”

As cannabis has entered the mainstream in recent years, retail environments have helped rolling paper brands in visibility and volume,  but hindered them through offering pot in ready-made formats that don’t need rolling papers.

Zig-Zag’s “almost reintroduction” began on 4/20 a year ago, Streng states, when the brand ran a Times Square billboard picturing a joint, “something pretty unheard of in terms of cannabis.”

While she sees that moment as “iconic,” this year’s effort is going “where the smokers are already going.”

In addition to this weekend’s festivals, and others to come, Zig-Zag began to focus on 4/20 a couple of weeks back with a social media giveaway of 4/20-related items, followed this week by company reps visiting some 200 retailers, “engaging with customers, giving away T-shirts and other items, and getting them stocked up for the upcoming holiday. It’s almost like a moment for us to reintroduce ourselves to consumers shopping the category and reminding them that Zig-Zag is right there.”

And the 147-year-old brand has "always been rooted in rolling," says Streng. "And rolling -- as a method of consuming cannabis -- has always forced you to slow down and be present.”

Past 4/20 itself, retailers are getting “Life’s fast, Burn Slow” sampling programs, POS displays, shelf talkers, branded merchandise, plus  endcap and countertop experiences with rolling tutorials, QR-activated content and, the brand says, “curated bundles that position Zig-Zag as the centerpiece of a ritual, not just one item in a basket.”

Streng says that Zig-Zag will also be showing up at events with the "fashion community and the arts scene, places where lifestyle and tastemakers are really coming together.”

And a CTV/social/influencer campaign is also coming soon, she reveals, with video being created by the Bacon & Eggs agency.

She notes “a key shift continuing to take place where people are being more thoughtful about how, when and what they consume. Our brand is all about being more intentional and showing up in a more elevated and less stoner-esque way.” 

After all, she says, the cannabis category is “being taken more seriously as the mainstream comes to accept it as OK.”