This article originally appeared in Greenway Magazine.&nbsp;Are you ready for a Summer of Bud?&nbsp; &nbsp;According to the latest analysis from Surfside, an ad tech platform for cannabis businesses, summer actually shows some of the strongest sales numbers of the year. By looking into millions of cannabis transactions across the country from May to September 2021, Surfside discovered key sales trends that can help cannabis businesses prepare ad campaigns and business strategies for Summer 2022.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;With Surfside’s <a href="https://surfside.io/article/summer-2022-cannabis-advertising-trends">Summer 2022 Cannabis Ad Planner</a>, you’ll discover important insights and strategic recommendations on what you should do to plan for peak sales days during the summer.&nbsp; &nbsp;Here’s what you can start doing now to get your ad campaigns ready for the summer:&nbsp;&nbsp;<h2>1. Build Custom Ad Creative for Different Occasions.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;</h2>Seasonal events drive significant sales, especially around the long weekends. Surfside’s analysis shows this trend for the weekends of Memorial Day, Father’s Day, July 4, and Labor Day, especially.&nbsp;&nbsp;Ahead of special occasions, cannabis consumers tend to buy more than regular weekends. Cannabis businesses should keep this in mind for each ad campaign during the summer to stay more relevant. An ad that’s related to what’s already on a consumer’s mind - whether that’s Father’s Day or an end-of-summer Labor Day Weekend - will stand out more and drive more engagement. Overall, Memorial Day Weekend is the #1 sales weekend during the summer months. Labor Day Weekend is #2.&nbsp; &nbsp;Today is the best time to start thinking about your creative concepts for upcoming holidays and what you can do to make sure that your campaigns resonate with your audience.&nbsp; &nbsp;<h2>2. Focus on July.&nbsp;</h2>&nbsp;Surfside data showed that, when it comes to overall cannabis sales, July is the strongest month. This is the middle of the summer and marked by two significant occasions: the weekend of July 4 and 7/10, which some cannabis consumers treat as a 4/20-style event since 7/10 is “OIL” spelled backwards.&nbsp;&nbsp;That’s reflected in the sales data: on the Friday before July 4 last year, for example, sales rose by 57% compared to the July daily average. On 7/10, cannabis sales rose by 22%.&nbsp; &nbsp;These findings show the importance of planning an ad campaign for July. Cannabis consumers are already in the market and, by getting your creative assets ready and launched before July, you’ll be prepared for the biggest sales month of the summer.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<h2>3. Think Through Your Themes.&nbsp;</h2>&nbsp;Will your summer ad campaign showcase specific products? Will you focus on use cases or customer needs? Will you create one theme for all your summer advertising or separate themes based on different occasions?&nbsp;&nbsp;Make sure that your branding and creative is consistent across every channel - from website and social media to email and digital advertising.&nbsp;&nbsp;When you’ve landed on a consistent brand theme for the summer campaign, you can reflect that theme in the buying experience from start-to-finish, whether it’s ecommerce or in-store.&nbsp;&nbsp;<h2>Planning Makes Perfect&nbsp;</h2> Every great ad campaign starts with a plan. By looking ahead for the next few months, you can start building the assets now that you need for success later. Surfside built the summer 2022 Cannabis Ad Planner specifically for that reason - <a href="https://surfside.io/article/summer-2022-cannabis-advertising-trends">download the full planner here</a> for a print-ready guide to both the insights and strategies you need for the best Summer of Bud yet.

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The beginning of summer is the best time to start planning your next big ad campaign. With July as the strongest month for cannabis sales overall, here are three key strategies for advertisers to make the most of the summer.&nbsp;