What you need to know:

• Pernod Ricard Winemakers Global Marketing Director Eric Thomson says a tie-up with the cannabis sector “isn’t the [brand’s] DNA".
• The marketing boss says while over 40 per cent of the population is pro-weed, there is insufficient “consumer groundswell” in Australia to replicate booming market growth underway in other countries.
• Industry advocates suggest a mainstream cannabis market may be five years away and suggested the industry needed to rebrand to shed a "stoner" image, while negotiating strict advertising rules in the meantime.

Weed and wine

While a growth market internationally, Eric Thomson, the Sydney-based Global Marketing Director Winemakers for drinks giant Pernod Ricard, has ruled out striking brand partnerships with the marijuana industry any time soon.

"We had a lot of think tanks and workshops to establish the impact we thought [cannabis] would have on the market. However, we haven’t really seen the material impacts in terms of overall consumption declines in the alcohol beverage sector, premium wine and spirits," Thomson told a panel hosted by Nine.

"It's very difficult to replace sharing a glass of wine over a meal. I don't see cannabis ever, ever being able to do that – and that's why I'm confident that our category will continue to thrive alongside whatever [de]regulation that happens."

Thomson argued that while some brands locally have entered partnerships with cannabis companies, such as Young Henry's, Lyft and Carl's Junior, similar deals are not "in the DNA of what [Pernod Ricard] does".

"I don't see it being a space that Pernod Ricard plays in, whereas when you have seen alcohol beverage companies lean into it they have a pretty singular footprint in a country like the US where everything is regulated," Thomson said.

"For a company like ours, we see premium wine and spirits being our growth engine and will continue to be and while we are happy to play alongside brands that are in those deals, it's not something for us in the near future."

The Australian market is also a legislative laggard, said Thomson, continuing to view cannabis as a political risk rather than revenue opportunity.

In countries like the US, the matter became consumer-driven, with [cannabis'] eventual approval for recreation being seen as a "business opportunity" instead of an issue that could impact a politician's re-election.

"Overseas, the biggest thing that I saw happening was this constituent groundswell across both sides of the system [right or left wing] asking for legalisation. There was also big business pressuring for it too."

"That's the piece that I don't feel is happening here yet. I don’t see a consumer groundswell and it's not something that [consumers] are screaming for," Thomson said.

Weeding out the issues

Speaking on the same panel, Martin Lane, founder of specialist news outlet Cannabiz, suggested a mainstream market may be five years away and suggested the industry needed to rebrand to shed a "stoner" image.

The panel was chaired by Mediabrands agency Initiative MD Sam Geer agreed with Lane that content marketing would be key to driving mainstream growth, as well as influencer marketing as the sector's current classification crimps advertising options.

He said brands will likely have to use content marketing to drive education-focused messaging, while influencers will help add legitimacy to the category.