New Software Ensures Cannabis Advertising Complies With Regulations

Cannabis technology platform Fyllo announced on Monday that it is launching a new software tool that helps companies ensure that advertising and other creative content is compliant with applicable regulations. The new tool, known as Compass, allows brands in the cannabis industry to quickly verify compliance using Fyllo’s proprietary Compliance Recognition Technology.

With Compass, brands can drag and drop any digital asset such as advertisements, social media posts, and website content for analysis. The tool then uses advanced artificial intelligence, image recognition, and language processing to analyze text and imagery to detect non-compliant content.

Legal cannabis companies operate in one of the most tightly regulated industries in the world, rife with rules governing issues such as labeling, advertising, and claims of medical benefits that can vary by country, state, or even municipality. This lack of consistency from jurisdiction to jurisdiction makes it difficult to produce compliant creative content, particularly for brands attempting to establish a footprint at the regional or national level.

“Building a successful cannabis business means having to deal with numerous regulatory hurdles and roadblocks,” said Chad Bronstein, the CEO and founder of Fyllo. “Each state government and local municipality has its own stringent rules on advertising, which makes it complicated for brands to advertise holistically. We’ve built Compass using the most advanced AI and image analysis technology to help give clients complete trust and confidence in compliance, so they can put more attention into running much bigger campaigns in better environments.”

Once it has analyzed content, the brand can review its compliance by market and channel. The technology also provides suggestions on improvements that can be made to achieve compliance and extend reach. All analyses are verified against CannaRegs, the most comprehensive cannabis regulatory database in the industry.

New Technology Already In Use

Compass is already being used by beta partners including the popular brands Apothecanna, Columbia Care, Papa & Barkley, and Grassroots.

“Despite explosive growth of cannabis advertising, creative compliance remains one of the biggest barriers to scalable marketing,” said Jesse Channon, chief growth officer of Columbia Care. “With the launch of Compass, we can maximize our reach by expanding into new markets while also mitigating risk.”

Bronstein told High Times in an email that Compass can help companies stay nimble as they react to a dynamic business environment.

“As the world deals with the ongoing impact of the global public health crisis, this is proving to be a pivotal moment in the history of the cannabis industry,” he said. “Cannabis businesses are being declared ‘essential’ in more than a dozen states around the country due to the current pandemic, and Compass and Compliance Recognition Technology are going to help these brands, dispensaries, and retailers scale up more efficiently.”

“With our new technology, these businesses will be able to mitigate the compliance issues that would normally hold companies back from reaching new markets who could benefit from cannabis and CBD immensely,” Bronstein added.

Compass is part of the Fyllo Compliance Cloud, a suite of advanced software and services for the cannabis industry. The company also plans to make Compass available to companies in other highly regulated industries, including pharmaceuticals and online gambling.