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PR & Communications - PR Executive of the Year
(Gold Winner)

PO#

#TBA01963

Payment Status

Paid

PO Created Date

2023-03-22 12:48:37

Paid Date

2023-03-22 12:53:27

Competition

2023

Season

Entry ID

TBE101991

Entry Submission Date

2023-03-22 12:44:08

Member's Name

Maggie McDaniel

Member's Email

maggie@stripetheory.com

Entry Level

PR & Communications

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Yes

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PF23002 - PR Executive of the Year

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Project Description

Project Description for Judges

Question 1 : Provide a brief description / background of your nominated organizational, departmental, team, or individual circumstance. (Your response to this question will be used for public display if your entry is awarded.)

Brenna is a results-driven senior communications professional who stops at nothing to go above and beyond for global cannabis leader, Canopy Growth, and has taken the unique challenges of the cannabis industry head-on. Brenna has challenged the status quo by leading unique campaigns and projects focused on redefining how consumers understand and engage with cannabis as a product to improve lives. Carving an uncharted path, Brenna was instrumental in defining Canopy’s corporate Canopy USA campaign, a barrier-shattering structure intended to allow the company to fast track its entry into the U.S. THC sector. Beyond driving and shaping the brand’s corporate strategy and voice, Brenna is integral in shaping Canopy’s social responsibility program, in addition to the company’s brand-led communications.

When it comes to marketing cannabis to the everyday consumer, Brenna was the driving force behind the launch of Martha Stewart CBD in mid-2020. By harnessing the product's connection to Martha Stewart and her expertise in "living well" to highlight the wellness and calming benefits of CBD, Brenna launched the brand in an approachable and consumer-captivating way, leading to an 800% increase in sales. In addition to record-breaking product launches, Brenna was most recently featured as a panelist at 2023 SXSW discussing how her team used Martha Stewart CBD to market cannabis to mainstream consumers in an impactful and relatable way.

Prior to joining Canopy, Brenna spent a decade focused on tech and brand communications. In 2014, she joined Samsung America as Head of Communications, where she became fully engulfed in the world of crisis and corporate communications. During her time at Samsung, Brenna managed all communications around the Galaxy Note7 recall and was responsible for repairing the company’s reputation post-recall. This was a turning point in her career, giving her an opportunity to earn a seat at the table among company decision-makers, and helping her discover her niche and passion in communications.

Question 2 : Outline your nominated organizational, departmental, team, or individual achievements, dated 1-3 years prior, based on your selected categories.

Brenna’s greatest accomplishments have been made while at Canopy Growth, as she has worked to define and elevate the way the company communicates both internally and externally.

Within internal communications, she’s led her marketing team in developing strategies and initiatives that placed a priority on employee engagement. In 2022, she launched the company’s first-ever corporate social responsibility plan (CSP), spanning a focus on the responsible use of cannabis, social equity, and community engagement. Within these three CSP pillars, she established partnerships with local community food banks in Canada and the U.S. for volunteer opportunities for employees and created relationships with social equity and responsible-use organizations, such as the Last Prisoner Project and Responsiblity.org.

Brenna has also led employee engagement initiatives such as launching company-wide townhalls for the organization back in 2021, which resulted in an increase in employee engagement across Canopy. She also established a yearly employee engagement survey to better understand what the leadership teams need to do to best empower and motivate team members. Additionally, she oversaw the development and rollout of the company’s first-ever ESG report in 2021, highlighting the company's achievements and commitments to responsible use and safety, social equity, employee engagement, product development, and environmental stewardship.

Regarding external communications, Brenna has led PR and integrated marketing campaigns for new initiatives, product launches, spearheaded the rebranding of a marquee brand, and has actively secures high-profile media interviews and speaking engagements for Canopy’s executives. One of her recent accomplishments was leading the communications and PR strategy behind Canopy USA, a new U.S.-based holding company announced in October 2022, intended to fast track Canopy’s entry into the U.S. THC market. Not only was this campaign novel for the organization it was also a foundational and precedent setting for the entire cannabis industry.

Question 3 : Provide examples of the strategies / plans you have introduced, in order to attain your nominated organizational, departmental, team, or individual achievements. Explain why the highlighted achievements are significant / unique.

The U.S. is the fastest-growing cannabis market, and state-by-state legalization is moving at a feverish pace. As a result, it is believed that the U.S. cannabis market will be a $50B industry by 2026. To help fast-track Canopy Growth's entry into the U.S., in 2022 the company established Canopy USA, a U.S.-based holding company that brings together the company’s U.S. cannabis investments, including Acreage, Jetty, and Wana. The strategy was a first of its kind, requiring a highly specific and nuanced strategic communications plan to ensure all stakeholders understood the value of this industry-leading approach. Brenna was the lead architect of the communications strategy, working to cross-functionally support HR, government and investor relations, marketing, legal, and Canopy’s subsidiaries.

For this critical corporate moment, Brenna led the strategic development and implementation of all communications to support the Canopy USA announcement spanning internal, external, and executive-level communications. From creating press releases to prepping Canopy’s CEO, David Klein, for interviews and conversations with media and stakeholders, Brenna was the communications mastermind behind it all.

The announcement of Canopy USA resulted in the second-largest daily increase in share price, positive coverage on Bloomberg, CNBC, Market Watch, and more than 500 earned media articles, reaching 1.7B readers across all media formats. Recognizing her many accomplishments as a pioneering leader within the organization, Brenna was promoted to Chief Communications Officer, in addition to continuing to serve as a member of the Company’s Executive Management Committee.

Without Brenna’s superior leadership in communications, the Canopy team would not have been able to communicate this project as successfully given its complexity. Brenna's track record of breaking barriers and delivering industry-defining results makes her an asset to any team. She has a proven ability to help companies stay ahead of the curve in their industry, no matter the challenge ahead.

Optional Context for Judges (Not for publication. This section is solely for judges' evaluation.)

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