Best CBD Marketing Agencies to Elevate Your Brand

Digital‑first CBD brands searching for an agency want partners who understand compliance and can drive growth. A CBD marketing agency helps cannabidiol brands stay legal while growing through SEO, content, email, PR, and compliant ads. These teams translate complex CBD rules into clear campaigns that educate, build trust, and generate measurable sales.

The top CBD marketing agencies covered in this guide are:

• Nerdy Joe
• Canesta
• Icarus Digital Marketing
• Forge Digital Marketing
• PufCreativ
• The Email Marketers
• Boundless Labs
• BigEye
• Hybrid Marketing Co.
• Cannabis Creative
• Benevolent Mercenaries

A crucial service many of these agencies offer is paid media strategy and execution for CBD brands. To scale that channel safely, leading agencies and CBD brands run programmatic campaigns on Blockchain-Ads for compliant campaigns that drive results.

In this article, you will see what each agency does best and who they fit. You will also learn how to compare their services, assess real results, and pair the right agency with Blockchain-Ads to scale your CBD brand.

What is a CBD Marketing Agency?

A CBD marketing agency is a specialized firm that helps CBD brands promote their products legally and effectively. Their services are essential because the cannabis industry is regulated strictly, and these firms understand the restrictions regarding the advertisement of cannabidiol.

For example, Google and Meta’s guidelines only permit advertisements of topical hemp-based CBD products. Cannabidiol cannot be advertised as a treatment or cure without backed-up clinical research. 

So how do CBD marketing agencies keep brands compliant with regulations while ensuring sustainability? 

• The first and most important goal is to build consumer trust in cannabidiol products through transparent, research-backed messaging. 

• This is followed by proactive campaigns that drive brand visibility within the confines of regulations. 

• Finally, good CBD marketing firms will then focus on increasing conversions and optimizing campaigns at all stages of the funnel.

Key Services Offered by CBD Marketing Agencies

In 2022, over 37% of the CBD market revenue came via online sales channels. CBD marketing agencies understand the power of digital media and have leveraged this successfully. These are the key services offered by these firms to help cannabidiol brands scale effectively:

CBD SEO: Technical, on-page, content & link building.

The goal of CBD search engine optimization (SEO) is to grab organic traffic from consumers already looking for CBD products. Since paid advertisements are restricted, CBD marketers use keyword-rich content optimization and link-building to push brand visibility.

Content Marketing: Educational guides, blogs, video & infographics.

High-quality storytelling offers a sense of authority and can position brands as a trusted and reliable option for consumers. To achieve this, cannabidiol marketing agencies create content that incorporates videos, infographics, and guides to inform the audience.

Email & SMS Marketing: Subscriber growth, automation, campaigns.

Considering the advertising restrictions in CBD marketing, direct communication is a safer alternative. CBD marketing emails are reported to have a 21.47% open rate, so agencies use them alongside SMS to reach audiences.

Compliance Consulting: FDA/FTC guidelines, claims management.

CBD marketing agencies understand the intricacies of compliance and can be consulted to help develop the right disclaimers and labeling. They achieve this by providing FDA and FTC guidelines and ensuring that brands know how to manage legal claims.

Paid Advertising & Programmatic Ads: Hemp-friendly networks.

Since Google Ads Policy and Meta Advertising Guidelines impose strict restrictions on CBD advertising, specialized marketing agencies partner with hemp-friendly ad networks and programmatic DSPs to reach compliant audiences at scale. 

Many agencies and brands now use Blockchain-Ads to manage programmatic campaigns, ensuring both regulatory compliance and transparent performance tracking. This approach allows CBD brands to run effective paid advertising while staying within platform guidelines and maintaining measurable ROI. 

Here’s how Blockchain-Ads supports CBD advertisers:

• Targets audiences by behavior, interests, and engagement with health and wellness content
• Provides detailed analytics for tracking conversions, building custom audiences, and retargeting
• Offers ad formats like display and native ads that connect well with CBD consumers

Brands like CBDfx use Blockchain-Ads to acquire over 40,000 compliant CBD product buyers, while gaining a 6.3x ROAS. Blockchain-Ads ensures CBD brands can reach health-conscious buyers while staying compliant, making it a trusted partner for growing presence and driving conversions.

Influencer & Affiliate Marketing: Nano-influencers, affiliate programs.

Cannabidiol marketing agencies connect brands to the right wellness influencers and effectively manage affiliate programs to drive sales. Of course, each partnership is undertaken with full disclosure and oversight to maintain compliance, authenticity, and transparency.

Public Relations & Link Building: Press features & high-authority backlinks.

Good PR will always boost credibility and promote visibility for CBD brands. The marketing agencies take charge of these efforts by handling press releases and quality backlink campaigns for successful public relations.

Criteria for Selecting the Right CBD Marketing Agency

Your brand's success in this highly competitive industry depends on how well you choose a CBD marketing agency. Here are the main things to consider during your selection:

• Budget and pricing models: Go for agencies that are transparent about costs and offer flexibility for each stage of your growth. There are typically three pricing models, which are project-based, performance-based, and retainer-based.
• Industry expertise and case studies: Experience in the CBD market is crucial, so look for agencies that have a proven track record with clear results. For example, Blockchain-Ads carried out a campaign for CBDfx and achieved excellent consumer acquisition numbers, with 42,000 new buyers of the CBD product.
• Compliance track record: CBD industry regulations vary across regions, so choosing agencies that are well-versed in these legalities should be your priority. They should not just be good at creating effective campaigns, but must also ensure the promotion isn't breaking any laws.
• Service breadth and customization: The best CBD marketing agencies are those that offer a range of services that include custom plans. Select those that include SEO, content marketing, social media management, and PPC services in one integrated package.
• Reporting and ROI metrics: Before choosing a CBD marketing agency, check that it provides regular updates on the performance of campaigns. This should comprise things like weekly/monthly analytics, reporting dashboards, and the inclusion of ROI metrics like CTR, CPA, and retention rates.

Top 12 CBD Marketing Agencies for 2025

These are the 11 best CBD marketing agencies in 2025, known for being compliant, creative, and result-driven:

1. Nerdy Joe

Nerdy Joe is a performance-driven agency that uses cold emailing as its primary engine and tailors it for CBD TOFU marketing. The agency builds cold email systems, offers newsletters, and offers bespoke lead generation services with flexible monthly retainers. With Nerdy Joe, you won't be selling leads. Instead, you'll get real conversions without bots, fluff, and recycled contact lists.

Nerdy Joe's pricing structure is also quite flexible, as you only pay based on your budget and needs. For example, the Boss Mode plan charges just $999 for six hot leads or six booked meetings per month. The agency also offers a 30-day money-back guarantee, so it's perfect for CBD brands that don't want to pay for empty promises.

2. Canesta

Canesta succeeds at blending SEO with paid media advertising to optimize conversions for CBD brands online. Their main strength lies in their ability to utilize keyword-rich content to attract traffic organically and improve visibility on ad platforms with restrictive policies.

As a Google Premier Partner, Canesta has access to advanced tools and support to run high-performing CBD campaigns. Standard pricing models aren't published, but CBD brands are advised to request a custom quote based on campaign objectives. This flexible structure is especially useful for companies that value expertise without outrageous pricing.

3. Icarus Digital Marketing

Icarus specializes in influencer management, programmatic ads, and CBD SEO optimization. The agency's creativity and adaptive strategies help CBD brands reach the desired audiences through educative storytelling. Icarus uses its own business manager setups to help brands navigate heavily regulated verticals.

Their pricing model isn't a fixed one-size-fits-all. Instead, cost depends on the campaign budget and how aggressively advertisers want to scale. For brands that want to run product-focused ads that send direct traffic to sales pages, Icarus is an ideal choice.

4. Forge Digital Marketing

With Forge Digital, you get an integrated full-service suite that includes design, branding, email marketing, and pay-per-click services. You'll get access to custom dashboards, transparent performance reporting, and a dedicated team to help you interpret the data.

While there isn't a fixed retainer, Forge offers short-term contracts on a month-to-month basis. They currently only accept minimum ad budgets of $10,000 monthly for CBD or hemp brands. The agency's extensive experience in health, wellness, and alternative medicine verticals makes them well suited for CBD brands.

5. PufCreativ

Puf is an award-winning CBD marketing agency that specializes in full-stack branding for companies looking to compete favorably in the cannabis industry. The agency's client-focused approach includes web development, SEO, infographics, email marketing, and cannabis-specific paid social media advertising.

Their service packages are tailored to match the unique campaign goals of CBD brands, which influences pricing. Having been around for nearly a decade, PufCreativ has developed deep expertise in CBD marketing. They're a strong partner due to their ability to combine creative storytelling with compliance and turnkey designs.

6. The Email Marketers

This is a retention-based agency that succeeds at growing email lists and segmentation for CBD brands. Their range of services includes developing email & SMS strategies, campaign management, lifecycle automations, and fostering loyalty through referral programs.

The Email Marketers operates on customized retainers, which are based on list size, client objectives, and the complexity of automations. Due to their focus on long-term retention, they're ideal for brands that value customer loyalty over conversions.

7. Boundless Labs

Boundless Labs focuses on TOFU email & SMS marketing and traffic generation for CBD brands. Their marketing campaigns are designed to blend storytelling with consumer behavioral data to drive brand loyalty and repeat purchases.

CBD brands will benefit from their data-driven approach, which leverages the extended reach of SMS and emails. The agency's pricing structure isn't publicly available, but being a Platinum Master Agency Partner underscores their effectiveness. Since launching in 2018, they've helped brands generate over $50 million in revenue from email marketing.

8. BigEye

By leveraging advanced analytics and its proprietary EyeQ platform, BigEye executes CBD marketing campaigns that position brands as lifestyle leaders. The agency offers a closed-loop system that provides access to real-time insights that allow you to optimize for growth.

BigEye's EyeQ uses a monthly flat-fee model that covers personalized guidance through all campaign stages. Their expertise and experience across full-funnel media is ideal for CBD brands that want to navigate the complex stages in the customer's journey.

9. Hybrid Marketing Co.

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Hybrid is an outcome-based agency that specializes in promoting CBD products in alignment with the brand's key business drivers. The agency's specialty in full-service sales marketing includes branding, content development, SEO, email marketing, and social media management.

The outcome-based model used by Hybrid Marketing Co. makes pricing heavily dependent on campaign scope, KPIs, and compliance needs. Their long history in cannabis marketing makes them a credible choice for brands looking to successfully navigate the regulatory landscape.

10 Cannabis Creative

Cannabis Creative offers customized solutions to CBD brands that want to increase online visibility and gain an edge in the market. Its services include public relations, email and SMS marketing, SEO, digital advertising, video/photography, and social media management.

For some CBD brands, Cannabis Creative may not be the cheapest option, as retainer rates often start at $25,000/year. However, advertisers benefit from decades of cannabis-specific expertise and the creativity of in-house content developers that focus on building trust.

11 Benevolent Mercenaries

Benevolent Mercenaries is a boutique agency that's known for helping CBD brands with edgy marketing, influencer partnerships, and PR efforts. They help to develop education-based campaigns, promote brand positioning, and connect you with like-minded people.

Because they're more mission-driven and specialize in policy work, they're not traditional performance-driven retainers. Instead, pricing depends on project scope, the complexity of the campaign, and the long-term nature of advocacy. This makes them perfectly suited for CBD brands that want to educate rather than just sell products.

How to Evaluate & Choose a CBD Marketing Agency

When choosing a CBD marketing agency, you'll need partners that understand your product, audience, and the legal limitations involved. To ensure you're making the right choice, create an RFP checklist that outlines your goals, budget, and performance indicators. Once you've shortlisted your preferred candidates, put them through an interview phase where you ask questions to know them better. For the final stage of the evaluation process, engage the agency in a short trial run to see how well it executes the campaign.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you effectively market a CBD brand?

The most effective way to market a CBD brand is via educational content, email marketing, and SEO optimization. With email marketing, advertisers can develop segmented campaigns with open benchmark rates of 20% to 25% to nurture and retain customers. Also, SEO strategies that use CBD-specific keywords can improve organic visibility.

What are the biggest challenges of marketing CBD?

The biggest challenges with CBD marketing are strict compliance policies, advertising restrictions, and mixed or unclear messaging. Cannabidiol brands must understand regulations across federal and state levels to avoid breaching laws. They must also develop diversified strategies, with a focus on SEO and email marketing, to bypass restrictions on platforms like Google Ads and Meta.

Can you advertise CBD on Google and Facebook?

Yes, you can advertise CBD on Facebook and Google, but only under very strict conditions. Some of these policies include promoting topical products rather than ingestibles and ensuring that campaign content is educational rather than salesy. As an alternative, many brands opt for specialized ad networks that have more flexible policies.