Marketing features of derived intoxicating cannabinoid product brands on Instagram: A content analysis.

Abstract

Use of derived intoxicating cannabinoid products (DICPs) has grown in the United States (US), as have associated poisonings, emergency department visits and psychotic episodes. Brand marketing on social media, a largely underregulated marketing channel, may be contributing to this growth. To inform prevention efforts, this study characterized marketing features used by leading DICP brands on Instagram. Qualitative content analysis. A total of 837 Instagram posts published by nine leading DICP brands' (CannaAid, Cycling Frog, Delta Extrax, Elyxr, Fly Urb, Hometown Hero, Koi CBD, Mood and Official Canna River) accounts between February 2024 and February 2025. The research team developed a codebook of marketing features using both inductive and deductive methods, and two trained coders analyzed the content of the posts (n = 837). Frequencies were calculated for each marketing feature, and Chi-squared tests were used to examine associations of marketing feature themes by brand and product type. Social media posts featured product descriptors and imagery (product theme; 75.3%), recreational effects and enjoyment appeals (recreational theme; 52.0%), youth-oriented imagery and cultural cues (youth theme; 49.6%), brand and value positioning (brand theme; 35.7%), health and therapeutic benefit claims (health theme; 10.2%) and health and age warnings (warning theme; 2.5%). Theme presence differed statistically significantly by brand (Ps< 0.001). Cycling Frog used product (93.4%), recreational (83.7%) and brand (50.6%) themes most frequently. Mood (64.4%) and Delta Extrax (60.1%) used the youth theme most frequently, while Hometown Hero (23.7%) and Koi CBD (17.7%) used the health theme most frequently. Themes also varied statistically significantly by product type (Ps< 0.05). Beverages were the product type most commonly marketed with product (97.4%), recreational (84.3%), youth (56.9%) and brand (40.5%) themes. Edibles (60.8%) and pre-rolls/blunts (52.9%) were frequently marketed with the recreational theme, while cartridges/vapes (53.5%) and edibles (49.2%) were frequently marketed with the youth theme. Between February 2024 and February 2025, Instagram posts from leading brands of derived intoxicating cannabinoid products frequently emphasized product, recreational and youth-oriented themes, while age restrictions and health warning messages were less common. Marketing content varied by brand and product type, with beverages particularly likely to feature recreational, lifestyle and youth-appealing elements.