How Vireo Health Generated $108,730 in Revenue From a $13,500 Programmatic Display Ad Campaign
900
Online orders generated from the display campaign
$108,730
Revenue attributed to a $13,500 ad spend
8x
Return on advertising spend across campaign period
Industry
Health and Wellness – Multi-State Medical Cannabis Operator
Services
Programmatic Display Advertising, Geographic Targeting, Audience Segmentation, Campaign Optimisation
Campaign Timeframe
Programmatic Display Campaign
Introduction
This case study outlines how we generated 900 online orders and $108,730 in attributable revenue for Vireo Health, a physician-led medical cannabis operator running 16 dispensaries across five states, through a $13,500 programmatic display advertising campaign targeting New York City.
Vireo's approach is grounded in scientific rigour and clinical quality standards, positioning them as one of the most credible operators in the regulated cannabis market. In New York, they needed to maintain top-of-mind awareness among both new and existing patients as new dispensary openings increased competitive pressure. The dual challenge was reaching potential new patients unfamiliar with Vireo's locations, while keeping existing patients engaged with their delivery service, a convenience offering that differentiated Vireo in the New York market but required active promotion to drive adoption.
With cannabis advertising excluded from major digital platforms, Vireo needed a compliant programmatic solution that could reach their target audience across New York City and surrounding areas without the reach limitations of traditional cannabis marketing channels.
The Brief
Vireo operated in one of the most advertising-constrained environments of any consumer business category. Cannabis brands are excluded from advertising on Google, Meta, and most major digital platforms, forcing operators to rely on compliant programmatic networks and alternative digital channels to reach potential patients. In New York City specifically, the challenge was compounded by the density and diversity of the market.
Key Challenges Identified
- Excluded from major digital advertising platforms including Google and Meta, limiting reach to compliant programmatic networks only
- New dispensary openings in New York increasing competitive pressure and patient awareness requirements
- Dual objective of new patient acquisition and existing patient retention requiring separate targeting and messaging approaches
- Geographic precision required to reach patients across multiple NYC neighbourhoods without wasting spend on unreachable areas
- Delivery service awareness among existing patients needed active promotion to drive adoption and repeat orders
- ROAS benchmarks in cannabis categories typically compressed relative to open-market digital advertising environments
The Strategy
Compliant Programmatic Network Deployment
The campaign was deployed through a cannabis-compliant programmatic advertising network capable of reaching target audiences across the publisher networks accessible to regulated cannabis brands. Platform selection was based on reach, targeting capability, and verified compliance with cannabis category advertising requirements across all target geographies. Campaign structure was built to meet compliance requirements throughout the flight while maintaining the targeting precision required to generate commercial outcomes from a focused budget.
Geographic and Audience Targeting
Campaign targeting was built around Vireo's dispensary locations, with geographic parameters covering the specific NYC neighbourhoods and surrounding areas where the highest concentration of their potential patient base was located. Neighbourhood-level targeting ensured advertising spend was reaching patients within realistic proximity of a Vireo location or delivery zone. Audience segmentation separated new patient acquisition targeting from existing customer retargeting, ensuring each audience received messaging appropriate to their relationship with the brand and their position in the decision process.
Creative Strategy and Campaign Optimisation
Creative strategy addressed both campaign objectives simultaneously. Awareness-focused display units introduced Vireo's physician-led positioning and location information to new audience segments, while conversion-focused units targeted existing patients with messaging around the delivery service, emphasising the convenience and accessibility that differentiated Vireo's offering in the competitive New York market. Continuous budget reallocation was applied throughout the campaign flight, directing spend toward the targeting parameters, placements, and creative units producing the strongest order volume and revenue performance to ensure the $13,500 budget was deployed as efficiently as possible.
The Results
The campaign generated measurable commercial results that significantly exceeded standard benchmarks for programmatic display advertising in regulated industry categories.
The $13,500 campaign investment drove 900 online orders placed directly through Vireo's website, generating $108,730 in attributable revenue over the campaign period. The return on advertising spend of approximately 8x represents strong performance for programmatic display in a category where advertising inventory limitations typically compress ROAS benchmarks compared to open-market digital advertising environments.
The campaign demonstrated that compliant programmatic display advertising, when executed with precise geographic targeting and segmented creative strategy, can produce commercially significant revenue outcomes for cannabis operators despite the platform restrictions limiting their advertising options.
For Vireo, the results confirmed that investment in programmatic display was a viable customer acquisition and retention channel alongside organic and local search activity, contributing meaningful order volume that could not be attributed to other marketing channels during the campaign period.
These results confirmed that precise geographic targeting, audience segmentation, and continuous optimisation can produce strong commercial returns from programmatic display advertising even within the significant platform constraints facing regulated cannabis operators.
Ready to start your next campaign?
We'll assess your current search visibility and outline a practical strategy for your market.
Learn more about our Local SEO service or explore our full Local SEO offering before we talk.
Get a Free Audit