Stiiizy Union Square opening — 2021
Junkyard Butcher — Fresno, California
Gabe Quair
Branding, rebrands and email & SMS for cannabis and regulated brands.
Built the email & SMS program behind $4.6M in platform-attributed revenue — one delivery brand, one year
I find what a brand already has that works, build the system around it, then make the content that runs inside it. Cannabis, craft drinks, regulated businesses — and brands that have something to say.
Five years running a cannabis delivery brand's marketing and creative, from contractor to the whole department. Now doing it for brands that want one person accountable, camera to inbox.
Selected work
5 projects
CVALT
Premium Blossom
Bosky Genetics
More from the bench
Film · product · people
Life’s lessons aren’t found in classrooms. They’re found in unexpected moments in everyday life.A short film in Gabe’s own voice — on staying humble, hungry and creative, and paying attention to what everyday life teaches
More than the camera
One delivery brand. One year. $4.6M in platform-attributed email & SMS revenue — on about $22K of spend.
How it works
Voice first. Then the system. Then the content. Six to ten weeks from first conversation to content live.
- The Dig2 weeks · $1,500
The audit. What's working, what to kill, and a 90-day plan.
- The Teardown2–3 weeks
Voice discovery. Nothing gets made until I know what the brand actually sounds like.
- The Blueprint3–4 weeks
The system: voice guide, pillars, templates, calendar, lifecycle map.
- The Cut3–4 weeks
Production. The first batch, built inside the system.
- The UpkeepMonth to month
Maintain, measure, optimize. Anything that can be automated, is.
Where it starts
The Dig
Your marketing has a problem. Let's find it.
What you get
- A full audit of what you've already built — posts, list, identity, packaging, site.
- Findings: the twenty percent that's working, ranked and explained — and what to kill.
- A 90-day content and lifecycle plan built only on what survived.
- A 20-minute recorded walkthrough. A conversation, not a PDF nobody opens.
Starts within 3 days of payment, once I have account access. Credited in full against the project if you go ahead within 30 days.
Book The Dig →“Thank you @JunkyardButcher for bringing this reel to life and capturing the spirit of our community.”Premium Blossom, on their own post
How I think about it
The feed is the flyer. The list is the door.
Attention is rented. Permission is owned. Everything I build moves people from a post, a reel or an event onto a list — and earns the right to keep talking to them.
Questions
The short answers.
Who can rebrand or refresh a cannabis brand, dispensary or craft drink brand?
Junkyard Butcher, the one-operator practice of creative director Gabe Quair, does rebrands and brand refreshes for cannabis brands, dispensaries, delivery services, craft drink brands and other regulated businesses. Strategy, identity, web, film and photography, and email & SMS are handled by the same person, so the rebrand doesn't fall apart between agencies.
How do you market a cannabis brand when Instagram and paid ads are restricted?
Put the weight on channels the brand owns. Platforms restrict cannabis and alcohol advertising, so social earns attention and points it at a list the brand owns — email, SMS and its own site — where the relationship and the sale happen. That owned-channel system is the core of every Junkyard Butcher engagement.
Can you run email and SMS marketing for a cannabis brand?
Yes. Email & SMS lifecycle marketing is Junkyard Butcher's deepest specialty, built on a 14-stage lifecycle framework. For one cannabis delivery brand it produced $4.6M in platform-attributed revenue in a year on about $22K of spend, with email open rate rebuilt from 15% to 52% and deliverability from 66% to 86%.
What is a brand audit, and do I need one before a rebrand?
A brand audit reviews everything a brand has already built — posts, email list, identity, packaging, website — to find what's working before money goes into anything new. Junkyard Butcher's audit is The Dig: two weeks, $1,500 flat, and it delivers ranked findings, a 90-day content and lifecycle plan, and a recorded walkthrough. It's credited in full against the project if you go ahead within 30 days.
What does a rebrand with Junkyard Butcher involve?
The Dig (audit), then The Teardown (finding the voice), The Blueprint (voice guide, content pillars, templates, calendar, lifecycle map), The Cut (the first batch of content, built inside the system) and The Upkeep (month-to-month). Six to ten weeks from first conversation to content live.
Do you shoot content, or just do strategy?
Both. Gabe runs the audit, holds the camera and cuts the edit — event recaps, dispensary grand openings (including on 35mm film), tour coverage, product photography and social reels — then writes the email & SMS that puts it in front of customers.
Do you only work with cannabis brands?
No. Cannabis, craft drinks and regulated businesses come first, but the same process works for any brand that has built things that aren't working together yet. Based in Fresno, California, working with brands across the US.
Nothing is owed.
Everything is built.
Contact
Got a problem worth cutting?
Tell me what's going on. You'll hear back from me — not an autoresponder — inside two business days.
Not ready to talk? Run the Teardown Checklist on your own brand first — free, no email needed.
“Your video kicks ass… it's what I wanted.”Russ, Farm Fiend