Charlotte, NC

Ben Cole

Marketing director and former broadcaster. I come up with the idea, shoot it, design it, edit it, and then check what it actually did.

Everything here was made for The Kanna Collective, a hemp and CBD retailer with three locations and an online store in Charlotte, where I’ve led marketing since July 2025. Numbers come straight from Instagram and Klaviyo.

Video

Short-form reels I pitched, hosted, and edited. Both reached more people outside the existing audience than inside it.

Kanna Cribs

Concept, hosting, editing

A store-tour reel that walks viewers through a Kanna location.

views
4,126
of viewers didn’t follow the account
51%
shares
92
engagement rate
7.8%
Watch Kanna Cribs

Every Pre-Roll, By Hand

Concept, hosting, editing

A funny behind-the-scenes look at how the shop’s pre-rolls get made, one at a time.

views
3,030
of viewers didn’t follow the account
58%
shares
47
profile visits
44
Watch Every Pre-Roll, By Hand

Photography

Photo posts I shot for Instagram, with the numbers each one pulled.

Hemp legislation march, Raleigh

Photography

A carousel following the Kanna team as they marched for hemp legislation.

views
12,161
engagement rate, by reach
13%
of viewers didn’t follow the account
62%
new follows
33

Café launch

Photography

The announcement carousel for the café opening.

views
33,268
shares
292
profile visits
303
taps on the business address
15

Email

Before I took over the email program, a typical newsletter opened at 11.4%. I cleaned out inactive subscribers, built new audience segments, and redesigned the campaigns. Here’s how three of mine compare.

CampaignOpen rateClick rateActive on site
Newsletter before I took over11.4%0.51%0.37%
Cyber Monday36.2%1.01%0.83%
Snow Day flash sale30.8%1.63%1.42%
Monthly newsletter26.4%0.82%0.94%

Cyber Monday

20% off storewide, online only.

7,028 people opened it, about 3x the old open rate

Snow Day flash sale

An online-only flash sale with the code SNOW.

Click rate 3x and on-site rate nearly 4x the old baseline

Monthly newsletter

Halloween events, a mobile van schedule, and a new deal launch in one send.

26.4% open rate, 2.3x the old baseline

Design

Promos, menus, event flyers, and direct mail, designed in Canva and Photoshop. Select any piece to see it full size.