A 100% Biased Comparison of Benzinga Cannabis & MJUnpacked

There is absolutely no way to write an unbiased piece comparing my recent experiences at Benzinga's Cannabis Capital Conference and MJ Unpacked . So instead, here is my extremely personal take on each conference through the lens of my business.

First of all, I can't be unbiased, because I earned myself the title of #NOTWENDY on the first night of Benzinga in Miami. Attending both of these conferences as Wendy Campbell 's doppelg?nger made me somewhat of a pseudo-celebrity since Wendy is so well-known in the conference world, and apparently, we are twins.

With the help of meme queen Krystale Ortiz , I rallied my guts to post this pic. It went "viral" -- my post has over 10K impressions and 50 comments. Wendy shared it to her network.

The next morning, I was "canna-famous."

Everywhere I went, people who saw the posts were calling me "not Wendy." And, people wanted to take pictures with me. That was in Miami at Benzinga. You can only imagine what ensued at Wendy's conference, MJ Unpacked in New York. George Jage ran up to me "#NotWendy! I have been looking all over for you, can I please have a picture for my social media?"

I am not of the mindset that all PR is good PR, but in this case, being #NotWendy opened up a lot of doors and hilariously vulnerable conversations with people who got a paragraph into a conversation with me thinking I was Wendy. You know who you are.

Full disclosure, I only went to one session at Benzinga because none of them were "for me." And, at MJUnpacked, I didn't have a conference badge I could only attend the expo.

Here is my completely biased comparison between the two conferences based on the following subjective criteria:

• Who is it for?
• Vibe Check
• Seshing? / Networking & App
• Hospitality
• Investor Opps

Read to the end for a few travel tips.

WHO IS IT FOR?

The two conferences drew two distinctly different crowds. And though it might have looked, here on LinkedIn, that the same people were at both events, you're only somewhat right.

Benzinga

If you like to wear a suit to a cannabis conference (and many people do), this is the one for you. The conference has been called Menzinga in the past, and although they definitely increased the women in the rooms this year, the entire thing feels masculine. The lights were dark and sexy, and the energy was heavy. Also it was raining cats and dogs in Miami, so take this with a grain of salt.

I would consider Benzinga a B2B conference. I was there with Kady Cravens the Founder of BuildMySOP.com who graciously invited me and my business partner, Krystale Ortiz to support her while she was at the show. I saw Kady's booth light up all day. She had meetings scheduled, met with investors, discussed strategic partnerships and more. From my insider's, outside perspective, the conference was highly successful for her.

For me, not so much. The Hi-Curious Content Marketplace helps cannabis businesses reach consumers. Discussion about the consumer was definitely not a focus at Benzinga. That said, there were definitely investors looking for places to put their money in Miami, so don't write off Benzinga even if you are a consumer brand.

Unpacked

Speaking of the consumer, the companies trying to reach them turned UP at MJUnpacked. For our company that helps cannabis brands with social media and influencer marketing, these are the people I was hoping to network with.

We just finished the first quarter of our pivot and finalized our new website, so I didn't have the money to invest in a sponsorship at MJUnpacked, but I really wanted to attend to see if my hunch that "my clients" would be there was right.

So, I put this post into the universe, and Taigh G. Smyth took me up on my offer to support Blend Pen and added me to his ticket list for the event.

The hunch was right, if you are looking to meet businesses who are working to reach consumers and patients, this is the show to attend. We are definitely considering a bigger financial commitment for their Fall event. Why? Read on to "investors."

VIBE CHECK

I am going to make this short and sweet. MJUnpacked wins on Vibe Check and it's one reason ...The Media MixTape Party. While the party wasn't an official part of the conference, it was a clear hand-off between the Unpacked team and Farechild .

And here's the biggest takeaway -- Conference organizers aren't cool, don't try and throw a party.

The After-Party at Benzinga was...weird. The performance by Lexy Panterra hit the dance floor a little too hard(core). While she was a stunning, sexy, powerful woman and her energy was fire, it made me uncomfortable to see people who I am supposed to see as new work colleagues in what felt a bit like a strip club situation.

The Mixtape Party, was a whole vibe. First of all, YOU COULD SMOKE WEED! The performers were amazing, athletic breakdancers and the DJs were incredible. The cannabis made everything so much better than alcohol which definitely was more prevalent (and pricey) in Miami. There was free flowing cannabis from amazing sponsors who showed off new technology.

SESHING? NETWORKING? APP?

It's not a secret that NYC is more conducive to seshing than Miami (especially in a T-storm). But, very little at Benzinga was about cannabis. I had plenty of smoky moments at Benzinga (where I got the pic with Wendy), but it was way more fun to sesh with friends on 54th street in my old stomping grounds of NYC (this review is biased!)

The networking was excellent at both events. I met extremely high quality people.

Benzinga's App beats MJUnpacked's App

Conference apps are really helpful (or really unhelpful). Benzinga made scheduling meetings an absolute breeze. I was able to meet with decision makers at companies like Leafly and Ispire . with the click of a button. And, everyone showed up because there was a meeting place set by the app. The Unpacked App set meetings for you at people's booths where they were distracted and no one was keeping a schedule.

HOSPITALITY

This one goes to Benzinga. While I appreciate that Unpacked was in the middle of NYC the home of thousands of restaurants, there was nary a snack to be found at MJUnpacked. At Benzinga, breakfast and lunch were provided to all ticketed guests. If you want to keep my attention, and keep me in the building, feed me PLEASE?!

INVESTORS

At MJUnpacked, one of my first interactions with an investor went like this...

Him: "Wendy!!!!"

Me: "Not Wendy"

Him: "Do you have room on your cap table?"

Ok, not exactly, but that conversation really fired me up. The investors at Benzinga were definitely looking for something bigger than my influencer marketplace looks today.

MY TIPS

1) Don't get sick -- I was sick at Benzinga (sorry if I gave it to you) and I felt as gloomy as the weather.

2) Arrive early -- I got to NY a few days early (I am from there) and it made it so much nicer than going straight from the airport to the conference.

3) Don't overpack -- You really don't need to change between day and night, maybe a change of jacket.

4) Use LinkedIn to connect -- Business cards are so old school, and I have tried the digital business card and it's hit or miss whether the connection actually happens. Open your phone, have the person you are talking to do the same, and connect on LinkedIn right then.

5) Always bring an umbrella and your own weed.

6) Stay at the host hotel.

7) Find your people and don’t let go, but always be inclusive when meeting new people (an invite to smoke a joint goes a long way).

See you in Denver in May for the Cannabis Marketing Association Summit. And, catch Matthew Ockrim later this week Hall of Flowers .