Benzinga Conference Recap + 420 Updates

I had the pleasure of attending the Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference in Miami and it was a wonderful couple of days.

In this newsletter, I recap my experience at the conference, share my thoughts on the lineup, plus I share details of how one of our clients honored Earth Day. Additionally, I go over the plethora of 4/20 hits our team at Trailblaze secured for our clients - from The New York Times to High Times - our team hit it out of the park!

Now let's get into it:?

Before I arrived at the conference, I scoped out the lineup. I noticed a major lack of diversity amongst the panelists. This was a white male dominated line-up. The majority of the non white speakers were on social equity panels. Can't we have Black and Brown people speak on additional topics besides social equity? Social equity is important but we all know that Black & Brown people are experts on more than just those topics. In the future, I’d like to see more diversity amongst panelists at the conference.?

While I wish there was more diversity, the speakers that were there were all extremely knowledgeable and provided a lot of value to the audience. It was hard to say what panel/1:1 was my favorite because we did have a few clients speaking and I'm admittedly biased. Shoutout to MariMed, Ayr, and Neptune Wellness who all crushed it!

When it comes to the attendees, those in the audience were also mainly gentlemen. I noticed a lack of women at this conference. The few women I did meet were absolutely pleasant and all aimed to stick together and help each other rise. To quote our client Elizabeth Corbett of AE Global, "I am excited about the collaboration between women at the event & that we all helped each other." As Beth stated, lots of collaboration between women happened on the networking floor!

I found incredible value in networking at the conference. I got to speak to CEO's, investors, decision makers, founders, etc. All of which I would have never had access to otherwise. I think this is important to acknowledge because I know a lot of people who were on the fence about attending this conference. Let this be your inspiration to attend next year: the attendees helped make this conference such a success. Deals were made at this conference. Seeds were planted. Magic happened.?

The conference was well put together. I loved that they provided breakfast and lunch - which was clutch for getting through the long days. Plus, they had coffee readily available throughout the event so if you felt tired, you could easily get caffeinated.

Before the conference, I hosted a ticket giveaway with Benzinga. I ran into the contest winner, Will Breakell , Founder of Blazy Susan, at the conference and here’s what he had to say about the event: “The Benzinga Conference blew my expectations out of the water! The connections made there were very well worth the travel. Next conference our company will be buying a booth and doubling down on our commitment. Highly recommended for any investor or entrepreneur.”

You heard the man - check out Benzinga’s next event! You don’t want to miss it.?

So you may be wondering, what else happened in Miami during 4/20 week?

To rewind a bit: the night before the conference began, our client AE Global, a leader in cannabis packaging, threw a party at SoHo House. It was an excellent time. SoHo House became the "it" spot for parties every night thereafter. The after parties are just as important as the conference, in my opinion.?

At this SoHo House event, I got to meet my boss Lisa Weser and my coworker Leland for the first time in person, after a year of working together! It was such a lovely time to get to connect in person. Additionally, connecting with our client in person was a beautiful time.

The day after the conference ended was Earth Day. AE Global, in partnership with 4G and Ocean Recovery Group hosted a beach cleanup in Miami Beach. I attended and had a great time helping clean our Earth. I collected 24.3 pounds and as a whole, we collected almost 1200 pounds of trash!? Our beach cleanup was covered by The Fresh Toast and Green Entrepreneur and the Mayor of Miami showed up!

I'm really proud of AE Global, a leader in cannabis packaging, for organizing this event right after the Benzinga conference. It gave me something to be a part of that I felt proud to participate in. Plus, it was a nice way to wind down after a week of intense socializing.

Overall, my time in Miami was well spent. The conference was better than MJ Biz Con, the speakers were knowledgeable, the attendees were pleasant, and the venue was great.?

Here's some tips for the next time you attend a cannabis conference:

• Plan ahead. Look at the map and write down what booths you want to see and then plan accordingly. Take note of the speaker lineups. Take into consideration that you may also get stopped by peers while walking & then you'll find yourself in conversations - so leave some time for that too.?
• Wear comfortable shoes!! Can't stress this enough. You'll be on your feet all day & walking A LOT. So be comfortable. That doesn't mean you can't look chic! What I do is I wear bright pink sneakers. Shows off my personality but keeps me comfortable. AND I have custom shoe insoles so my back is extra supported.
• Pack snacks in your purse. If you won't have a purse, consider bringing a backpack to hold a water bottle and snacks. It's such a busy time that it can be hard to stop and eat, so snacks are a must. Plus, when you come across a hangry friend, you can share with them! They'll be quite grateful.
• Consider bringing disposable heating pads or icy hot patches for your back and shoulders. All that walking and movement can make the body sore!
• If you have a terrible memory like me, here's my trick to remembering whose business card belongs to who: I kindly ask the person who gave me their card if I can take a quick photo of them holding their business card. Then, after the conference when I'm going through my cards, I can resort back to my photos to remember who is who!?
• Save energy for the after parties! That's where the magic happens.?

Did you attend Benzinga? Let me know in the comments how the conference was for you.

Now let’s get into 4/20! The team at Trailblaze absolutely CRUSHED 4/20 coverage. Here’s some of our EPIC wins we secured for clients:

New York Times

High Times

Ad Age

Urban Daddy

Vox

InStyle

Green Entrepreneur

Fresh Toast

The Dieline

& more!

Plus, I wrote a very long 4/20 Guide for Benzinga, featuring 40 plant-touching and ancillary products. Check it out here . I tried to feature lots of women and minority owned brands. What product on the list is your favorite?

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Many thanks for reading this edition of Moon High, the newsletter meant to get you High on cannabis knowledge. If you haven’t already, please subscribe and tell a friend!

Cheers,

Alice Moon

p.s. I am accepting sponsors for future newsletters. Send me a message if you're interested in learning more.