June 2022: Are we done yet?

I'm late this edition, but I feel like I have a valid excuse: I finally got around to getting covid, but thankfully not before re-opening this tribute to my immaturity:

Also, my last 8 weeks included trips to the Lift Expo in Toronto and MJ Unpacked in NYC, then to a rather paranoid new convention in Connecticut (that actually had their lawyer send me a letter threatening to have anyone from necann arrested for trespassing if we bought tickets to attend), and a visit to the long-running but oh-so bizarrely named "Cannabis World Congress & Business Exposition" in NYC.

After that it was a return to Chicago for our 2022 NECANN Illinois convention, followed by a first-time trip to attend Exhibitor LIVE in Las Vegas (a convention for people who go to conventions - more about that later!). Then it was the event in New Jersey, first dubbed "The Cannabis Industrial Marketplace New Jersey Tri-State Summit & Expo" then re-named (but in NO way simplified) "Emerging Industry Professionals' New Jersey Canna Tech Expo".

After all THAT, it was a final trip to Burlington for our 2022 Vermont Cannabis Convention, which was also our FINAL re-scheduled covid show.

EMPTYING THE SUITCASE: Observations & lessons

At the LIFT Expo in Toronto it was interesting to find so many companies having the same marketing team in Canada as in the US, and the amount of "umbrella booths" (a single company presenting an assortment of brands) really drove home the speed and volume with which companies and acquiring & merging with each other. If we were still in the age of the rolodex, there would be soooo many scribbled notes on every contact.

MJ Unpacked was perhaps a peek into a future where consumer product brands have a separate tour of shows to attend to meet retailers - the final piece there being a way to make sampling/consumption an above-board part of the event (something necann will be creating at our new Brand/Consumer networking & entertainment event The High LifeStyle Show in Massachusetts in October). Also a confirmation that there is still a critical mass of canna-bros walking around show floors spouting fantasy investment ROI promises and aspirational market share.

The Connecticut event was interesting though about half of the exhibitors had nothing to do with the Cannabis Industry, most of it home improvement type stuff. The lesson as an event organizer? Don't do that. We're very excited about our inaugural event there, The Connecticut Cannabis Convention will be held May 20-21, 2023 at the XL Center in Hartford - click the link to apply to speak or register to exhibit!

Now about that NJ event with the two super long names...

Here's where we enter slightly awkward territory because I don't know the owner(s) of that event personally and mean them no offense. This show, which I understand was a victim of multiple covid postponements and originally scheduled to be held in Pennsylvania, was difficult to be at due to the extremally low attendance. Pretty much everyone who hosts events for a living has had a this happen to them and it's hard not to sympathize. That being said, it underscores one on of the most vital but also most difficult decisions an event organizer can make: whether to cancel or go through with a show that you know is not going to deliver ROI based on low ticket pre-sales. In all honesty, unless there were circumstances I'm not aware of that would have made it impossible, I would have canceled that show had it been mine. NOTE: if one of the organizers of this show is reading this & wants to yell at me, my number is on the necann website. I'll be happy to listen & add any information here that you would like people to know. Like I said, we've all been there.

NEXT TIME

Remember how I said "more about that later!" in regards to the convention about conventions I went to? Well, later meant next time. It was great, and we came away with tons of great ideas and suggestions for exhibitors to maximize their ROI at conventions, as well as measure and understand it better. It was kind of like going to classes for three days, which I remembered that I hated doing so much I dropped out of college, but I did the work so you don't have to, stay tuned for my cheat notes!