Is the New England Cannabis Convention Right for You?

When talking about conventions, people too often brand events as "bad" or "good" without giving any context.  Unless you know what someone was looking to get out of a show, their opinion really has no value to you.  For some, sheer volume of vendors or attendees is key; for others, it might be the number of business owners or CEOs in attendance.  Still others might be looking for investment opportunities, a new career, or capitol for their own business model.  

Most people  I've talked to do have a clear idea of what they want/need to get out of a show, and can easily determine whether a show was a success for them or not.  What surprises me is how often people ask for, and rely on, the feedback they get from other attendees without checking to see if that person's objective was similar to their own.  Just doesn't make any sense.

In the Cannabis Convention business, 2015 was a year of explosive, and most likely, over-growth.  It's hard to pin down an exact number, but I identified around 30 Cannabis events that could be considered to be in the traditional convention model.  I'll go out on a limb and say one event every 12 days might be too much.  Over the next few years many of these shows will probably drop off, but new ones will attempt to take their place.  With so many willing investors, and so much money at stake, it will be quite some time before the dust settles and the trade show component of the Cannabis Industry becomes at least moderately routine and stable. 

One of the most important things for Convention planners to remember is that the same lesson applies to us as it does to attendees.  Context!  When someone asks who should attend my show, I have to resist the urge to say, "EVERYBODY" while trying to shove a ticket into their hand.  It's important to know your vendors, and their goals.  If those goals are scattered and unaligned from vendor to vendor,  focus on largest segment; target and deliver the audience that will let them succeed.  In the end, one event CAN'T please everyone and some vendors will walk away unhappy from even the most successful shows.  

At NECANN, we have the challenge of being in New England, an extremely small geographic area with six different sets of medical marijuana laws, and a state-by-state race to be the first to legalize recreational use.  Everyone knows it's coming, but nobody know where, when, or how.  So what we've decided to do is to avoid the National Trade Show Model, which is focusing more and more on existing & emerging rec markets.  Instead we're focused on bringing all the elements of the local industry together: patients, caregivers, dispensaries, entrepreneurs, schools, growers, ancillary products & services, the hemp industry, and smoking & vaping tools.  If you (or your business) wants to get involved in the New England market, and are in the position to be able to roll with the ever-changing tide of state-by-state legal status changes, you should come to our show.  If you are looking to make connections with large national players, or are looking for shovel-ready, no turning back opportunities, then probably not so much.    

For those of you in the "should come" category, our 2016 Convention will be at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston on April 23rd & 24th, featuring over 120 vendors,  four programming tracks including live demos and over 60 speakers, plus the 1st ever New England Cannabis Film Festival.   Registration opens Feb. 3rd, right here:  REGISTRATION.  For more info, necann.com