Pivoting During the Pandemic: Protecting and Growing your Cannabis Brand
Pivoting During the Pandemic: Protecting and Growing your Cannabis Brand Online
In a time when staying connected to our communities is more important than ever, our in-person meet-ups and large-scale gatherings have been canceled for the foreseeable future. Many cannabis brands rely on experiential strategies to grow and have been left needing to uncover new ways to reach their community.
Nate Zeke, CEO of cartera, a transaction protocol that allows businesses to make and accept non-cash payments safely and legally, will share critical insights on taking your events online, building digital communities, effectively integrating social media, avoiding Suspicious Activity Reports, and more.
Nate Zeke is co-founder and CEO of cartera, a transaction protocol that allows businesses to make and accept non-cash payments safely and legally. cartera integrates with existing platforms to facilitate, monitor and validate financial transactions throughout their lifecycle. Nate is a recognized leader in the field of operational risk and state-regulated insurance markets. A serial entrepreneur, Nate has founded several companies and organizations with more than one successful exit. He is also co-founder and board member of the Tomorrow Foundation, a 501(c)(3) focused on creating a better tomorrow through environmental and recycling education. Nate holds a Bachelors in Communications from Northwestern University.
Connecting Business & Culture in the Cannabis Industry
Connecting Business & Culture In The Cannabis Industry
Overview:
As the Director of Strategy at Headset, Jocelyn Sheltraw works across the supply chain and beyond, educating Retailers, Brands, Investors, and City and State Association Leaders on the trends Headset is seeing in adult-use cannabis sales, and how to utilize a data and technology driven mindset to make informed business decisions.
Having spent her career working in ad tech, Jocelyn joined the cannabis industry 2 years ago, and will share her learnings from the first two years of recreational legalization in California.
Jocelyn will share her data driven knowledge, as well as perspective being a long time cannabis enthusiast, and involved industry advocate.
What Attendees Will Learn:
A Brief History of Cannabis in American Society and Culture: From past to present, understanding cannabis' deep history will help you be an informed Marketer
An Overview of Adult Use Sales Trends: Understand category, product, and consumer trends, and how the market responds to crisis' like VAPI and COVID-19
An Understanding of the Cannabis Supply Chain and Ecosystem
An Overview of Resources Available
Bio
Jocelyn Sheltraw is the Director of Strategy at Headset, responsible for strategy and operations in California, as well as new market expansion into Oregon, Arizona and New Mexico.
Prior to joining the cannabis industry, Jocelyn spent 10 years working in mobile advertising and technology developing advertising and monetization strategies for apps including: Flipboard, Spotify, SoundCloud, Pandora, Uber to name a few.
Jocelyn is a vocal advocate and thought leader, involved in various cannabis associations and committees for; CCIA, NCIA, UCBA, CVCAN. She also works on various California Social Equity Program initiatives.
Join CMA for a happy hour sesh over Zoom!
This informal networking session is to connect marketers in the cannabis industry with each other during these unique circumstances. Attendees will be able to introduce themselves and have private conversations in breakout rooms. BYOC and BYOB and see you on Zoom!
This is a 21+ event.
Search, Social, Programmatic: Balancing the Digital Advertising Trifecta – CMA
Tactics, Tips & Tricks to Optimize Your Paid Media Mix for Cannabis & CBD Brands
In 2020, nearly 60% of ad dollars in the U.S. will be spent on digital advertising—so why are nine out of ten cannabis marketers not leveraging the digital advertising options available to them? In this webinar, we’ll debunk the belief that digital ads for cannabis brands aren’t allowed and explain how to balance the unique challenges and benefits of paid search, social, and programmatic ads for cannabis and CBD. We’ll also share information on the wide variety of advertising channels and formats available outside of Facebook and Google, including display, mobile, video, connected TV, native, and digital audio. Our goal is to help you squeeze the most ROI out of your digital advertising budget, whatever its size.
Learning objectives:
Pinpoint what’s allowed in theory, accepted in practice, and prohibited by the primary digital advertising platforms
Share pro tips on increasing your ad campaign’s chances of approval and likelihood of conversion on each platform
Explain how to mitigate the risk of ad rejection on Facebook, Instagramand Google by leveraging programmatic ad technology
Speaker Bios
Phil Parrish, Co-Founder & Managing Director, PrograMetrix
A sales and marketing leader, Phil has spent the past 10 years of his career working within the digital marketing industry on the ad tech and agency sides. Phil is the Co-founder and Managing Director of PrograMetrix, a programmatic advertising agency in Seattle. PrograMetrix now helps Cannabis, CBD, Hemp, and Ancillary brands execute the same advertising strategies and ad tech solutions that drive great results for its Fortune 500 clients like Aramark, Symantec, and Hilton.
Chris Shreeve, Co-Founder, PrograMetrix
A digital advertising and software sales veteran, Chris has experience ranging from online media to lead generation software services for agencies and advertisers across all major industries and verticals. Chris is the Co-founder of PrograMetrix, a programmatic advertising agency in Seattle specializing in the Cannabis and CBD markets. His family has been involved in the medical and recreational cannabis industries through their ownership of The Bakeree retail locations in the Pacific Northwest. Chris has a vested interest in bringing Fortune 500 ad tech solutions to the cannabis space and to help brands market their products & services online like their mainstream counterparts.
Advertising, Ecommerce & Covid: 2020 best practices that are sales friendly
Advertising, ecommerce and Covid: 2020 best practices that are sales friendly and context sensitive
Get in the weeds with us on effective ways to make use of ecommerce during the times of quarantine, no matter what sector of the cannabis industry you are in.
Strike the right mix of signals for your brand during tough times: be sensitive to human emotion and also understand what part your brand can play in being a source of comfort and positive solutions when needed most.
Review data on what top mainstream eCommerce brands are doing with advertising budgets, campaigns and promo strategy, applicable to your hemp, CBD, canna or ancillary business.
See how business to business transactions in the industry supply chain can also make the move to eCommerce, both for business growth and relevant social distancing guidelines.
Where are brands in various markets spending their advertising dollars now, versus pre-COVID?
Using new business models to support your staff, customers and local communities.
All actionable advice courtesy a CMA member who's been advertising for ecommerce successfully for over 23 years.
Scott Rabinowitz, CEO , Buoyancy Digital
Scott Rabinowitz has spent the past 23 years managing media buys & online ad spend in keyword based SEM advertising (paid search), mobile, video and display ads, along with marketing compliance planning and digital media strategy for age restricted industries, including cannabis. He is IAB DMSC, Google AdWords and BingAds accredited, serves as Digital Media Advisor for online youth safety firm ResponsiTech & has studied the traffic impact of more than a billion keywords. Having spent more than $300 million on search engine ads and display media for clients over time, his focus is on expanding the range of cannabis-friendly digital advertising options in every jurisdiction for brands throughout the industry.
https://buoyancydigital.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottrmedia/
Webinar: Cannabis Crisis Communications During COVID-19
Learn about crisis communications for cannabis businesses during COVID-19 from industry pros in marketing, communications, and manufacturing
Cannabis businesses are having to shift in real time during this unprecedented crisis. Deemed "essential businesses" by San Francisco and New York, brands are facing a myriad of unknowns and need to respond to increased demands amidst great uncertainty.
Topics to be covered:
How do crisis communications need to change in the midst of COVID-19— particularly on the heels of the vape crisis?
How do you deal with the crisis first and then evaluate marketing spend?
What is the messaging to customers? Partners? Suppliers? Investors?
How do you respond and react authentically in real time?
Webinar Date: Tuesday, March 31st from 12:00 - 1:00 pm MST
https://staging.thecannabismarketingassociation.com/
Moderator: Lisa Buffo, CEO, Cannabis Marketing Association
Panelists:
Ricardo Baca, CEO, Grasslands
Marji Chimes, CMO, Coda Signature Dan Gardenswartz, CFO, Spherex
Jeanine Moss, Founder & CEO, J Moss & CO
A recording of the webinar will be available to all members via the online CMA Member Portal and to non-members through a protected link.
Login information will be emailed to you prior to the webinar. Please email info@marketingcannabis.org with any questions.
Ricardo Baca
Ricardo Baca is a 20-year veteran journalist, keynote speaker, TEDx veteran and thought leader in modern media and drug-policy circles. He served as The Denver Post’s first-ever marijuana editor and founded news vertical The Cannabist, where he extensively covered the advent of adult-use cannabis and related issues across the country and around the world, as seen in the feature documentary Rolling Papers (Netflix).
In 2016, Ricardo launched Grasslands: A Journalism-Minded Agency to work directly with business leaders in highly regulated industries, including cannabis, energy and traditional healthcare. Named Marketer of the Year by AdCann in 2019, Ricardo has received numerous accolades for his trailblazing work covering drug policy, cannabis business and culture, and continues to columnize and host podcasts for a number of top publications.
Connect: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bruvs/
Jeanine Moss
Jeanine Moss is a product and brand development specialist who has shepherded numerous organizations and brands through worldwide crises. She works closely with start-ups, innovators and agencies and advises corporations like Accenture, Booz Allen Hamilton and Hewlett Packard on product development, brand positioning, messaging and go-to-market strategies. Moss has addressed some of the most significant disruptions of our time including repositioning New York City’s tourism industry, propelling the technology revolution, and acting as Chief Communications officer for The September 11th Fund after the terrorist attacks. In addition, she has supported international non-profits like the American Red Cross and United Way of America and crisis response efforts for organizations like the U.S. Travel Association, New York City and the Department of Defense Personnel & Readiness Directorate. As Chair of the National Cannabis Industry Association’s Marketing & Advertising Committee, Moss leads a team of the nation’s most influential marketers and led the team that created the industry’s first crisis communications manual. Learn more: www.JMossCo.com, and
Connect: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeaninemoss/
Marji Chimes
Marji Chimes is Chief Marketing Officer for Coda Signature, an award-winning maker of premium infused edibles, topicals and concentrates. She oversees branding, product development, marketing strategy, and customer-experience initiatives focused on education and outreach.
Ms. Chimes gained her marketing expertise through decades of designing and delivering premium brand experiences for both B2B and B2C brands. Prior to joining the Coda team, she led global marketing at TTEC, an international technology and services company that designs and implements transformative customer experience (CX) for some of the world’s most iconic and disruptive brands. At TTEC, Ms. Chimes oversaw branding, creative, public relations, analyst relations, digital marketing, social media, content marketing, demand generation and sales enablement initiatives. Ms. Chimes joined TTEC after the company acquired CX consultancy Peppers & Rogers Group (PRG), where she served as senior vice president, and was responsible for developing and implementing multi-channel marketing strategy for 10 years.
Ms. Chimes honed her expertise in building premium brands by working side-by-side with fashion designer Ralph Lauren at Polo Ralph Lauren, where she managed brand communications. She also led e-commerce for vertically integrated manufacturer and retailer Ethan Allen.
She is a proud member of a third-generation confections family: Her grandfather started Harold W. Young, Inc. in 1929, a national candy brokerage firm that is today run by her two siblings. Ms. Chimes earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Brown University.
Daniel Gardenswartz
Daniel Gardenswartz is Chief Financial Officer of Spherex, an innovative cannabis extraction company and producer of top-shelf vape cartridges, dablicators and infused products. He oversees all financial aspects of the company; assists in operational management, including global supply chain activities; and directs brand-guided growth strategies.
With 25 years of experience in private equity and investment banking for a variety of industries, Mr. Gardenswartz has been involved in the execution of corporate finance transactions with an aggregate value of over $8 billion. He is a seasoned expert in helping companies successfully navigate phases of hyper-growth, and advises clients on mergers and acquisitions, restructurings, capital raising and private equity, among other concerns.
As Founder and Managing Director of Montane Advisors, LLC, Mr. Gardenswartz has worked with dynamic, entrepreneurial companies since the firm’s inception in 2015, providing Wall Street-class advice and analysis, strategic board-level guidance, and a broad array of corporate finance services. Prior to forming Montane, he co-founded and served as Managing Director and Senior Advisor of The Sage Group, LLC, a premier independent investment banking firm focused on premium branded consumer and retail companies. He also worked in Citigroup’s Global Mergers and Acquisitions Group in New York, and served as a regional Vice President for ING Barings, a Dutch multinational banking and financial services corporation with operations in Los Angeles.
As a recognized thought leader in the finance industry, Mr. Gardenswartz is often tapped by media outlets for expert insight and analysis. He additionally serves as a longtime guest lecturer on venture finance at Pepperdine University, and frequently gives speeches at industry conferences and private events. He holds Series 7 and Series 63 licenses, and received his bachelor’s degree in Finance & Multinational Management from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
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Cannabis Marketing Association Members-Only Discussion (Online)
Join CMA and our founder and CEO, Lisa Buffo, for a members-only discussion with updates on the cannabis industry and the CMA community.
Join the Cannabis Marketing Association on Wednesday, April 1st for an online discussion for CMA Members Only at 6:30 pm Mountain Standard Time.
Cannabis Marketing Association wants to hear about your experience in the current cannabis industry and discover your vision for the organization in 2020. We want to learn what unique challenges you're facing in cannabis marketing and discuss how CMA can provide solutions. There will be time for Q&A at the end. Ideas welcome!
Members, please use the email tied to your membership so we can verify each ticket. Login instructions will be emailed to you prior to the event.
We will email you the login instructions close to the event. Non-Members must become Members to join the discussion.
Agenda:
6:30 - 7:30 MT Members Only Discussion with CEO, Lisa Buffo moderated by Membership Coordinator, Emily Wells
7:30 - 7:45 MT Q&A
If you are not a CMA member but would like to learn more, check out CMA's Membership options here.
Cannabis Marketing Summit will be held online June 1-4 and is in partnership with Marijuana Business Daily.
https://staging.thecannabismarketingassociation.com/summit
The Cannabis Marketing Summit is an exclusive online event for marketers in the cannabis industry. The content is targeted to senior level marketers responsible for the budgets of licensed brands and MSOs. However, all cannabis communications professionals and those wanting to enter the industry can benefit from attending the Summit.
The goal of the Summit is to evaluate the current state of cannabis marketing and review the practical tools, tactics, and data that produce effective strategies and campaigns for cannabis brands across the country.
This event is for marketing leadership — CEOs, CMOs, VPs of Marketing, Directors of Marketing, and senior level marketing professionals who work in-house or on the agency side of licensed cannabis companies.
All times are Mountain Time
Monday, June 1, 2020
9:00 – 10:00 am MST
Networking Icebreaker
Meet the guests Icebreaker! Join us for 1-on-1 speed networking with cannabis professionals attending the Summit. Make meaningful connections through short, guided conversation games.
10:30 – 11:00 am MST
Opening Remarks
Lisa Buffo, CEO, Cannabis Marketing Association
Chris Walsh, CEO, Marijuana Business Daily
11:00 – 12:00 pm MST
Building a Comprehensive Cannabis Marketing Strategy Ericka Pittman, CMO, Viola Brands
Jennifer Dooley, CSO, Green Thumb Industries
Raft Hollingsworth, CEO, Hollingsworth Cannabis Company
Sean Curley, CMO, Canna Provisions
Moderator: Amy Larson, VP Sales & Marketing, Simplifya
12:00 – 1:00 pm MST
Creating a 21st century Cannabis Brand with Daniel Stein, CEO, EVB
Tuesday, June 2, 2020
11:00 am – 12:30 pm MST
Navigating Social Media & Understanding Digital Marketing Strategy for Cannabis Brands
Joe Hodas, CMO, Wana Brands
Alphonso (Tucky) Blunt Jr., Owner, Blunts + Moore
Durée Ross, CEO, Durée & Company
Hope Wiseman, CEO, Mary & Main
Moderator: Ricardo Baca, CEO, Grasslands
12:30 – 1:45 pm MST
Workshop: Diversity and Inclusion in Marketing
Learn the practical steps of inclusive campaign building with the Minority Cannabis Business Association, the first 501(c)(6) not for profit business league created specifically to progress the cannabis industry by increasing diversity.
Ru Johnson
Wednesday, June 3, 2020
11:00 am – 12:00 pm MST
Cannabis Media & Public Relations: A Deeper Look
Kyle Porter, President, CMW Media
Daniel Yi, CCO, Shryne Group
Oren Todoros, Director of Marketing & PR, CannBe Media
Jen Turano, CMO, BR Brands
Moderator: Mary Pryor, CMO, Tonic CBD
12:00 – 1:00 pm MST
Cannabis Marketing in 2020: A look at data, COVID-19, the election year. What’s changed?
Cory Rothschild, SVP Brand Marketing, Cresco Labs
Valda Coryat, CMO, Trulieve
Bart Schaneman, Cultivation & Extraction Reporter, Marijuana Business Daily
Hirsh Jain, Director of Government Affairs, Caliva
Moderator: Imani Dawson, Owner, MJM Consulting
Thursday, June 4, 2020
11:00 am – 12:00 pm MST
Workshop: Making the Right Thing, the Easy Thing: Social Responsibility for your Cannabusiness
No matter your business size or budget, there are many ways to incorporate social responsibility into your marketing and operations. Join us as we create an easy step-by-step plan that will enhance customer affinity, grow employee engagement and generate social impact. Cannabis DOES good.
Courtney Mathis, Founder & CEO, Cannabis Doing Good, Founder & President, kindColorado
Kelly Perez, Co-Founder, Cannabis Doing Good
John Shute, CEO, PufCreativ
12:00 – 1:30 pm MST
Keynote Speaker
Coming Soon!
https://staging.thecannabismarketingassociation.com/cannabis-marketing-summit/
Exclusive Media Sponsor: Marijuana Business Daily
Sponsors: Evoke Law, Shanty Town Design, NisonCo PR
**We will work with your budget on custom sponsorship options!**
Sponsorship Information —> https://staging.thecannabismarketingassociation.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/CMS-2020-SponsorOpportunities.pdf
Please email info@marketingcannabis.org if you’re interested in an event partnership or press pass.
The Summit will be recorded and available on demand to ticket holders who can't make it live.
Prices
*Early Bird: $149 (through May 30)
*General Admission: $179 (May 31 - June 2)
All CMA Members get $30 off tickets (one per CMA Individual Member and seven per CMA Business Member). Discount codes will be sent to you individually. Login information will be emailed to you prior to the Summit.
All details can be found here: https://staging.thecannabismarketingassociation.com/summit
Building a Comprehensive Cannabis Marketing Strategy
Join CMA at our Seattle panel discussion diving into the best practices for Building a Comprehensive Cannabis Marketing Strategy.
Competition is growing in the cannabis industry and it is becoming more and more crucial for brands to develop a concrete marketing strategy.
Join Cannabis Marketing Association to discuss the best practices for "Building a Comprehensive Cannabis Marketing Strategy" with our expertly curated panel of Seattle-based professionals. Topics that will be discussed:
Creating a marketing budget for cannabis brands
What channels to implement — how/when/why?
Evaluating campaign performance. How do you determine marketing success?
Our panel discussion will be moderated by CMA Member, Chris Shreeve, Co-Founder of PrograMetrix. Thank you to PrograMetrix for sponsoring this event!
Panelists
Steve Schechterle, Director of Marketing, Fairwinds
Kirk Evans, Co-Founder & Creative Director, Sherpa
Josefine Nowitz, Co-Founder, Cannabis Creative Group
Bess Byers, Founder, Blaise Creative
Moderator
Chris Shreeve, Co-Founder & VP of Business Development, PrograMetrix
Speaker Bios
Steve Schechterle, Director of Marketing, Fairwinds
Steve Schechterle is a young entrepreneur who currently leads the marketing department, customer support, lobbying outreach and event coordination for Fairwinds Manufacturing, a tier 2 licensed producer/processor in Vancouver, WA. With a background in business management and strategic marketing, Steve has helped lead Fairwinds to become one of the most recognized and respected medical cannabis brand in the Washington i502 market. Inspired by thought leaders like Seth Godin and Jonah Berger, Steve has always pushed for brand authenticity and community building as core functions of the Fairwinds marketing strategy. As alternative wellness products become more accepted in popular culture, Steve and his team are excited to continue to introduce innovative and effective cannabis products for patients and consumers alike.
Instagram: @steviegreens_cannabis_
www.fairwindscannabis.com
www.fairwindscbd.com
Kirk Evans , Co-Founder & Creative Director, Sherpa
Kirk is the Co-Founder & Senior Creative Director at Sherpa, leading the creative team, managing business development, and working tirelessly to build and maintain the relationships and clients that Sherpa has made over the last 4 years.
His former career focus was in advertising design, brand development and web product design working for some of the largest apparel and advertising companies in the world and he has brought that same creative fire and energy to all of Sherpa’s clients and their projects.
When he’s not at work he enjoys being a cool dad, playing music semi-professionally, building things with his hands, reading and creating physical art when he has time.
Josefine Nowitz, Co-Founder, Cannabis Creative Group
Josefine Nowitz is the Co-Founder of Cannabis Creative Group (CCG), a full-service marketing agency providing web design & development, digital marketing and branding services for such clients as Revolutionary Clinics, Sweet Dirt, High Purity Extractions, Grow Generation, Blue Forest Farms, LeafLogix, and Garden Remedies.
A gifted speaker, leader, and educator, Josefine’s recent speaking credentials include NECANN, CBD Expo Tour, CBD White Label Conference and the National Cannabis Marketing Association.
Josefine holds an MBA from Fitchburg State and a BA in Business Administration in Operations & Information Management from the Isenberg School of Management, University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
Bess Byers, Founder, Blaise Creative
Bess Byers, also known as Cannabess, is the founder of Blaise Creative, a Seattle-based digital marketing agency. Byers has over ten years of marketing experience, with five of them in cannabis. She’s battled Instagram to have her social media account @imcannabess reinstated nine times at over 94,000 followers. When Bess isn’t working, she can be found dabbing, hiking and hanging out with her cat, Barry White.
Moderator Bio
Chris Shreeve, Co-Founder, PrograMetrix
A digital advertising and software sales veteran, Chris has experience ranging from online media to lead generation software services for agencies and advertisers across all major industries and verticals. Chris is the Co-founder of PrograMetrix, a programmatic advertising agency in Seattle specializing in the Cannabis and CBD markets. His family has been involved in the medical and recreational cannabis industries through their ownership of The Bakeree retail locations in the Pacific Northwest. Chris has a vested interest in bringing Fortune 500 ad tech solutions to the cannabis space and to help brands market their products & services online like their mainstream counterparts.
A huge thank you to our sponsor and CMA Member: PrograMetrix
A programmatic advertising agency serving cannabis and CBD brands
We help our clients target known cannabis, CBD, and natural wellness consumers on mainstream websites, working across all digital channels to optimize campaign performance and ROI. Beyond Facebook, Google, and endemic cannabis sites, we help our clients tap into the other half of the digital ad pool, offering access to a curated range of compliant mainstream, high-traffic sites already willing to accept cannabis and CBD ad buys, which includes sites like USA Today, Barstool Sports, and Newsweek.
We leverage our expertise in automated ad buying technology to identify and target consumers ages 21 and over who have a known interest in cannabis, CBD, natural wellness, or related activities across display, mobile, video, connected TV, digital audio, native, paid social, and paid search channels.
Visit us at https://programetrix.com/cannabis-cbd-advertising/
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Mix and mingle with the cannabis industry and learn more about Cannabis Marketing Association membership.
Cannabis Marketing Association Membership Chat & Networking Mixer
Join the Cannabis Marketing Association for an open-ended discussion about the future of CMA followed by a mixer.
Join the Cannabis Marketing Association on Tuesday, February 25th after work at The Arts District Brewing Company.
Agenda:
5:15 - 6:15 Members Only Discussion with CEO, Lisa Buffo
6:15 - 8:30 Open Networking for cannabis marketers
From 5:15 - 6:15 pm, join CMA for a Members Only discussion with CEO, Lisa Buffo, to talk about your experiences in the current cannabis market and your vision for CMA in 2020. We want to hear from you about what unique challenges you're facing. Ideas welcome!
After our discussion, all are welcome to meet us at 6:15 PM for drinks and open networking at the Arts District Brewing Bar!
Mix and mingle with the cannabis industry and learn more about Cannabis Marketing Association membership.