Kudos to George and Kim Jage for producing and delivering one the best cannabis events in the industry. They continue to bring together an assembly of cannabis industry professionals that represent a plethora of backgrounds, expertise, and demographics – all sharing a deep passion and drive for the promise of a maturing cannabis industry.
MJ Unpacked is an event that does an admirable job of balancing informative sessions, vendor demonstrations, networking, sponsor parties, and most important a cross-section of representation of cannabis-passionate people working their butts off to drive the cannabis industry forward in a rational manner.
MJ Unpacked chose the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, NJ, again, as the venue for a key East-Coast Cannabis event. The pre-prime beach seasonal setting in AC-NJ was perfect as it provided a literal sparkle without a deluge of other tourists making for a most comfortable and inviting backdrop.
While the event was extremely uplifting (you could literally feel the adrenaline pouring out of individuals), the event, at close examination, unveiled some concerning factors as we look to gain growth and prosperity in the industry as well as for cannabis companies and professionals.
Here are 5 key takeaways from MJ Unpacked 2024:
1. Passion and Persistence Prevail
While many of us work out of our office and feel the pains and challenges within the cannabis industry, it was extremely uplifting to be together with so many people whose passion and persistence move the cannabis industry forward even in the face of irrational regulation and quasi moral and ethical practices within the legal industry. It was blatantly evident – anyone that remains in the cannabis industry does so with persistency and passion that is rarely displayed in so many other industries. And this exuberant demonstration was quite palatable.
2. We are an Industry of Dichotomy
The keynote presentation was delivered by Dr. Dedi Meiri (https://ats.org/about/faces-of-the-technion/dedi-meiri/), Laboratory Head of Cancer Biology and Cannabinoid Research in the Technion Faculty of Biology. His presentation was stellar, if for nothing else, presenting clear evidence that there are medical benefits of cannabis.
Immediately after that, I went to a cannabis marketing panel discussion. If was immediately evident there are substantial different “camps” in cannabis. For example, in these two sessions you see difference between medical and adult use approaches. Throughout the event one could see significant separation between OG culture and regulated professionals.
Diversity is needed and deeply valued. But collaboration amongst diversified individuals is paramount. At the end of the day, most in the legal cannabis industry are driven by a commonality – passion for the plant to yield increased quality of life for people. Can this be the reason for deeper collaboration (discussed further in #5 below)?
3. Patient/Consumer Education is Lacking
What drives consumer purchases of cannabis? Repeatedly I heard three factors – potency, price, and effect. I would agree and more than anything else this means consumer purchase is driven by THC level of product. THC is only ONE of HUNDREDS of ingredients in a cannabis product that define one’s experience with cannabis consumption. If more people understood the basic functionality of the Endocannabinoid System,
cannabinoids and terpenes and their likely effect on one’s body, different consumption methods, and few more general characteristics of cannabis consumption, they would get better outcomes of their cannabis use. They would understand potency as it relates to them and their desired outcomes.
They would understand that THC level should NOT be the driver for price. They would understand that everyone is looking for something different in their cannabis consumption and be able to optimize THEIR experience for their specific needs and wants.
4. Need for Increased Professional Go-to-Market Strategy and Execution
Ok, granted, this next point is subjective due to my professional marketing experience. BUT the lack of focus and execution of tried-and-true marketing practice in cannabis is hurting the industry and likely your business as well.
Let’s start with target audience. Who is your target audience for cannabis sales. You can’t be successful if your answer is anyone interested or participating in cannabis consumption. Does anyone think that a 24-year-old male and 55-year-old female are looking for the same thing from their cannabis consumption? Not to mention that the same product is going to affect them differently.
Too often, cannabis is viewed as a get high substance but there are many more positive outcomes possible. Understand the value and unique selling proposition for your product(s) for a specific audience. The real opportunity for the industry is a wide consumer base and each brand needs to market to niche segments and not be everything to everyone.
Furthermore, cannabis companies need proven marketing professionals to lead their marketing endeavors. On one “marketing” panel I listened to, the moderator defined “loyalty” as a willingness for the consumer to pay a premium for your product.
After that, one of the participants on the panel later sighted blasting out a weekly email with a 20% discount as unveiling her loyal customers. I don’t mean to single out this one case but is just one of many marketing faux pas that are all too common in the cannabis industry.
5. Ongoing and Deeper Collaboration Across the Cannabis Industry
In these highlights, I started with passion and persistence of people throughout the industry. I then pivoted to significant challenges. What if we combined these two together? What if all this passion and persistence was carried out in a collaborative manner?What if we could truly embrace diversity (and I don’t mean gender, race, etc.) in a collaborative manner to band together as a community to fight injustice and irrational regulation?
MJ Unpacked delivered an excellent forum for this to happen. But from a collaborative perspective we need to a) take forums like this and come together with others we often do not “hang” with, and b) carry much of the adrenaline and passion we experience at a standout event and carry it forward in the next days, months, and years. It was so great to meet and embrace so many caring and driven people. Can we put our backgrounds and experiences aside to work together to build this industry?
Where Do We Go From Here?
If you were at MJ Unpacked, I am sure you felt love for cannabis, met caring people and potential partners, and genuinely experienced a boost regarding your place in the cannabis industry. Even if you were not able to attend, I am sure you felt some degree of uplift from others sharing their MJ Unpacked experiences on social media.
Take this spirit and keep the flame burning. Reach out to someone you think carries your passion and find something in our control to change the industry in a collaborative manner. The reality is that even though some states have been legal for a long time (while others are just starting), the industry is far from mature and continued change is inevitable. Don’t you want to be a contributor to positive change?
Doing so does not mean doing it yourself. It means collaborating with entities you might consider to be competition and with people that are diverse.
We all share a common value – passion for the plant; passion for the promise of changing lives for the better; passion to increase the quality of life for so many. Onward with more collaboration!
Again, sincere thanks to George and Kim Jage and the entire Team at Jage Media. Beard Bros Pharms is a media partner of MJ Unpacked and we look forward to continued collaboration with Jage Media!
About the author
Steve Goldner is a Fractional CMO for Beard Bros Pharms and consults for a few cannabis entities to drive market growth. He is a passionate cannabis patient/consumer for almost 50 years and is equally passionate about strategic marketing practice and execution to drive real business growth.
