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Join Cannabis Marketing Association and the California Cannabis Industry Association on Tuesday, September 17th at 12:00 pm PST for a free online panel discussion discussing the state of cannabis marketing in California. Moderated by CMA’s CEO Lisa Buffo, you’ll hear from four of California’s top cannabis marketing experts who have launched and grown some of the state’s premier cannabis brands from Humboldt to San Diego. Register here:  https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/1319384667651015948 With the industry growing faster than ever and many brands expanding nationally, it’s crucial to understand how to take a home-grown brand to the next level. How do you build a brand with California roots and carry the message out east. Learning Objectives This seminar is free and open to all but will be helpful for new and established cannabis businesses seeking to grow their brands and enhance their market knowledge. You will learn: how to approach branding when starting a cannabis brand how to maintain California roots in your messaging how to position yourself for national expansion There will be time for Q&A at the end.  Please register for this free webinar held at lunchtime on Tuesday, September 17th at 12:00 pm PST.  Video copies of the panel will be available to CCIA and CMA Members Only following the event. About  California Cannabis Industry Association (CCIA) is California's leading cannabis trade association promoting a responsible and legitimate industry.  Visit CaCannabisIndustry.org. Cannabis Marketing Association (CMA) is an industry trade group that supports professional and creative growth by providing career resources, education-based events and networking opportunities.  Visit TheCannabisMarketingAssociation.com Register here --> https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/1319384667651015948

Join Cannabis Marketing Association and Jennifer Whetzel of Ladyjane Branding for an hour-long webinar covering health claims in the cannabis industry. When it comes to marketing and advertising cannabis, CBD and hemp products, the rules and regulations can be daunting. Making any sort of claims regarding the health benefits of these products is illegal based on a number of laws that are applicable to all foods and beverages, not just cannabis. The risks for breaking these laws can be steep. So how do you market and advertise your cannabis products without running afoul of these laws and risk penalties, legal fees and jail time? Learning Objectives This seminar will teach you how to understand health claims and how to navigate the risks of making health claims. You’ll also learn how to build a messaging platform that helps generate a solid emotional connection with your customers. What you’ll learn: Laws & agencies that regulate product health claims Risks & barriers to making health claims Penalties associated with making product health claims How to understand health claims How to build a messaging platform that focuses on features, benefits & building an emotional connection with customers   Speaker Bio: Jennifer Whetzel, a marketing professional and founder of Ladyjane Branding. For over 25 years, Whetzel has worked on branding, advertising, marketing, strategizing and researching for Fortune 500 companies and B2B/B2C small businesses. After finding significant symptom relief in medical cannabis and emotional support from community members, she was inspired to use her professional expertise to help businesses in the cannabis industry develop smart, strategic and consistent brands that create deep connections with consumers. From do-it-yourself evaluations, branding makeover strategies and design assessments, Ladyjane teaches businesses how to multiply their marketing and advertising efforts with techniques used by Fortune 500 companies. Jennifer’s signature creations, Ladyjane’s Brand Archetype Quiz, and Two-Hour Brand Makeover, empower entrepreneurs in the industry to take their brand strategies into their own hands to stand out and sell more.

Cannabis Marketing Association is hosting a panel discussion examining how to pass a comprehensive adult-use bill through effective advocacy New York has been taking steps towards adult-use legalization, but with the last attempt failing to pass during the 2019 legislative season, it is time to look deeper into what happened and why. Hear from government officials, industry representatives, and legal experts about what it will take for comprehensive cannabis reform to happen in New York in 2020 that benefits patients, adult-use consumers, and minority communities impacted by the drug war. This panel will take a look at what happened during the last legislative session and will discuss the critical issues concerning the future of the industry. Following the event, there will be a cash-bar mixer at the 230 Fifth Ave Rooftop bar at 8:30 pm. During our hour-long expertly moderated panel we will discuss: What happened with the failed adult-use bill in New York How the industry can advocate and interact with government officials effectively What's important in the political and cultural agenda for a successful adult-use bill to be passed Speaker Bios: Brad Usher, Chief of Staff, Senator Liz Krueger's Office (NY D-28) Brad Usher has served as Chief of Staff to State Senator Liz Krueger for the last 17 years, and has worked on developing a wide range of legislation, particularly around government and electoral reform, tax policy and economic development transparency.  More recently he has been involved in the drafting of Senator Krueger's Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (S.1527-B).  Prior to joining Senator Krueger's staff, Brad worked for State Senator Tom Duane, and has also participated in numerous political campaigns. He holds a PhD in Political Science from the New School for Social Research. Vivian Wang, Reporter, The New York Times Vivian Wang is a New York Times reporter covering New York state politics and government. She joined The Times in 2017 and previously worked for The Boston Globe and The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. She grew up outside of Chicago and graduated from Yale University.Joseph Levey, Partner, Helbraun Levey Joseph is a Founding Partner of the firm and oversees all New York State Liquor Authority and other licensing matters for the firm. Joseph’s primary area of expertise is New York State Alcohol Beverage Control Law and he has extensive experience practicing before the New York State Liquor Authority with regard to various licensing and disciplinary matters. He regularly attends local Community Board meetings on behalf of the firm’s clients and has developed a stellar reputation as a well-prepared and knowledgeable advocate. Joseph proudly serves on the Executive Board of the New York State Restaurant Association, the Board of The American Institute of Food and Wine and is admitted to practice in New York and New Jersey. Tanya Osborne, Tri-State Regional Market Leader Director, Women Grow Tanya Osborne is a true community leader in every industry she touches! From the Music Industry to Financial Services, Business Coaching and now...Cannabis. The common theme here is the connection...from being a champion for Women in the Music industry, sharing the importance of women investing in and for their future, Coaching women entrepreneurs and now contributing to changing the stigma of the plant and bringing awareness to the role of women in the Cannabis industry. She is currently serving as the Tri-State Regional Market Leader Director for Women Grow, a National organization encouraging and supporting women to build and "grow" in the Cannabis industry and is the Founder of CannaDiva, LLC, a brand committed to supporting women in the space from hosting Canna-events and shining a spotlight on women entrepreneurs and the products and services that are women-focused. A passion for entrepreneurs, diversity, and inclusion, and women-focused initiatives has led Tanya to the Cannabis industry which is positioned for exponential growth. Her goal is to educate, connect and support women leaders in this industry.

Join CMA and our expert panel to discuss the new cannabis delivery and social consumption laws in Colorado. Colorado recently passed HB19-1234, The Regulated Marijuana Delivery Bill, and HB19-1230, The Marijuana Hospitality Establishments Bill, changing how cannabis business will operate forever. We are bringing together cannabis stakeholders from all over Colorado, from the government offices to cannabis business to discuss how these laws will impact the Colorado cannabis supply chain and industry moving forward. During our hour-long expertly moderated panel we will discuss... How social consumption will change the marketing landscape for brands How the delivery bill will change the cannabis supply chain What cannabis marketers need to consider before these two bills take effect Speaker Bios: Representative Jovan Emerson Melton (CO-41) Jovan Emerson Melton is the State Representative from House District 41 to the Colorado General Assembly. He serves as the House Majority Deputy Whip and the Vice-Chair of the Black Democratic Legislative Caucus of Colorado. He is also Founder and Senior Consultant for Emerson Hamilton Consulting and Strategies, LLC based in Aurora. Born in Denver, CO in 1979, Jovan grew up in a working-class household in Northeast Denver, and later in Aurora. He personally experienced the disparities between social-economic classes. In witnessing the challenges his family faced to make a living, Jovan was taught the importance of equality and social justices early in life. He credits this as what led him into politics and his desire to help lower-income and disenfranchised Coloradans. Kristi Kelly, Executive Director, Marijuana Industry Group Kristi Kelly is recognized as one of the country’s 50 most powerful women in cannabis, and one of the top 100 political cannabis influencers. She is the executive director of Marijuana Industry Group, Colorado’s most impactful trade association for licensed cannabis businesses. Kristi initially entered the cannabis space as an investor/owner/operator of a group of marijuana cultivation, manufacturing, and dispensing businesses at the beginning of legal and regulated medical cannabis, and exited the Colorado businesses. She now maintains marijuana and hemp interests in the licensed space outside of Colorado, and also offers consulting services. She is a founding board member of the Fourth Corner Credit Union, the world’s first marijuana financial institution. She is the founding trustee of CannAbility Foundation, a patient advocacy and resource network for families of children living with conditions and disabilities that can be helped by cannabis. She currently sits on the (Colorado) Governor’s Marijuana Education Oversight Committee and the Colorado Task Force for Drunk and Impaired Driving. She was the lead profile in the book, Breaking the Grass Ceiling: Women, Weed & Business and has been recognized for years by Cannabis Business Executive as an operator, influencer, and leader. She was recently profiled in The Guardian as one of America’s Dope Queens, and her story has also been featured in The Washington Post, 60 Minutes, Bloomberg/Businessweek, The New York Times, and more. Sarah Woodson, CEO, Kush and Canvases Sarah Woodson comes from a long line of entrepreneurs, business is in her DNA. After receiving two Paralegal certificates, an Associates of General Studies. Sarah attended CU Denver to pursue a BA in Sociology and a Minor in Legal Studies. She left in her senior year to purser her dream as an Entrepreneur. She founded one of the largest Pro-Se Bankruptcy & Divorce companies in the state, she closed her doors for good in 2017. Sarah had decided that she was going full force into cannabis. Not as a dispensary or a grower but as a Cannabis Experience Provider. She founded of Kush & Canvases, a consumption-friendly cannabis art class. She is currently serving as the legal redress chair for NAACP Denver Chapter.

Get under the hood with us on the art and science of selecting keywords for the marketing of cannabis brands online. Spend an hour in this webinar with us and you will take away the following actionable advice from a CMA member who's been doing this work successfully for over 22 years: Who... owns the responsibility for the data driven research, selection and applied use of keywords within an organization, whether a brand or an agency? What...all will you will be able to use keywords for? Many of the top tier channels of traffic to generate new leads, customers and sales, from SEO, SEM, select display advertising, & hashtag selection for social media Where...do you source the best possible keywords for use, once you have a strategy & defined objectives? Do you solely trust the keyword data from one source, even a reputable one or do you pull from many? What keyword sources, paid or free are the gold standards and actually include data on cannabis related terms & phrases? When...should you do your initial keyword research, in support of a new brand, product debut or campaign? How often should you update & refresh your available keyword data & data sources to inform your judgement? the almighty Why..context is everything!! We will explain from both a sales and marketing view as well as cannabis industry specific compliance view on why you should or shouldn't select certain types of keywords, based upon specific scenarios for cannabis industry brands online. Scott Rabinowitz has spent the past 22 years specializing in keyword based SEM advertising (paid search), marketing compliance planning and digital media for age restricted industries, including cannabis. He is 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.