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Join us for our March Members-Only Icebreaker! This informal networking session is to connect marketers in the CMA community with each other— wherever they are in the world. Attendees will be able to introduce themselves and have private conversations in breakout rooms. Members, once you register for this event, you will receive a calendar invite with the link to join Icebreaker. See you there! This event is for Cannabis Marketing Association members exclusively. To learn more about CMA Membership, visit https://thecannabismarketingassociation.com/membership/.

Join CMA and Mattio on February 23 at 12pm MT for PR 2021: The Imminent Transformation of Cannabis Communications. Despite a turbulent year, cannabis ended on a high note in 2020 with five states voting to legalize adult-use or medical marijuana, monumental year-over-year sales growth, and record-high levels of nationwide public support for federal decriminalization, which is a real possibility in 2021. Adult-use legalization is expected to spread across East Coast states, opening doors to entirely new consumer segments with vastly different personalities and expectations than their West Coast counterparts. How do cannabis marketers and PR specialists adapt to shifting consumer attitudes and a rapidly maturing industry? What do cannabis communications look like following federal cannabis reform? This session brings together leading cannabis communications and marketing executives that have guided companies since the industry’s early days to explore the future of cannabis communications. Panelists will discuss marketing opportunities and challenges presented by federal rescheduling, how to effectively reach and impact consumers in up-and-coming recreational markets and reflect on the most valuable lessons they’ve learned over the past year that they’re bringing with them into 2021. Speaker Bios Rosie Mattio, CEO of MATTIO Communications Rosie is founder of MATTIO Communications, the preeminent cannabis marketing agency in the U. S. She helped usher in the New Cannabis Age, garnering global media coverage in mainstream publications for clients, including the first cannabis article ever published in Oprah Magazine. Over the past year, her New York firm has grown alongside the industry, adding marketing and communications services for clients, including content, SEO, investor relations, event planning and influencer marketing. Today, Rosie is considered a market maker in the world of cannabis. Ranked the #1 cannabis PR firm by Green Market Report, Rosie is a strategic powerhouse, industry connector and influencer. Rosie has been named a High Times Female 50 and Forbes Fifteen Powerful And Innovative Women In Cannabis.   Mary Pryor, Chief Marketing Officer at TONIC CBD Mary Pryor is a passionate and vocal media expert currently based in Los Angeles and New York. Mary’s goal is to provide online branding and digital trend-forecasting for the general market by empowering communities through the utilization of digital tools. She is the co-founder of Cannaclusive, a collective focused on inclusive marketing and business advocacy in the cannabis industry, New York Chapter President of Minorities for Medical Marijuana, and she serves as Chief Marketing Officer for Tonic CBD and Tricolla Farms. Mary currently serves on the board for Possible Plan, a Cura Cannabis social equity effort and serves as an advisor and judge for Eaze Momentum Accelerator. She advises three cannabis and non-plant-touching companies: Kanna, Dieux Skin, Flor De Maria Chocolates. She is a proud native Detroiter and graduate of the University of Michigan. In 2014 she was recognized as SXSW’s Innovator of the Year. Javier Hasse, Managing Director at Benzinga Cannabis Javier Hasse is a cannabis, hemp, CBD and psychedelics-focused reporter, currently serving as Managing Director for Benzinga Cannabis, and CEO of Spanish language news site El Planteo, a company he co-founded. His book, “Start Your Own Cannabis Business,” was published by Entrepreneur Media in 2018 and hit the #1 Best-Seller spot on Amazon. As an award-winning reporter and editor, Javier's had roughly 5,000 unique articles in multiple languages published across numerous mass media outlets including CNN, Forbes, MSN, Chicago Tribune, CNBC, Yahoo Finance, Entrepreneur Magazine, MarketWatch, Nasdaq, Playboy, MERRY JANE, High Times, and many others. Beyond cannabis, Javier is a published photographer and Billboard-charting rapper, featured on hip-hop albums that also included Wu-Tang Clan’s RZA and Inspectah Deck, Twista, Lil Windex, Riff Raff and others. Alice Moon, Founder of Alice Moon PR & Creative Agency Alice Moon is a cannabis entrepreneur living in Los Angeles, California. Her career in cannabis started in 2011 as a trimmer and budtender. In 2018, Moon was diagnosed with Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome and had to cease cannabis use completely. This led to her shifting her career towards Public Relations and Event Production. In May 2018, she co-produced and co-hosted the California Cannabis Awards, which was the first cannabis event to be held at LA Live. From October 2018 to April 2019, Moon worked as Director of Public Relations for ParagonSpace, a coworking space for the cannabis industry. Moon was named by Green Entrepreneur as a top 100 Most Important Women in Cannabis in 2019. Moon worked for 7 months in 2019 as the Director of Communications for Blunt Talks, a monthly event series focused on education and elevation for the cannabis community. She helped take the event from 100 attendees per event to 500 attendees at their biggest event ever held at the Exchange in Downtown Los Angeles. Most recently, Moon founded Alice Moon PR & Creative Agency, working with cannabis clients focused on the tech sector. Moon helps brands creatively convey their brands mission and vision. Moon is always looking for ways to work with others. Her expertise in brand development, public relations, social media, writing, public speaking, event production and event hosting makes her a valuable resource to startups and well established brands alike. This event is free to CMA Members and $20 for Non-Members.

Join us for our February Members-Only Icebreaker! This informal networking session is to connect marketers in the CMA community with each other— wherever they are in the world. Attendees will be able to introduce themselves and have private conversations in breakout rooms. Members, once you register for this event, you will receive a calendar invite with the link to join Icebreaker. See you there! This event is for Cannabis Marketing Association members exclusively. To learn more about CMA Membership, visit https://thecannabismarketingassociation.com/membership/.

Join CMA and executives from iheart Jane, springbig, and Nugg Club on Tuesday, April 6 at 12:00 pm MT. Effective brand discovery strategies are crucial for brands and retailers to thrive. With thousands of products saturating the legal cannabis market and COVID-19 altering consumer behavior and spending habits, companies can no longer rely on physical stores as their only avenue of introducing their products to new customers. From personalized curation to powerful machine learning, these founders of leading cannabis companies will discuss what the future of brand discovery entails. They will share insights into changing consumer shopping trends and how brands and retailers can adapt to these shifts by harnessing the power of SMS, AI and ML. They’ll talk about how data and technology can help consumers parse their options, compare products and suggest just-right brands based on their personal, data-defined persona. Speakers I Heart Jane, Socrates Rosenfeld, Co-founder & CEO Nugg Club, Alex Milligan, Co-founder & CMO springbig, Mikaela McLaughlin, VP Business Development Headset, Liz Connors, Director of Analytics

Join CMA and Headset on Tuesday, March 23 at 12:00 pm MT. Join CMA and Headset on Tuesday, March 23 at 12:00 pm MT to learn how to prepare a focused strategy for 4/20/21. We’ll look back at what happened last year on 4/20 to uncover insights you can use to inform this year’s strategy + walk through recent shifts in consumer shopping habits so your store is planning for today’s customers. Restrictions on in-person gatherings lead to a very different 4/20 in 2020. Store owners and brands could not rely on in-person events at retail stores to drive awareness and entice customers to visit stores. Last year store owners relied on deep discounts to drive sales as there was little time to plan for changes with the outbreak of covid-19 being so new. This year retailers and brands have plenty of time to plan and we plan to talk through strategies stores can use to maximize their sales on the biggest shopping day of the year. We hope stores are prepared for: 4/20 sales that begin in the 3-4 days leading up to 4/20 as restrictions for retail occupancy will likely reduce their abilities to fulfill orders day of Leaning more heavily on online marketing campaigns and leveraging on any existing customer loyalty programs or communication tools to drive awareness Carefully considering how to discount their products to drive sales without giving away margins and be prepared for. Speaker Bios Liz Connors is the Director of Analytics at Headset, a cannabis data intelligence company. At Headset Liz and her team are responsible for everything from creating SKU level, realtime market forecasts of Adult Use cannabis sales across the US and Canada to the creation of dashboards for our Retailer product. In addition, Liz and her team write Industry Reports and run webinars working to increase data literacy across the cannabis space. Instead of sending over just a PDF of numbers and graphs, Liz’s team provides users with cutting edge insights via user-friendly dashboards that allow you to get the data you need quickly. Prior to working for Headset, Liz worked as a Data Scientist in CPG retail and financial services, as well as spent some time in Financial and Economic Consulting. After eight years working as a Data Scientist, Liz started her own Data Science consulting business where she advised small businesses on how to use their data to make better product, marketing, and operational decisions. Along with her work at Headset, Liz currently works with researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and London Business School doing experimental research on heuristics and biases that impede business decision makers from optimally using data to drive decisions. Nick Elam is the Director of Marketing at Headset and has proven success building robust marketing programs and effective branding strategies that drive measurable brand awareness and product adoption for both B2B and B2C focused brands in the tech, cannabis, housing, outdoor and retail spaces. Nick has earned his success through high-impact campaigns and programs built through innovative ideas, strategic messaging and an honest effort to approach all ideas and people with respect and integrity.