As my plane approached Las Vegas last week, the anticipation of attending the third Marijuana Business Conference & Expo (MJ Biz) at the RIO between November 15-18 energized me, and boy did I need it! I hadn’t slept for a week with a bout of back pain and sciatica that made it impossible to rest.
The MJ Biz conference was the only one I decided to attend in-person this year based on the size, scope and quality of attendees over the previous two years since I felt CBE was able to accomplish a lot since the event moved to the RIO in 2014. In addition to excitement, there was a bit of anxiety as well, the election of Donald Trump and his potential picks for key administration positions dampening the enthusiasm generated from the passing of 8 of 9 pro-cannabis ballot initiatives in the 2016 state elections.
MJ Biz 2016 in Review
For those of you who didn’t attend, the first sign that something was different at this year’s conference were the long lines that I ran into when attempting to pick up my press credentials to cover the event. The signs in the corridor leading to the venue areas touted the projected attendance of 7,500+ industry participants or interested partners. By the 17th, someone had actually drew a line through that number and replaced it with 10,000 plus! My first impression as a publisher was definitely one of sugar plums dancing in my head (mucho dollars being generated by the event!!!), but it was overshadowed by the chaos and overcrowding that all experienced on the first day that the exhibit hall was open.
With all of this in mind, and first impressions are generally correct, it took me almost 45 minutes to get my credentials before finally making my way into the massive presentation hall that was about 2/3 full for Chris Walsh’s keynote on Industry Analysis & Forecast and Juliet Funt’s Whitespace at Work keynote address before making my way into the exhibit hall(s). Before I did, I went back to the registration area to find utter and total chaos, the lines to receive conference credentials were backed up and I learned from others that they waited more than an hour to be processed. The lines ran all the way back to the RIO Hotel and Casino area.
With the over abundance of B2B and B2C industry events scheduled, MJ Biz’s President & Publisher, George Jage confidently claimed in his trade show program “From the Publisher” Column that this was the only must-attend event and that this was it. Based on the attendee traffic alone, I would say he was probably right and CBE definitely was envious of the profit windfall!
That said, the short falls were obvious. Inside the exhibit hall, it was a mad scrum to negotiate the aisles and to attempt a conversation. The reconfigured main exhibit hall was packed with booths and literally a standing room only crowd on day 1; day 2 floor traffic wasn’t as bad but was still heavy, which pleased most of the exhibitors—not only because of the volume, but also by the quality of the booth visitors.
One of the things I liked most about the first two events at the RIO was the flow through the exhibit hall as well as the meals being served in the hall with adequate seating to accommodate diners and off-the-floor meetings. The exhibit hall this year really was like a sardine can spread over two locations and didn’t provide the kind of intimate conversation areas of years past. The food service supplied was housed in a cafeteria-like assembly line connected to outdoor seating, which was inadequate to accommodate the crowd that descended on MJ Biz 2016. The weather compounded the shortage of space when a front moved through Vegas on the 17th, making it unseasonably chilly for the only meal seating area to be functional.
This year’s event obviously outgrew the venue. It was announced that next year’s annual event in Vegas would take place at the holy grail of conference centers—the Las Vegas Convention Center—which annually houses the largest trade shows in the world.
Despite the lines, over crowding and the disjointed meals program, exhibitors seemed pleased with the potential ROI from the quality and volume of the attendees.
On the content front, the trade show felt stale, and interviews with several senior level attendees confirmed our thoughts. The presentations seemed like do-overs and were geared toward a broad audience versus thought and industry leaders. The disconnect between the size and quality of the attendees was explained by many, the show garnered such a following that the number of offsite meetings and complimentary events was more than valuable to the decision-making crowd.
So I would give this year’s event a B+ because there truly was an abundance of cannabis industry licensee, ancillary business leaders and serious investors present which made the ROI, as I mentioned earlier (at least on the front end), terrific. Buyers and sellers will compete to close opportunities now that the smoke has cleared and relationships were made.
Regardless of logistical and venue short comings this year, next year’s event should be better organized and run. CBE will again be there to give you our take. It’s arguable whether this is the only must-attend show in the industry, but it is certainly the largest and most profitable! Time will tell if the pursuit of profits will turn off the A-team players in future years.