Whether in-person, virtual, or hybrid, events make it possible for people to meet in spaces where they can interact with culture, knowledge, business, and, you guessed it, cannabis.

Creating experiences for users through events—online and offline—is a tool that can be leveraged as part of a comprehensive cannabis marketing strategy.

Events are an important space for strengthening brands, as they allow an approach to the potential customer or user loyalty.

Creating experiences for cannabis users is essential to raise brand recognition, form lasting bonds, and building user loyalty. In addition, generates greater recall among users, and they associate the brand with its presence at events as a company at the forefront.

To create experiences focused on cannabis, there are different options, both online and offline, which can be used from different cannabis marketing optics.

You can think of different types of events, which we will look at in detail below. Variety is the spice of life, and having a presence at different events, such as conferences, seminars, parties, and more, is an excellent opportunity to draw attention to a cannabis brand.

Nowadays, there are numerous ways to gather a potential audience around an event. Some examples may be:

• Presentation of the brand
• Product/service launches
• Company anniversaries
• Congresses
• Seminars
• Promotions
• Special days (420, 710)

A few years ago, it was unthinkable to talk about remote events. Today we can distinguish events depending on where our audience is, so we can organize face-to-face events, virtual events, and hybrid events, which will have different objectives and purposes.

• They favor direct contact and networking
• The experience is more direct
• Personal contact fosters personal and professional relationships
• Communication is more fluid and less cold than online
• It is easier to capture attention all the time
• Networking

• Optimize the time of the attendees and speakers
• Increased attendance due to ease of participation
• Reduce the investment of economic resources
• Greater flexibility to carry out the event and its organization

There are also hybrid events, where it is possible to have both a face-to-face part and give the opportunity to attend virtually to those who cannot attend in person. This combines the best of both worlds and reaches a wider audience.

Is one better than the other? The answer is: it depends.

It will depend on the moment, the type of event, and its preparation. It all depends on the goals and objectives, as well as the budget, organization, and topics to be discussed.

A very good option nowadays is to generate hybrid events. There is a small but considerable participation in-person from the most relevant people in the field, as well as a streaming of what happens. This way, you get the best of both worlds.

Event marketing is fundamental to captivate customers. They provide the opportunity to establish connections between the brand and the audience through memorable experiences. And at the same time, they allow you to clearly communicate and convey a message at the right time.

Some of the key benefits of creating cannabis-centric experiences are:

• It helps build stronger relationships with your users
• Reaches potential customers
• It serves to promote the new update of an existing product or service
• Gives prominence to the brand 
• Create notoriety
• Generates business opportunities
• Helps to relate to the brand and educate about cannabis

Some of the most important points to take into account are:

• Establish the objectives you want to achieve
• Define who your target audience is
• Be consistent with your brand values
• Define if you want an online, offline, or hybrid event
• Define who you want at your event and focus on attracting their attention

Omnichannel marketing is basically about creating a consistent and integrated experience across all of a brand’s touchpoints, and that, of course, includes cannabis events.

Events can contribute to an omnichannel campaign and be reinforced by it. Events often require the use of multiple channels both to drive visitors to event attendance and to reinforce messaging, and follow-up after the event has taken place.

Consistency of brand identity and campaign messaging is critical to delivering a seamless, integrated experience that is better received by the target audience.