This Blog is supplied by Norm Bour and VapeMentorS, consultants to vape shops, online businesses and others in the Vape Space. This and other related reports can be viewed at www.VapeMentorS.com.
As we are (almost) looking towards the end of the year we have over a dozen different events to choose from. I’ve broken down events into three major categories:
- Fests
- Trade shows and expo
- Combinations
When the “fest” world emerged in 2011 they were excuses to party, socialize, blow rings, play music loudly and have a good time. Not much has changed since then and these are still the primary type of vaping events you will find.
They are short on education or “takeaways” but long on entertainment and variety of vendors. What was once a rarity and only found in major markets is now in all parts of the country. Between this writing, the end of August and the end of the year we have about 14 and there may be more cropping up.
From Atlanta (VAPE-A-PALOOZA) to Michigan (Vapexpo) to Las Vegas (Ecig Vegas) to probably the biggest of the bunch, ECC, in Ontario, Ca. on September 5-7, they are almost all within a day’s drive to most of you reading this. Let me know if you’d like a complete list.
The second category, trade shows and expos, are less common, but we’ll see more of those in the future and I see them already on the books for later this year and 2015. These are more traditional, more upscale, quieter, more “tobacco” and not all vape and will be low key by fests standards. Heavier on education, panels, disseminating trade and industry news, this is usually B:B only and not open to the public. Think of this as a “white collar” event, with less tats and piercings and more reading glasses and gray hair.
The Combo package you will see more of as well as the industry continues to evolve. Offering much of the fun from Fests, they are often introducing education and training programs, too. They are attended by those in the biz as well as the pub and is a good chance for everyone to rub shoulders. One of the newest one just added is a nighttime event at Santa Anita Racetrack, one of the largest in Southern California, scheduled for late November.
Since my last entry I have been appointed National Event Coordinator for Vape News Magazine and Radio and will monitor all events, assigning reporters to many and attending several. Speaking of www.VapeNewsRadio.com, we bridged over 60,000 downloads and are on the major directories if you’d like to listen, learn, share, subscribe and rate on our behalf.
Be sure you listen to the show taping August 18 which will post August 25, since our blog host, Steve K, will be the on-air guest. Steve will share his experience and insight and discuss rating and review web sites and what they represent in the industry. You’ll also be amongst the first to learn of the national expansion of MadVapes who are the largest retail stores owners in the country and expanding to the west coast. Coming up soon: a very insightful interview with NJOY, who broke free of the pack and now offer ten lines of juice to the public via their c-store outlets.
Would you like to be a guest on Vape News Radio? We welcome your stories to share, so please send us a note.
A final note regarding FDA: the petition term expired on August 8 and now it’s time to wait. And wait. And wait. There will be little results this week and based on other FDA timetables it may be 24 months or more before any type of legislation is finalized.
Let us know if you would like to be part of the show: www.VapeNewsRadio.com. If you need information please contact the show host and writer of this article, Norm Bour at norm@VapeMentorS.com.
