Adam Jackson
At the Green Market Report New York Cannabis Business Summit in New York City on Sept. 13, we recognized some of the stellar industry players with the GMR New York Cannabis Awards.
The winner of Best Ancillary Provide was KCSA Strategic Communications, led by Todd Fromer, Lewis Goldberg and Jeffery Goldberger, only a few of those whose collective leadership is credited for pivoting the half-century-old public relations firm towards the nascent cannabis and psychedelic markets.
Historically, KCSA has served a mix of mid-cap, small-cap and microcap publicly traded companies, as well as aspirant start-ups and the occasional enterprise-level client, maintaining profitability with a dedicated team of 25-50 employees. However, the partners’ decision in 2014 to immerse the firm in the emerging industry, then operational primarily in the shadows and federally illegal, showcased a bold risk-taking strategy.
Leadership’s decision was motivated by the absence of business-financial public and investor relations firms in the cannabis space. They drew parallels with PR/IR firms in the 1980s that bet on emerging tech spaces and later became industry giants.
Highlighting cannabis as an industry witnessing rapid de-risking, company leaders early on argued that the expanding market, growing at an unprecedented pace, presented limited reputational and financial challenges. Today, more than 60% of the U.S. population can access medical or recreational cannabis.
Additionally, under the partners’ direction, KCSA launched “The Green Rush,” a widely-acclaimed podcast engaging the cannabis industry’s stalwarts. Notably, a deep and insightful interview with Mike Tyson stands testament to the team’s dedication, resulting from over 20 hours of preparation.
Today, KCSA collaborates with major Canadian LPs, colossal U.S. multistate operators, international growers from Colombia, ancillary service providers, and capital sources. The pioneers and those after’s unwavering belief in KCSA’s potential have indelibly marked the firm’s legacy, reaffirming its position as a business relations powerhouse.
