Day #1 Recap From the Floor – 2013 Smokeless Summit
As we talked about yesterday, wastepanel & kdip are attending the 7th National Spit Tobacco Summit this week in Missoula, Montana. Last night after a long day, the guys gave us this recap of the day’s events that I wanted to share:
Day 1 of the Summit is in the books, and let me tell you…we’re tired. First of all, we were the most visited exhibitor today. Smokey Mountain Snuff, Nip the Grip, and Jake’s Mint Chew all sent samples of their products. Most people in attendance of the Summit today had no idea these product existed. It opened a lot of eyes here to people attending that were unfamiliar with the quitting process, and allowed us to wow them with these wonderful “conversation starters”. We also had a brochure for the site (Thanks J2B!), a display featuring the Hall of Fame coin (and respective chips), some KTC bracelets and drink holders, and Hall of Fame speeches from multiple years. We also had our computers to show off the site (but because wifi was spotty most of the day, chat was nearly impossible). We set up before breakfast and spoke to many people even before the first break. Our first speaker (Pam Ling – former Real World star now doctor) had a great theme to her session which ran throughout the day. She compared nicotine marketing to Godzilla. It lays dormant for years and nobody notices. Suddenly, it awakes to massive destructive actions. In fact, the companies are trying to rebrand Godzilla as a harmless gecko. Most of the sessions today dealt with the marketing of tobacco, and where it is heading. Smokeless ads were not meant to appeal to an audience that included white collar and office workers until the 90s. When they did appear, they looked a lot like the SNUS ads of today. They claimed it as a “safe alternative” and a “solution”. Just recently, I saw many ads saying the same thing about SNUS. It was obvious to everybody there that they offer solutions to quitting, but really just bridge the gap to other forms of continued usage. We also realized how far ahead we are above other programs with our program, site, and use of social media. Many of the groups there are still in an infant stage of creating a digital shadow and don’t know where to start. There are some other sites here, but we are the only true online support group in attendance. The others are education based, and looking for ways to retain quitters. The theme that surprised us the most is that many programs are not pushing the use of NRT’s when dealing with smokeless quitters. They are not effective, and these programs are looking for methods like ours for a voice and a plan. We are the cutting edge, my friends. Today has been a huge success. We’ve made a lot of friends, and a few doors could possibly be opening to the site because of that. Again, thank you KTC for trusting us to represent you. Thank you quitters (especially Copehater) for all of your donations to send us here. Thank you Coach Steve and everybody else that has helped promote the Summit beforehand. We’re excited for tomorrow! Wastepanel and Kdip (770 days and 1800 respectively)
I’m absolutely THRILLED (and not at all surprised) to hear the guys are having an amazing time. As I said when klark and I returned from Austin I was very proud that KillTheCan.org was at the Summit representing REAL QUITTERS. In addition to their recap they sent along a few pictures of their first day at the show.
I’d like to offer my sincere thanks to both kdip and wastepanel for taking the time our of their schedule to be in Missoula representing KillTheCan.org. Knock em dead again today boys!
