Entertainment Vet Fox Brings Brand-Building Prowess To CEO Role At High Times

When Kraig Fox, 51, became CEO of cannabis media brand last April, he did following a long and illustrious career in entertainment and media. Highlights of Fox's work tenure includes serving as senior managing director of entertainment and media at investment firm Guggenheim Partners and being part of the founding team and senior executive officer group behind entertainment companies Live Nation and Core Media (now known as Industrial Media). For the latter, he oversaw the company's interests in the Elvis Presley estate and Muhammad Ali's intellectual property rights. He also worked with Core Media's subsidiary, overseeing " American Idol's" TV records, live tours, artist management and sponsorships, as well as the popular TV reality dance competition " So You Think You Can Dance."

So why did Fox decide to leave the traditional media world behind to immerse himself in the cannabis space? For Fox, it's an evolution in a professional trajectory that stems back to his brand-building expertise. And, as he notes, there is no brand in cannabis as well-known as the 45-year-old High Times. This interview has been edited for conciseness and clarity.

Iris Dorbian: How does someone who comes from a media and entertainment industry background like yours become CEO of High Times?

Kraig Fox: I've gotten to know Adam Levin, the executive chairman of High Times, the last couple of years. Given my years in the entertainment industry and working with major brands, that's what we focused on--the value of High Times as a global cannabis media brand.

Dorbian: What are your goals for High Times?

Fox: We're expanding the events and trade show portfolio and making additions to the social, digital and perhaps the publishing portfolio. Historically, the brand has not been used in retail, whether that's dispensary, smoke shops or consumption lounges, because it wasn't legal. It now is. That's a good place to push the brand.

Dorbian: What challenges have you found with cannabis advertising as well as marketing a federally illegal substance?

Fox: I like to think of it as promotional advertising. We have a 45-year history of doing this. We've been in the events business since the 1980s. As we expanded the portfolio to include Dope Magazine and Culture Magazine, it just gives us more touchpoints with consumers that allow us to work directly with brands to figure out a long-term approach to promoting their products.

Dorbian: How has media shaped the normalization of cannabis culture?

Fox: For something like 43 of the 45 years that the magazine has existed, High Times stood for counterculture. We've been an advocate of legalization but what has been counterculture is now culture. We have an important role to play in that. We are the trusted source of information. It's important we continue to educate consumers as to what cannabis is. One of our goals is to try to destigmatize something that I suspect far more people use than they would like to admit.

Dorbian: What role do brands and consumer trust have in the future of cannabis?

Fox: I took this job because I believe in the power of brands and I believe in High Times ' power as a brand. People go to brands because they know what they are. I don't think it's reasonable to believe that this industry is different. I think 2020 and 2021 will be the year of the brand and the year of international expansion. As legalization expands, people will have greater access and they'll have trust in brands and that will drive the industry forward. I don't think anything is bigger than the value of brands.