January 2005
Taking the Pulse of Medical Shows

Medical and health care shows were one of the fastest-growing exhibition industry sectors from 2000 to 2003, increasing 12 percent. This growth took place in a climate of more intense scrutiny from regulatory organizations, increasing time pressures for medical professionals, consolidation among exhibiting companies and security-related travel restrictions for international participants. Find out how medical show producers deal with these challenges.

By Martha Collins


At medical shows, the focus is on education, not selling, so making it efficient and convenient for attendees to spend time on the exhibit floor can be a challenge, especially when hundreds of hours of educational programming compete for the attention of healthcare professionals intent on earning continuing medical education (CME) credits.

For the American Heart Association’s (AHA) November 2003 Scientific Sessions in Orlando, FL, show management redesigned the floor plan to drive traffic to the 370 exhibits and make it easier for the nearly 30,000 attendees to negotiate the 180,000-net-square-foot exhibition at the Orange County Convention Center.

For starters, AHA situated the show floor between two high-traffic meeting areas — the scientific poster sessions and attendee services (registration) — which were located at opposite ends of the hall and separated from the exhibits by 3-foot pipe-and-drape instead of air walls. Two 20-foot aisles ran from one area to the other across the length of the show floor. “We created a free-flow environment where attendees could meander from the posters through the exhibits to the attendee services area and back again without having to return to the lobby areas,” says Barbara Charbonneau, Senior Manager, Exhibits.

Two more 20-foot aisles ran the width of the show floor from the front entrance to the food service areas at the back of the hall. “Exhibitors think the worst place to be is in the back of the hall, so we turned the back of the hall into a more well-populated, high-traffic zone by placing the restaurant area there,” says Charbonneau.

HeartQuarters, AHA’s corporate booth, is traditionally the largest and one of the most visited. In 2003, it was located front and center. For 2004, it was an 80- by 160-foot island booth located in the middle of the show floor and bordered on each side by one of the 20-foot aisles. “You can enter our booth from all four sides and that helps draw traffic into the hall because our attendees go to HeartQuarters for information on all of our programs and initiatives,” says Charbonneau. It also means that more exhibitors can locate nearby and benefit from the activity in this high-traffic area.

For the first day of exhibits, which is usually not the busiest day, AHA scheduled dedicated exhibit hours from noon to 1:30 p.m., promoted it as the “Free for Lunch?” program, and encouraged exhibitors to serve food and beverages at their booths.

The net result of all these changes was to create more consistent traffic throughout the three exhibition days and leave attendees asking for more exhibit hours.

“On the last day, when I announced the close of the exhibition, it took almost an hour to clear the hall of attendees, many of whom were deep in conversation with exhibitors,” says Charbonneau. “Our lead-retrieval analysis shows that, while there were still high times and low times, there were more leads exchanged consistently throughout the show than in past years. And there were more leads than usual generated on the last exhibit day.”

In the 2003 post-show survey, AHA attendees indicated that they wanted the exhibits and the scientific poster sessions to have the same hours. So for the 2004 Scientific Sessions at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans in November exhibit hours were extended one hour.

By paying close attention to the exhibition side of their events, as well as to the program side, medical show producers such as AHA have helped fuel growth in this industry sector.

Sustaining growth
Nearly 25 percent of all business-to-business exhibitions held from 2000 to 2003 were medical shows, making it the largest industry sector, as well as one of the fastest growing, according to the Exhibition Industry Index, published by the Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR).

From 2000 to 2003, the medical and healthcare sectors of the exhibition industry experienced a combined annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.4 percent in net square feet, 3.5 percent in number of exhibitors, 3.3 percent in number of attendees, and 3.2 percent in revenue, according to the CEIR Index. During the same period, for the exhibition industry as a whole the numbers remained nearly flat or declined in each of those categories (see sidebar on page 46).

The growth in medical shows is largely due to demographic trends, especially increases in life expectancy, which have fueled demand for research and treatments for chronic illnesses, according to the report, which notes that the resulting new technologies, equipment and pharmaceuticals have “led to a significant increase in both attendance and exhibitors at exhibitions in this sector.”

In addition, increased specialization in the medical field has led to an increase in the number of healthcare-related associations, and these organizations have launched their own events, as noted in the report.

As a result of these trends, the report states that: “Medical and health care exhibitions have displayed sustained growth over the period, despite a downturn in the economy and other negative forces.”

This growth took place in a climate of intense scrutiny from regulatory organizations, increasing time pressures for medical professionals, consolidation among exhibiting companies, revamped housing policies, and security-related travel restrictions for international participants. Find out how medical show producers deal with these challenges.

Complying with tighter regulations
At medical meetings, both the CME offerings and the exhibits are subject to federal regulations, as well as the guidelines and ethical rules of numerous organizations, including the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the American Medical Association (AMA), the Office of Inspector General (OIG), and the Advanced Medical Technology Association. In the last two years, the rules have become more stringent and more numerous. In 2002, the voluntary Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America Code went into effect. And in 2004, the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) ratified a new set of guidelines that reinforce the OIG directives.

Regulations affecting everything from giveaways and promotions to sponsorships and underwriting of educational activities are strictly enforced to ensure that exhibits are educational and that the CME courses are free of commercial influence.

“Compliance is the watchword. For example, everything that drug companies do in terms of their interactions with physicians falls under FDA scrutiny — every exhibit, every conversation in an exhibit booth, every sponsorship. The FDA sends people to conventions to monitor what’s going on,” says Eric Allen, Executive Vice President of the Healthcare Convention & Exhibitors Association (HCEA).

More patients, less time
Exhibitors aren’t allowed to do anything that would inappropriately influence a health care professional’s choice of a drug, medical device or technology. What they can do is to provide highly detailed information on their products.

“When pharmaceutical company sales representatives discuss a particular drug with physicians, they’re required by the FDA to disclose a range of information, including indications, approvals and side effects. A complete discussion of a drug is called a product detail, so they’re referred to as detail sales reps and it’s their job to communicate that information to the physicians in their sales territory,” explains Jon D. Leibowitz, Managing Director of M|C Communications, which produces the Pri-Med medical conferences.

As HCEA’s Allen notes: “Doctors are under ever-greater time pressures as managed care emphasizes fitting more patients into each day’s schedule. It’s becoming increasingly more difficult for detail sales reps to schedule time with physicians in their offices. So, one of the values of a convention is that physicians can spend time with detail sales reps away from the distractions of the office.”

Results of a pre- and post-meeting survey, conducted by HCEA at the 2002 Pri-Med South Conference and Exhibition in Fort Lauderdale, FL, demonstrate the educational value of medical exhibits for physicians, as well as the ROI for exhibitors.

Among the findings:
• 80 percent of physicians reported learning something new as a result of visiting the exhibits. Most had more than 10 years of experience.
• Both company and brand awareness increased an average of 7 percent among the physicians polled.
• 49 percent of physicians said they were more inclined to recommend/prescribe a company’s drugs after visiting the exhibit hall.
• Physicians spent about 2.6 hours over the course of the meeting in detail time, more than the 2.2 hours on average they indicated they would spend in a month of detailing at their offices.
• Physicians spent an average of 5.9 hours on the exhibit floor visiting an average of 33 exhibits.
 
Dealing with consolidation
While consolidation is a trend, especially for the pharmaceutical industry, new scientific discoveries and the growing number of medical subspecialties continue to spawn startup companies.

“Additionally, many medical companies prefer to exhibit based on brand or product category and may take five or six different spaces in an exhibit hall, depending on how the show is organized,” says Allen.

That’s what happened when the American Dental Association (ADA) redesigned its exhibit floor into four broad product categories to create the ADA Marketplace for the 2004 Annual Session.

“By categorizing exhibits, we make it easier for an attendee to go into one area and compare product, pricing and service,” says James P. Donovan, Exhibit Manager, ADA Annual Session. “Creating four clusters within one large show makes the exhibition floor easier to navigate, giving attendees more time to interact with exhibitors.”

Donovan attributes the growth in space sales — from 180,200 square feet in San Francisco in 2003 to more than 190,000 square feet in Orlando in 2004 — to the marketplace concept. “Because competitors were closer to each other, many increased their booth space in order to increase their presence. And many of the companies that sell products in more than one category have multiple displays throughout the hall,” he says.

Developing housing strategies
Medical show managers, like their trade show counterparts, look for ways to increase the number of rooms booked within the block and avoid attrition fees. “Associations need to come up with housing solutions that reward positive behavior,” says Allen.

That’s what the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) had in mind when it opened online meeting and hotel registration for the AAOS 2004 Annual Meeting one month early for members only. First, they promoted the early registration through mailings and ads in their journal, encouraging members to be sure AAOS had their correct e-mail addresses. Then, one month before registration opened for everyone, members received e-mail with a link to registration and housing.

“We promoted the early housing selection as a benefit for members. Our members have strong hotel preferences, so this early registration helps assure them of getting the hotel they want while helping us to fill our room block,” says Susan McSorley, Director, Department of Convention and Meeting Services.

In addition, AAOS requires that exhibitors stay within the room block.  And at the meeting, attendees fill out a check-in ticket that includes housing information, which enables AAOS to track reservations that are within the block but may not have been made through the housing bureau, as well as rooms booked outside the block.

“The program helped us meet our guarantee, but we learned that a month for early registration is too long — everyone waits until the last minute anyway. So for the 2005 Annual Meeting, early registration only lasts two weeks,” says McSorley.

Removing international barriers
Many medical meetings have drawn international attendees and exhibitors for years. Thanks to longstanding relationships with many of these participants, as well as experience dealing with the government agencies involved, medical show managers have done a good job of helping international participants navigate security-related travel restrictions and the new visa rules.

The Radiological Society of North America holds its Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting every November in Chicago. In 2003, it drew nearly 60,000 attendees from more than 93 countries. One-third of the 25,000 professionals registered for the meeting were international attendees.

“We do everything we can to inform people well in advance of what to expect in terms of the new visa requirements, including special mailings to international attendees, and information in RSNA journals and newsletters,” says Steve Drew, Assistant Executive Director, Scientific Assembly and Informatics. “Some governments require participants to receive an invitation letter from the RSNA. So we make that letter available on the RSNA Web site. People who have pre-registered can go online to get a letter with their name on it, which they can present to their government.”

For the November 2004 Scientific Assembly, RSNA continued to promote compliance with the new visa requirements and the steps needed to receive an invitation letter. “Our non-North American attendance registration is up 12 percent,” says Drew.

Growing for-profit shows
“While there are some for-profit shows, the vast majority of medical shows are sponsored by associations,” says HCEA’s Allen. The medical sector has traditionally been dominated by association shows, but more for-profit show organizers are developing events for this lucrative industry.

Pri-Med, which held its first medical meeting for primary care practitioners in 1995, is demonstrating that for-profit medical shows can compete with association shows for market share. This year, Pri-Med produced 89 continuing education events in 45 cities. All but five of them were one- or two-day education-only events with a small tabletop exhibit area.

The Pri-Med Conference & Exhibition is a four-day event held annually in Boston, Chicago, Fort Lauderdale, FL, Anaheim, CA, and Washington, DC. In 2005, another will be launched in Houston. “These six meetings are regional, but together they attract physicians from the entire country. Average attendance for each is 6,000 primary care practitioners; the exhibitions average 150 exhibitors in more than 70,000 net square feet,” says Leibowitz.

Designed to make education available to primary care practitioners in convenient, local settings, each Pri-Med Conference & Exhibition includes a three-day educational program with 16 hours of CME, more than 40 industry-sponsored symposia held during mealtimes, and a pre-conference day featuring programs about specific therapeutic issues such as pain management.

Pri-Med’s rapid growth caught the attention of the investment community. Bain Capital, a global private equity firm, recently bought controlling interest in M|C Communications, Pri-Med’s parent company, for a reported $400 million.

One difference between medical meetings produced by not-for-profit and for-profit organizations is the number and range of courses offered. The CME offerings at meetings produced by not-for-profit medical specialty associations include academic sessions on scientific research as well as courses on clinical practice. Pri-Med’s curriculum, “Current Issues in Primary Care,” focuses on clinical practice.

“What sets both for-profit and not-for-profit medical meetings apart from meetings in other industries is that the need for CME provides a built-in demand model,” says Leibowitz. “Medicine is one of the most rapidly changing professions. The need for physicians to keep pace with new therapeutics, technologies, practice guidelines and standards will continue to fuel that demand.”