Alvin Lever, executive vice president and CEO American College of Chest Physicians

When he walked into a medical convention exhibit hall a few years ago and saw the backside of a life-sized model of a rhinoceros, Stan Hull senior vice president at GlaxoSmithKline, Research Triangle Park, N.C., had an “Aha!” moment. What does a rhinoceros — in this case it was a product promotion — have to do with healthcare? he wondered. The glitz, glamour, and gimmicks create a poor impression with regulators and the media who are closely scrutinizing medical meetings.

“We want to find a better way to have an interaction that protects the reputation of the company and the physician,” he said, speaking during a session entitled “The Changing Face of Your Medical Exhibition,” at the 2009 Professional Convention Management Association's annual meeting held in January in New Orleans.

One of the associations that is leading the way in providing exhibiting companies like GSK with a new model is the American College of Chest Physicians, Northbrook, Ill. It should come as no surprise that Alvin Lever, ACCP's executive vice president and chief executive officer — who has degrees in architecture and designed medical facilities before joining ACCP — is spearheading a redesign of the exhibit hall. Lever shared his vision during the PCMA session and in a follow-up interview.

Beyond the Tchotchke Rule

A confluence of factors is pushing GSK and other companies to shift their strategies at trade shows, most recently the updated Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America's Code on Interactions with Healthcare Professionals, which went into effect January 1, 2009, banning the promotional giveaways typically offered at booths. Medical device companies will face similar restrictions beginning in July 2009 under the Advanced Medical Technology Association's new code.

But the need to rethink medical conventions goes beyond what some are calling the “tchotchke rule.” It's an opportunity to transform the exhibit hall into an education center, said Lever.

Input from exhibitors like Hull and members of ACCP's Industry Advisory Council have been the foundation of major changes to the annual meeting. For CHEST 2008, ACCP's annual convention held last October in Philadelphia, Lever and his team offered several companies, including GSK, a new alternative to traditional booths: clinical resource centers. Staffed by scientists, not salespeople, these centers were set up like lounges, with sitting areas along with product information and educational resources. While some companies have set up medical information desks in exhibit halls — separate from, but in addition to their promotional booths — this concept is different, as the clinical resource centers replace the marketing booth.

“We needed to find a way to get the medical scientific liaisons in an environment that allows real peer-to-peer exchange,” said David H. Eubanks, EdD, RRT, senior vice president, ACCP. In this environment, MSLs can directly respond to attendees' questions. (See sidebar.)

And attendees don't have to worry about getting a sales pitch, which is one of the biggest turnoffs at exhibitions, according to a panel of physicians who spoke at the Healthcare Convention & Exhibitors Association Marketing Summit held in January in Boston.

While exhibitors pay ACCP the same fee for the 20-by-30-foot clinical resource centers, as they would for a traditional 20-by-30 booth, they save on costs for shipping, setup, and take-down of promotional displays; plus, they are not taking salespeople out of the field — all critical considerations given the economic environment, said Lever. “We are giving companies a better environment to discuss the scientific and clinical aspects of products at a lower cost,” he said.

From their experience at the 2008 show, Lever and his team learned that the centers need to be better integrated into the hall rather than being isolated among a sea of traditional booths, and they are now making plans to improve and expand the concept for CHEST 2009, which will be held October 31-November 5 in San Diego.

Mouse in a Maze

In February, ACCP leaders and planners flew out to San Diego to meet with trade show contractor Freeman to discuss ways to reconfigure the exhibit hall. The basic plan is to arrange the centers in clusters organized by a theme, such as disease state, or technology. ACCP has tried this concept in the past with a cluster focused on electronic medical records and one showcasing the pulmonary office of the future.

They are considering arranging the clinical resource centers around a stage and seating area, where speakers will give presentations on the area of interest in that cluster. The presentations might also complement the topics covered in the certified CME sessions taking place in the meeting rooms, said Lever. ACCP may develop guidelines to ensure the presentations are educational, not promotional. Details on content selection and presentation design are still being worked out.

Segmenting the large open space of the hall into clusters will make it easier for attendees to navigate, said Lever. This concept could ameliorate one of the biggest complaints doctors have about exhibit halls, according to physicians at the HCEA summit. They said they go to exhibitions with a purpose, not to browse the aisles, but they find it difficult to locate what they are looking for because of the way the floor is organized. One doctor said he felt “like a mouse in a maze” at most trade shows.

For 2009, ACCP plans to test one or two of these educational clusters. If they work well, organizers may expand the concept at the 2010 convention. Exhibitors are open to the concept, said Lever. “Anything that will encourage people to spend time with them, they are good with,” he said, “They want us to drive traffic.”

Simulation Centers

The other component of ACCP's education-first strategy is simulation centers, located outside the exhibit hall in an adjacent ballroom, where attendees can try out new equipment and procedures. For three years, ACCP's Simulation Centers for Advanced Clinical Education have been very popular with attendees and exhibitors.

“Exhibits are great, but they pale in comparison to a learning theater or workshop or demonstration,” said Ted Nielsen, director, global learning at SonoSite, a Bothell, Wash.-based ultrasound manufacturer, who also spoke at the medical exhibits session at PCMA. Like GSK, SonoSite has shifted its strategic focus in recent years, scaling back its participation in shows where the only option is a traditional booth and instead exhibiting at conventions where they can run demonstrations, which provide them with a much higher return on investment.