Healthcare congresses offer several important constituents the opportunity to educate, network, and explore the latest efficacy and safety on your drug. It also provides the opportunity to show the latest innovations and ground-breaking treatment options to thousands of healthcare providers (HCPs), medical professionals, and industry experts within just a few critical days. If you get it right, the ROI can position you as a market leader.
With many organizations vying for quality interaction from the same attendees, the mere presence of a well-positioned booth doesn’t always meet your objectives. Take advantage of the most innovative enhancements to maximize audience engagement and ensure attendees leave knowing your latest data and the next phases of your drug journey.
With that in mind, let’s explore five of the best engagement ideas for your next congress.
1. Key messaging kiosks
Not every HCP who walks past will be ready to engage immediately in a conversation. Strategically placed key-messaging kiosks enable attendees to receive your message with little or no interaction. Give them the space to educate themselves.
These kiosks can be placed around your booth to draw in attendees with visual and sometimes interactive solutions. Experiential technology can include screens displaying looping product videos or a “sizzle reel” with your key messages. For instance, you might include your most important data points, patient testimonials, and short demo clips. On a busy congress floor, these will likely need to be easily understood without audio, so work with your media producer to create a video that utilizes subtitles or closed captions to ensure it makes sense to people passing your booth.
2. Tablets for Deeper-Dive Exploration
Tablets, such as iPads, are a popular choice at congresses, and with good reason. Setting up a bench of iPads at your booth allows people to get a deeper insight into your products. These tablets might include information on clinical trials, research, patient feedback, and/or how the product works.
Creating an event app is the best way to make the most of your congress iPads, as you can design it to match your branding and customize the content to include everything you want to communicate. This is especially useful if you’re promoting multiple messages, as you can provide easy access to data, videos, and papers without taking up too much desk space. Attendees can also airdrop permitted compliant information directly to their own devices.
Finally, ensure you have a visually appealing, branded screensaver and wallpaper on the iPads, which will entice them and encourages them to explore.
3. Airdropping Your Abstracts
Most pharmaceutical organizations have text-heavy poster studies at congresses offering a comprehensive overview of each product and its most recent data. While you could consider printing your abstracts for your next congress, busy HCPs are unlikely to take and read them, and it’s not the most sustainable approach.
Enter Airdropping your abstracts. Sending through an airdrop can quickly get your abstract into the hands of your HCPs. You can deliver your research in a matter of seconds, and the HCP can take it with them.
4. Virtual reality
Some therapeutic solutions must be viewed to be fully understood and can be challenging to bring to a busy congress floor. Virtual reality (VR) headsets are great for offering an immersive product experience.
Consider a “patient perspective” and their interaction with a doctor in an actual medical environment. Another option may be to show some approved VR footage of the research or packaging facility providing a “behind-the-scenes” look at your product development and manufacturing.
As an added benefit, these VR experiences can be reused across your in-person, hybrid, and virtual events, making them a powerful addition to your brand.
5. Bluetooth Headsets for Demos
If you’re hosting demos at your booth, consider providing Bluetooth headsets to deliver your message. Historically, Congress venues are very loud, making it difficult to showcase the presenter during an on-floor demo.
Your presenter can use a microphone connected to Bluetooth headsets worn by the audience directly to hear what the presenter is saying. If this sounds complicated or intimidating, don’t panic! Working with a healthcare event agency means you have access to a team of AV specialists who can do all the setup for you.
For Q&A, you can have a Booth Ambassador (AV Assistant) on hand throughout the congress with a microphone for the audience. If there are any audience questions during the demo, everyone can hear them through their headsets, so everyone is involved in the conversation.
Are you interested in leveling up your next congress?
We’d love to help! Take a look at how AMI specializes in life sciences events, and get in touch to discuss how we can make your next congress your most successful yet.
