Life Science Conference and Exhibit Strategies: What's Working Now

For vendors, conferences continue to be an important marketing medium. For organizers, engaging messaging, event layout, and other considerations need to be planned out effectively to attract attendees and ensure a rewarding experience for both scientists and vendors. In this report, we detail out what life science conference and exhibit strategies are working - and what isn’t.

Overview

Conferences play an essential role in promoting communication among life scientists: More than 80% of life scientists say attending scientific conferences is just as or more important for their professional development than 5 years ago.

The most important function of conferences-from a scientist’s perspective-is to provide a forum for presenting cutting-edge research. In addition, conferences offer scientists opportunities for identifying new research directions or approaches, networking with colleagues, collaborations, and career advancement. Additionally, many vendors consider conferences to be valuable opportunities to interact with prospective and current customers in specific markets. Exhibiting at conferences continues to be a vital and indispensable part of most vendors marketing efforts. Knowing in advance what your customers expect and what motivates them to engage your brand’s representatives at meetings are key building blocks to the success of your event’s exhibiting strategy. The perspective of dozens of vendors is presented, allowing you to assess current best practices in the market and benchmark your exhibit activities against other leading suppliers.

Objectives of this Report:

• Help you select the right scientific conference by understanding what attracts life scientists and their perception about exhibitions
• Aid in designing the ideal exhibit by assessing the trends in customer experience management at conferences
• Serve as a guide for comparison to other exhibitors and their impact on life scientists

Methodologies
The author provides detailed information on scientists’ experience at conferences and their expectations of an exhibit. The results of a 39-question online survey of more than 1,100 Life Scientists from around the world is included, which provides substantive information on attendee trends and opinions of conferences. In addition, this report also includes an in-depth analysis of customer experience profiles for 16 different exhibitors.