Organizers of large-scale health-care and pharmaceutical conferences must embrace new approaches to engagement and education to keep attendees coming, according to American Express Meetings & Events. For its new report, "On The Horizon: Healthcare Congress Trends to Watch," Amex M&E conducted a global survey of conference organizers, health-care planners and meeting suppliers, as well as in-depth interviews with industry experts.
"Health-care and pharma congresses face a complicated challenge," acknowledged Lisa McKenzie, Amex M&E's vice president of health care and pharmaceutical. "To grow engagement and attendance, they must navigate highly complex regulated environments and compete for the time of health-care providers, whose time is already in demand."
The report identifies seven top trends that health-care congress organizers should address, specifically:
1. The future is digital. Eighty percent of survey respondents said the youngest generations of health-care providers will drive significant changes in how organizers engage attendees. Having digital, on-demand learning options available after the event will be crucial. Amex recommends that planners tap the younger attendees to act as conference advisers.
2. New learning environments are critical. Three-quarters of respondents agreed there is increased pressure to find new ways to deliver education to health-care providers. Planners must shake things up to keep attendees engaged, and think creatively about hands-on, interactive programming and new meeting-space designs.
3. Conferences must demonstrate their value. Health-care providers already face intense time pressures from their practices and patients, and they might be further deterred from attending conferences because, in some cases, funding changes mean they must pay to attend. There is more pressure than ever for organizers to demonstrate the value they provide, and to show measurable results for the attendees' investment in time and money.
4. Create unique accommodation and food-and-beverage experiences. Thanks to meal caps and data-transfer requirements, it has become increasingly difficult to provide attendees with the high-end experiences to which they have been accustomed. Organizers must be especially creative in delivering memorable experiences with lodging, food and beverages that conform to strict spending limits.
5. Technology is a staple. While some conferences in this field have traditionally been slow to adapt new event technology, that should no longer be the case. Technology should be as much a part of the event as it has become a part of the operating room. Tools such as augmented and virtual reality can play a vital role in education and interaction with experts around the world.
6. Data must be put to good use. More than three-quarters of respondents (77 percent) agreed that organizers who use data to create engaging experiences will have a leg up on the competition -- but only two-thirds said their organizations were already using data, and in most cases that was restricted to registration data.
7. Walk the line between personalization and privacy. Fewer than half of those surveyed (44 percent) use attendee data to deliver personalized content to their attendees. Organizers will have to balance privacy policies and restrictions with the goal of better engaging attendees with relevant content that speaks to their expertise and interests.
For the full report, click here.