Scientific & Medical Conferences: Get the Most Bang for Your Buck

Fifty-seven percent of life science and medical professionals surveyed attend one to two conferences each year and another 28% attend three to five conferences. Attendees have no shortage in conference choices as rapid advances in science and medicine have led to an explosion in the number of conferences organized each year.

ARLINGTON, VA -- March 29, 2002 -- Fifty-seven percent of life science and medical professionals surveyed attend one to two conferences each year and another 28% attend three to five conferences. Attendees have no shortage in conference choices as rapid advances in science and medicine have led to an explosion in the number of conferences organized each year. And according to science and medical professionals surveyed, Gordon Research Conferences, the Society for Neuroscience and the American Society for Microbiology ranked highly in the list of best conferences.

These findings are a few of the many insights derived from a recent 32-question survey of more than 1,400 life science and medical professionals. BioInformatics, LLC (Arlington, VA), a leading provider of market research to the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, recently published the full results in a report titled Scientific & Medical Conferences: Evaluating Promotional Opportunities." The report determines what scientists and clinicians find most valuable in the conferences they choose to attend.

The data yields important implications for both conference organizers and exhibiting vendors. Organizing such conferences has become a very lucrative business endeavor for professional societies and for-profit companies. However, competition among organizers is fierce as they try and attract both attendees and exhibitors. At the same time, the huge number of scientific and medical conferences makes it difficult for manufacturers to decide where to exhibit.

This report is designed to help both organizers and exhibitors. If a conference is successful in attracting appropriate attendees by meeting their needs and providing them with a valuable experience, exhibitors and sponsors will follow. Understanding attendee preferences will help vendors determine where to exhibit and how to maximize the promotional impact of their presence.

According to study results, to increase awareness, conference organizers should note that direct mail from the conference organizers", alerted personally by colleagues" and alerted through electronic mailing lists, newsgroups, etc." are the three most common ways in which the respondents learn about upcoming conferences. In addition to citing their preferred size, cost, locales and events, the majority of respondents cited that the ideal length of time for a conference should be two to three days. In addition to attracting attendees, those conferences that most closely resemble the preferences in this survey will attract vendors that seek to fulfill the attendees needs and meet company marketing objectives," says Bill Kelly, President of BioInformatics.

Scientific and medical conferences are an opportunity for prospective and current customers to visit and evaluate suppliers. As such, attending and exhibiting at scientific and medical conferences is an essential part of every vendors marketing plan. Over fifty percent of life science and medical professionals surveyed consider vendor exhibits to be important in helping them learn about new products and services in their fields. Study results also indicate that considering using the vendor's products, new and innovative technology or products and relevance to their area of research are the three factors most likely to influence the respondents to visit a company's exhibit booth. Conferences are the ideal venue for communicating the new, the different and the exciting. Even companies promoting mature or commodity products have the opportunity to present attendees with new ways to think about a familiar product with a new application. When the exhibitor has a new product or technology for the application being discussed, the stage is set for a valuable relationship to be cultivated," says Kelly.

ABOUT BIOINFORMATICS, LLC

BioInformatics, LLC (http://www.gene2drug.com) is a market research firm located in Arlington, Virginia. BioInformatics supports marketing, sales and R&D executives in the life science, medical device and pharmaceutical industries through published research reports, custom research and consulting. BioInformatics sponsors The Science Advisory Board (http://www.scienceboard.net), the worlds largest online customer panel of more than 8,300 scientists, physicians and other biomedical customers from 62 countries who participate in surveys that address emerging technologies, test customer reactions to new product concepts, measure brand awareness and assess advertising effectiveness.

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Alyssa Martin
BioInformatics LLC
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a.martin@gene2drug.com
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