What does the future of medical congresses look like and how to meet the needs of healthcare professionals

By Ivanka Vankova, Senior Strategist, Kanga Health Ltd

There has been a lot of change across medical congresses in the last couple of years due to the pandemic and the accelerated adoption of digital. Whilst the change is ongoing, we see the future of medical congress leaning towards a hybrid experience, which is personalised to the needs of HCPs and patients, and part of a connected omnichannel journey.

Before we look to the future, let’s look at medical congresses before the pandemic...

Up until 2020, medical congresses were held in person. It was a special (annual) event that saw association-members, and HCPs gather to learn, exchange knowledge, and network with peers and industry professionals.

Event organisers had planned everything meticulously – the venue, the set-up, speakers, sponsors, and marketing activity designed to engage and excite delegates throughout their event experience (typically 2 to 3 days long).

Medical congresses took place at a physical location (face-to-face) where the only digital elements were a (little) flurry of social media activity, email communication to and from delegates, an event website, and some (quite impressive at times) digital displays at exhibition booths, with some ‘mega congresses’ enticing 100,000+ delegates.

Then congress changed overnight…

After March 2020, the industry had to quickly adapt and pivot to a virtual format for all communications. Looking back now, we can see that it posed great challenges for all parties involved.

Technical difficulties and patchy sessions due to low bandwidth were quite common. Which saw low attendee numbers and a lack of interaction and engagement from the participants.

Majority of HCPs (84%[1]) prefer to attend in person…

The event experts - who excelled in designing and building engaging and magnificent-looking booths, refining hospitality offerings, face-to-face networking, and meeting spaces - largely tried to recreate the same in-person experiences in a virtual format. It’s no surprise they weren’t very successful.

How people engage in a digital world is very different from real-life experiences. The industry saw underwhelming attendee numbers, very little interaction, and a lot of ‘digital fatigue’.

So, what does the future of congress look like and what do HCPs want?

Several studies have since been conducted to help the industry gain valuable insights into HCPs’ preferences. What we have seen is that HCPs still prefer the in-person congress format, but they are positively embracing virtual experiences.

Our key take-outs are:

1.????They want the flexibility of hybrid…

Whereas most HCPs (84%[1]) prefer to attend in person, the virtual option is a valuable alterative to attract attendees that might not otherwise attend in person, due to other commitments.

According to EPG Health, 70%[2] of HCPs consider hybrid events as important. We are already seeing instances where in-person delegates watch live-streamed sessions online instead of being physically present in the room. For example, at the GSIPP[3] 16th Annual Pain Summit held in August 2021, 25% of all virtual attendees at the event stayed on the website. This may be for several reasons, but it shows us that HCPs embrace the choice that the hybrid congress format gives them.

“Missed the informality of chatting to colleagues between sessions and the opportunity to network.”

In addition, research undertaken this year with HCPs across several disease areas by Kanga, revealed that HCPs really appreciated the convenience of hybrid congresses. They could fit in watching personally-selected sessions with their own busy schedules and even attend some virtually – something they could never have justified before. However, almost unanimously they all said they “missed the informality of chatting to colleagues between sessions and the opportunity to network”.

?2.????Scientific content delivered “Netflix style”

Many of us are used to consuming content ‘Netflix style’, so it’s no surprise that HCPs are looking for similar experiences when it comes to scientific content.

According to a recent study by Ashfield Event Experiences & IPCAA*, access to content on-demand is increasingly important as it allows HCPs to listen to conference sessions at a time that best suits them.

HCPs also prefer access to content for an extended period post-congress, ideally between 3 and 12 months.

3.????It’s all about the HCP and their event journey…

Personalised experiences at future congresses will not just be limited to the duration of the event itself, but also the wider event journey. Event engagement should start way before the event date and should last longer as they become an integral part of connected, omnichannel HCP journeys. Where scientific content is delivered across engagement channels, including but not limited to emails, personal interactions, social media, closed groups, industry platforms/websites, digital experiences, and more.

What can the pharmaceutical industry do to elevate the HCP experience at medical congresses, increase engagement and maximise return on investment?

It starts with changing the mindset and the way we think about medical congress. Congresses are not just physical events anymore, nor are they an offline marketing tactic or a logistical exercise.

Medical congresses are avenues to inspire and to effectively engage with HCPs, sustain and nourish existing relationships, and create new ones. All this can be achieved using a blend of physical and digital experiences, designed in a manner that is user-centred, connected, and personalised.

However, it’s easier said than done! We will explore how to maximise your engagement and ROI in the next article. Stay tuned!

To summarise…

It takes an immense amount of effort to achieve that “picture-perfect” congress experience for your audience.

If you want to access our thoughts on the key factors that help achieve a successful congress, look out for our next article “Top tips to get your brand ready for a medical congress”.

In the meantime, do you have a congress coming up that you need help with? Drop the Kanga team a line here at: www.kangahealth.com/get-in-touch/

Kanga’s congress services…

Kanga is a full-service digital agency that helps pharmaceutical and healthcare companies with digital marketing and medical communications, including congress strategy.

Our congress capabilities:

• Congress strategy for in-person, virtual, and hybrid engagements
• Congress insights
• Customer experience and planning for congress
• Congress learning programmes and training

For more information, contact us here or by email at [email protected]

References

[1] Ashfield Event Experiences & IPCAA “Healthcare Professionals’ experiences of virtual congress” 2021

[2] EPG Health “The Gaps Between HCP Demand and Pharma Supply of Medical Information” 2021

[3] GSIPP