The HCEA State of the Industry Report on Healthcare Meetings and Exhibit Marketing

What do 30,000 medical meetings over the last decade plus tell us about the industry of healthcare conventions and exhibit marketing?

• How is professional attendance at these medical events?
• How many competitive exhibits are vying for the attention of medical professionals?
• Are exhibit space costs in step with inflation?
• Which meeting sizes offer the best value?
• Which therapeutic specialties are showing the most growth?
• What’s the investment ratio and the opportunity ratio of exhibiting at these medical events?

Who is This Report For?

Healthcare Marketers and Exhibit Marketing -- Medical Convention Organizers and Healthcare Associations -- Industry Supporters

If you need data-driven evidence to better plan your marketing strategies for reaching professionals at medical meetings, this is the report for you. If you need comprehensive, independent research to benchmark your healthcare convention marketing programs, this is the report for you. If you need to track trends, identify opportunities and compare metrics between your events and others, this report is for you.
 
Pharmaceutical, medical device and biotech marketing professionals, all healthcare convention and exhibit marketing professionals, medical meeting planners and organizers, healthcare event and exhibit market researchers, and destination management professionals will find this 14-year market research report vital.

What Will You Find Essential in this Report?

Professional Attendance trend analysis for all reported medical meetings, for medical meetings defined by size categories, and for medical meetings defined by therapeutic specialties.

Cost Per Attendee Ratios for Different-Sized Events

The report features fundamental comparisons between different event sizes to determine a baseline "cost per attendee" ratio that all exhibit marketing professionals and show organizers can use for planning purposes.

Exhibit Space Cost trend analysis for all reported medical meetings, for medical meetings defined by size categories, and for medical meetings defined by therapeutic specialties. Have healthcare exhibit space costs risen above the rate of inflation?

Total Exhibits and Net Sq. Ft.trend analysis based on different meeting size categories and therapeutic classes. Exhibit hall net sq. ft. is also measured and reported on in order to measure whether exhibits are trending to requiring more or less total space.

Location Trend Analysis for all reported medical meetings held over the last 12 years. This section of the report analyzes 12 years of meeting location data as well as a U.S. salary analysis by city region of the top 20 locations.

Inflation, National Labor Data and Gross Domestic Product

HCEA also analyzed healthcare meeting trends in relation to other outside major market factors to provide greater context. Exhibit space cost data is compared to inflation-adjusted rates over the last decade to measure whether space cost is in line with inflation. Where applicable, the report also analyzes national survey data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis to context labor costs and the U.S. economy to trends seen in healthcare meetings and exhibits.

Are certain size medical meetings better for you than others? Do you need to benchmark against like-sized meetings?

• Very Large Meetings: 10,000+
• Large Meetings*: 4,000+
• Medium Meetings: 2,000-3,999
• Small Meetings: Less than 2,000

*The Large Meeting category includes Very Large Meetings.

The comprehensive report is available to HCEA members only.

For more information, contact Frank Skinner at 404.252.3663 or fskinner@kellencompany.com.