Weston, MA – Trade show veteran John Mooney is betting that the hybrid consumer show and medical conference his company is launching in the Fall will strike a chord with exhibitors seeking to reach both physicians and their patients.
The collaborativeCARE Conference (C3) series that launches in November will bring to the show floor not just doctors, but doctors from multiple specialties as well as members of the public who may be grappling with one or more chronic conditions.
Most medical meetings revolve around CMEs and the latest reports from laboratories around the world on advances that are often highly specific and but one step toward a possible actual treatment in the years to come. The idea of C3 is to bring the science that is useful in today’s world to practicing physicians and their patients in a setting that is also productive and efficient for exhibitors. “Medical knowledge is global, but the delivery of health care is regional and local,” Mooney told Trade Show Executive. “The dissemination of medical knowledge is best done at the local level as well.”
A C3 conference is an altogether different breed of cat than the standard medical conference staged by an association representing a particular specialty. Medical Exchange has created a strategy in which a dozen packages of educational content from different specialties is presented to specialists and primary care physicians over a four-day period. On the final days, the doors are open to the public, giving patients access to the latest information on their particular maladies and giving exhibitors contact with the end-users of their products.
“We’ll organize the exhibit floor by disease state,” said Mooney, who was the founding partner of M|C Communications and a past chairman of the Society of Independent Show Organizers (SISO). “There will be a neurology pavilion and pavilions for cardiology, endocrinology and so on.”
“Historically, doctors love the learning that happens on the show floor, but they don’t like the perceived chaos,” Mooney said. “They like things grouped in a more logical fashion.”
Exhibitors should find plenty to like as well. Turnkey packages are provided by the show management. “They get one bill from us and they don’t have to arrange shipping or services. Show management works directly with the general service contractors and the unions,” said Mooney. Mooney said it is expected that exhibiting at a C3 event could cost exhibitors as much as 75% less than it would to haul their own booth from medical conference to medical conference.
The C3 series is set to launch at the Long Beach Convention Center in November. Conferences will also take place in Philadelphia, Orlando and Chicago. Mooney said Houston and Seattle are also possible venues.
Reach John Mooney at (617) 250-8466 or johnmooney@ccconference.com
