As you might expect in times of economic uncertainty, companies are taking a hard look at their expenses and questioning what is essential and what is not. One of the areas that is under the microscope is spending on conference attendance.
For a medical device company to have a booth at a scientific conference, their costs can climb into the thousands of dollars. These expenses reflect the space they secure from the sponsoring society, the shipping of their booth, set-up labor, travel for staff and, of course, the opportunity cost of having these people (usually marketers and engineers) out of the office for days at a time.
We were recently at the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS) and American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS), where we observed a marked increase in discussion around the relative value of having a booth. The question is simply one of return on investment.
With greater scrutiny by the DOJ and the FDA on company-surgeon relationships and the host societies' efforts to maintain transparency, interactions in the exhibit halls have shifted over the years. Additionally, we hear concern from company representatives that societies are not encouraging their members to visit the exhibits. Companies still want to convey their strength by having an impressive booth (which is clearly noted by customers, competitors and financial analysts), but is it the best use of their marketing dollars?
Conference exhibits are designed to highlight new technologies, give surgeons an opportunity to handle and ask questions about products and potentially build relationships that could lead to product development collaborations. If the conversations we hear are part of a new trend, companies may have a smaller presence at the meetings or simply attend fewer of them.
