by Danelle Dodds
How does one of the most regulated industries in the country find ways to stay well within the boundaries of federal requirements and still have a voice for their intended audiences? In any other sector, conventions and exhibits would be the answer. But when sensitive parameters exist, one needs an advocate for the industry.
Enter the Healthcare Convention & Exhibitors Association (HCEA). HCEA is a trade-based association that is a champion for organizations that believe in the effectiveness of healthcare conventions and exhibits as an educational and marketing tool. They have been shepherding the industry since 1930 and their annual meeting is a bastion for those that make a business out of promoting healthcare convention marketing.
This year’s HCEA Annual Meeting will take place in the Queen City of Charlotte, NC. A burgeoning hub of the healthcare field, Charlotte is an ideal backdrop for the important work to be done at this year’s event.
Growing Stronger Together is the foundational theme for HCEA’s annual meeting, and it brings together several hundred participants to unite forces for a powerful 10B industry. The concept builds off the theme that was introduced at their half-day virtual event held in September. The theme of Fall Forward & Grow Smarter laid the base of skills, reinvention and advocacy that the annual meeting will continue to build on.
HCEA’s mission is simple: They strive to bring together the top minds in their industry to provide insights, while truly arming their members with real life actionable tools. In the face of the new normal, the industry is having to reinvent themselves to keep up with ever-present changes. Applying those challenges to their laser-focused vision is laying the foundation on what they are calling their “most ambitious educational program ever.”
When reviewing their speaker line-up, one can see how committed they are to that plan. Kicking off the rich schedule will be bestselling author, Carla Johnson. CEO of RE:Think Labs, Carla is a self-proclaimed “leading innovation architect.” With 10 books under her belt and more than two decades of study in innovation, she has a five-step approach to help attendees think creatively about the constant change they are facing. One doesn’t normally associate creativity with the regulated field of healthcare marketing, but Carla will show how the mechanics of the process can easily be applied to the audience’s approach. Stimulating and exciting, Carla is expected to showcase how inspiration and innovation can come from anywhere and anyone. Building the confidence of those in the audience, guests are expected to take away tools to encourage them to think in new ways, make great ideas even better, and be able to encourage a culture of innovation for an entire team.
The education and inspiration won’t stop there. When one reviews the remainder of their planned topics, they’ll see that HCEA’s approach covers relevancy and reality.
- The Congress Manager in 2023: New Skills, New Responsibilities, New Opportunities is going to go head-to-head with some of the biggest challenges facing every sector in economy today: staffing. Focusing on building effective teams in the choppy waters of the Great Resignation, hybrid locations and wary customers, this topic will help delegates confront these realities and give them tools on how to stay above water.
- Playing Global Whack-a-Mole: Connecting the Dots between Data Journey and Data Privacy examines the complexity of the privacy channel as it pertains to both the legal and marketing points of view.
- Selling the Science: Building a High-Performance Medical Exhibit plans to dissect how healthcare companies are attempting to drive passive engagement through non-commercial exhibits.
- Puppies, Pastries, and Panic Rooms: compliant HCP Engagement in 2023 is expected to be one of the most out-of-the-box moments, allowing attendees to expand their way of thinking to create those authentic and compliant moments, on and off the show floor.
- A double header of Hit the On Switch: DEI, the Healthcare Convention Space, and You and Sustainability: Why it Matters and What to do About it will address two global movements and why they are important to convention marketers today.
- Reinventing the Reinvented: The State of our Industry will take its title to heart by reinventing their longtime State of the Industry report.
- Multiple Generations, Multiple Perspectives will embrace reinvention again. Here their signature in-person panel will be revamped to deliver insight and perspective in a whole new way.
Three days of ambitious programming will both underpin the importance of the healthcare marketing industry, while preparing the vital players for the year ahead. HCEA’s annual meeting will take place January 11 – 13, 2023.
