Virtual Events Gain Ground in the Medical Sector

As some face-to-face meetings and even in-person events slowly restart across the globe, all industries are faced with significant challenges: tracking and tracing contact, limiting attendee numbers, social distancing at venues as well as managing attendee anxiety towards crowds. The medical device manufacturing and pharma industry, like many others, rose to the challenge and developed a range of options to tackle these issues creatively.
 
Research by Owen Mumford Pharmaceutical Services reveals that a new, dynamic digital event strategy is rapidly gaining ground in the sector with virtual events playing a key role even post-pandemic.

Trial and Error

2020 and 2021 provided a period of enforced testing for virtual and hybrid events, with businesses and event organizers trialing a range of platforms, modes and combinations before, sometimes, landing on a successful strategy. One participant in the survey explained that a critical difference between live events and digital events was their need to focus attention away from open inboxes, ringing doorbells, demanding families and a range of other distractions: “...conferences need to be slicker and more attention-grabbing, with a recognizable data component to prove the points being made.”
 
While reliable, easily accessible technology is of course a top priority, running a successful event is about more than “throwing an agenda on Zoom and having everybody calling in,” or attendees being able to access the link, regardless of their preferred firewall, report industry professionals. It’s about designing the whole event with remote attendees in mind. The main issues highlighted by respondents to the Owen Mumford survey highlighted the following key areas for the success of digital events:
 

• Planning sophistication
• Technology platforms
• Networking opportunities
• Authentic live interactions
• Content quality
• Greater specificity
• Pricing
• Creative thinking around emerging models

 
One of the most sought after features of live events that businesses have missed during lockdown is the ability to network and form authentic interactions with other industry players. These form the foundations of successful partnerships and client relationships, so ensuring that networking is accounted for during digital events is a key issue. An overwhelming majority of attendees of virtual events in 2020 felt that online methods of facilitating networking between delegates need more due care and attention. Authentic, live interaction also scored highly in user experience for the industry with one respondent commenting: “Virtual conferences that I've enjoyed the most were all 100% live.”
 
Fortunately, respondents also clearly stated that some of the lost networking opportunity can also be compensated, for example by adding value through highly specific and quality content that attracts and benefits delegates.

Tailored and High-Quality Content

Medical device manufacturers and pharmaceutical professionals reported that they want to see more “star” line-ups with influential industry speakers. In addition to practical take-aways from the sessions they attend, speakers also said they felt conferences around highly specific topics would work well online; some examples of these issues are biocompatibility, sustained release type drug delivery systems, viscous drug delivery, bionic pancreas, new standards like ISO11608, and connectivity. One interesting wider issue that industry professionals thought could be effectively tackled remotely are new ways of working post Covid-19.

Cost and Duration

Respondents were also sensitive to the cost of digital events. While of course “star” speakers require budget, they are well aware of the lower overheads that derive from not having to book a conference hall or organize catering, for example. Pricing should therefore reflect attendance options, even going as far as to offer a modular approach. Respondents reported they would appreciate the option to choose levels of attendance and interaction as well as workshops, or sessions of interest for themselves. Currently, the feeling overall is that virtual conferences do not yet provide good value for money, so flexible options may help to address this issue.
 
In particular, respondents wanted to be able to select what interests them without being tied into long online presentations: “As of now, I don’t feel like spending a full day in a virtual conference. A conference with maybe some workshops or informal meetings will be more appealing and feasible. Unless I’m really interested in them, I wouldn’t attend more than two hours,” explained one respondent.

Conclusions

Although the initial scramble towards digital and hybrid events was not always a success, over time the events industry has developed some best-practices for successful remote attendance. Providing medical device and pharma industry professionals with options that are tailored to their needs, flexible and come in at the right price point is key to engaging audiences. Overall, there is a wide-spread view that virtual events are here to stay and can provide a viable alternative to some types of face-to-face events, so long as they respect attendee needs.
 
Find Owen Mumford Pharmaceutical Services’ complete report, ‘Are They Remotely Relevant? A survey of professional opinion on virtual events in the medical device and pharmaceutical industries’ here.