A New Perspective on Graphics - Christine Farmer, Senior Convention Manager, sanofi-aventis US.
Traditional advice about planning exhibit graphics is to think of billboards: after all, is driving down the highway all that different from walking down the aisle at a convention? In both cases, images attract and connect us to the company or product portrayed.
At conventions, graphics give attendees instant visual input to make a decision: Do I want to stop here and pursue a face-to-face relationship with this company or this brand? More than we care to admit, we are used to making decisions based on visual attraction, and graphics play an important role in shaping our preferences.
Good traditional wisdom, as far as it goes.
But it doesn't go far enough to cover the concerns of marketers in a highly regulated industry nor the mandate to educate rather than sell, the stated goal of the personal encounter at medical conventions.
The current regulatory environment is daunting, with the head of FDA's Division of Drug Marketing, Advertising, and Communications (DDMAC), Tom Abrams, telling marketers to show "more self restraint and increased self regulation. " Couple that with the recent "Bad Ad Program" that not only encourages healthcare providers to report misleading promotional activity but also provides for DDMAC exhibits at "specifically-selected medical conventions...to distribute education materials" that will tell doctors how to report potential violations—and what you get is a legal and regulatory firestorm, leading to an increasingly conservative view toward all promotional materials.
Naturally this conservatism extends to graphics which are not only reviewed for approved content and images, but now are scrutinized to determine whether enough fair balance copy is displayed. The creative challenge is not for the faint of heart.
Moreover, since education is the purpose of a promotional exhibit, the drill-down learning process, a process shaped by our use of the Internet, extends to the display of graphics in a very real way. Unlike the friendly billboards, convention exhibit graphics are meant to be viewed hierarchically. In other words, what do attendees see at 100 feet? at 10 feet? at 1 foot? Will these graphics be free standing? overhead? flat against the wall?
To meet these challenges, the account team starts with planning for graphics to be an integral part of the exhibit, not an afterthought. This means working closely with agencies to make sure that any lifestyle images or 'beauty shots' can be translated to a much larger format than the master visual aid demands. Constant communication with in-house legal and regulatory personnel is now a regular part of the process.
Next, decisions are made about the format for the graphics. Medical exhibits during the past two decades have been characterized by graphics mounted on sintra or displayed in light boxes. There is no reason that images have to be static simply because they've historically been that way. It's no secret that human beings are attracted to movement and light, and graphic displays that are dynamic have a much greater chance of capturing attendees' interest. Technology has given us many ways to incorporate light and movement—from lenticular graphics and LED screens to 3D images that don't require glasses.
You might ask: Where do "graphics" leave off and where does "multimedia" begin? And to answer a question with a question, do we need to have a cutoff point? Incorporating multimedia technology into graphics, particularly those in the 1 foot space, often allows an effective solution to not only delivering the approved promotional message but also to displaying fair balance copy. Technology that enlivens graphics attracts attendees but also helps to meet the current challenge of DDMAC surveillance and making sure that all promotional copy stays on message, drilling-down, if necessary, to fair balance copy.
Since the 2002 PhRMA Code was enacted, convention exhibiting is getting more challenging, but along with the challenges, there are new creative solutions to meet them. Exhibit graphics can move beyond sintra and light boxes and take advantage of the technology that not only solves problems but attracts visitors.
To see this article on the HCEA web site - click here.
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