Fellow Suppliers, It’s Time to Rethink Our Pitch

This article was originally published by Access TCA, as an installment of their Advocacy Through Access series, which explored engagement in an ever-changing events industry.

Healthcare Marketing is Rooted in Purpose

For marketers who want to make a real impact—not just push the latest gadget or snack—healthcare is the place to be.
While CES and The Detroit Auto Show showcase flashy products, healthcare events bring together science and creativity, leading to breakthroughs that save lives. Unlike traditional trade shows, the healthcare sector’s unique ecosystem of professionals, associations, and life sciences companies makes these conventions more resilient to economic fluctuations.

Medical Meetings are Anything but Boring

The idea that medical conventions are dull is absurd. These events focus on what truly matters—groundbreaking discoveries that transform lives.

These events aren’t about spectacle; they’re about substance. And all the onerous guardrails ensure that these critical meetings don’t devolve into something much less.

You won’t find gimmicky giveaways or mascots in costumes here. Instead, you’ll see exhibition floors filled with revolutionary therapies, cutting-edge medical devices, and research that defines the future. You’ll find sessions packed with clinicians sharing the knowledge that leads to big scientific advancements. For ambitious professionals who want to be at the forefront of innovation, this is where it happens.

Innovation Happens in Real Time at Healthcare Meetings

Unlike CES or auto shows, where “new” products have actually been vetted for months or years, innovation happens in real-time at healthcare meetings. While exhibits provide a glimpse of what’s new to the market, the real action is in posters and plenary sessions, where leading minds in medicine convene to share discoveries. Sitting in a scientific session, especially one that discusses advances in a condition that affects you or someone in your family, can be enlightening, even if the science is over your head.

Healthcare Meetings offer Job Security

Healthcare meetings are durable partly because of the unique three-way interdependence perpetuating them: healthcare professionals need conventions for education and CME credits. For associations, conventions are a vital source of funding and credibility. And industry suppliers depend on conventions for access to otherwise hard-to-reach clinicians.

Creating meaningful engagement at these events without gimmicks and while staying compliant isn’t easy. But when we choose to see compliance as a guardrail vs. a roadblock, the opportunity to do great work emerges.

I see clients in three buckets: those who aren’t up for the challenge, who do nothing and hope for the best. Bucket #2: those who sail to a safe harbor of coffee and pastries. But clients in Bucket #3—the bold, strategic, and creative—embrace immersive, educational marketing that cuts through the noise. These are the most rewarding clients to work for, and those who succeed in Bucket #3 are likely to be fast-tracked for numerous future opportunities both by clients and potential employers.

Defining Moments Happen at Healthcare Meetings, Even for Us Laypeople

A room full of researchers might not sound thrilling—until you realize who they are. These events bring together Nobel laureates, industry pioneers, and the brightest minds in medicine.

At AACR, one of the least commercial oncology meetings, I was once introduced to an elderly physician and her companion passing by our exhibit. I later learned she was Dr. Gertrude Elion, the Nobel Prize-winning biochemist behind groundbreaking treatments for leukemia, organ transplants, and AIDS. Her silent, shy companion? George Hitchings, her longtime collaborator and fellow Nobel laureate.

That was the day two Nobel Laureates complimented me on my work on the exhibit. I rode that high for months.
Moments like these remind us that these aren’t just trade shows; they are places where careers are shaped and history is made.

Pioneering pharmacologists who developed groundbreaking drugs using innovative research methods, leading to treatments for leukemia, malaria, and organ transplant rejection, Gertrude Elion and George Hitchings shared the 1988 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

In Healthcare, Substance Beats Showmanship

Most industries measure event ROI in raw numbers—eyeballs and engagements, regardless of quality. Healthcare is different. Success is about building advocacy and meaningful relationships with decision-makers who influence patient care, and marketing initiatives are scrutinized before they are implemented. Little is left to chance.

Compared to other industries, healthcare marketing requires disciplined planning and sophisticated tools for measuring success. In a field where credibility is everything, meaningful connections drive long-term wins.

There’s More Job Security in Healthcare Marketing

Selling home automation or hatchbacks is one thing. Serving healthcare companies requires experience, knowledge, and discipline. Healthcare companies seek suppliers who understand complex regulations and industry nuances.

Those of us who earn trust and build reputations in this space gain more than just business—we become part of an extended network of clients and competitors, competing fiercely but also supporting one another. We move in the same circles, attend the same events, and work on the same critical projects. And we’re often fast-tracked for new client projects and employment opportunities.

We Need Fresh, Creative Thinkers — Now

Many young professionals crave work with real meaning. While industries full of flash and spectacle may seem enticing, we must redefine what “exciting” really means.

Healthcare marketing isn’t a backup plan—it’s a field bursting with opportunity for those bold enough to seize it.

If employees want their work to matter—if they really want to be part of something bigger, this is the industry for them. And it’s time we tell that story—loud and clear.