"The uncertainty facing medical industry events"

1 — Throughout your experience in Kenes Group, what are the most significant changes you have observed in the planning and organization of medical congresses?

The world is undergoing constant changes. The medical congresses are no different. The major shift we currently see is in the changes to industry support which is likely to cause a decline in the number of attendees. This could have a huge impact, especially on associations and their events.
This new change also presents a significant opportunity to entrepreneurs like Kenes Group. We plan to initiate new business line  that aims  at addressing  specific needs that our delegates may be looking for. We anticipate that future participation will require a significant effort and focus on direct marketing, providing unique experiences to the delegates and enabling them to network. The Group is geared to offer such solutions. It also implies greater risks to the organizers in the future. I believe that partnership with suppliers such as hotels, venues and other key stakeholders may enable all parties to share the risk and opportunities which arise out of this new era.

2 — Kenes Group has acquired loyal customers for decades. What are the key factors to earning customers loyalty in our industry?

The key factors are transparency and a constant strive to provide value beyond the regular logistics.

3 — There is a worldwide increase of compliance requirements and ethical codes regulating the participation of pharmaceutical companies in medical congresses. How do these regulations affect the attendance of medical professionals?

The attendance trend is currently shifting, with less organized groups coming to events due to the new changes brought by compliance regulations. Furthermore, individual attendance, which is usually supported by educational institutions, is also limited at present in view of the economic constraints which are a result of the global economy.
We are likely to see a decline for many of the meetings, mainly the international  ones, which will suffer more from the budget reduction  and of an intensified competition.
Forecasting % of attendance and predicting the size of international meetings is likely to be more challenging than ever before. Yet, this also means that what we need to apply new meeting formats, create better experiences, higher engagement, and new marketing innovations, to encourage greater number of attendees.

4 — What requirements do you specifically look at when choosing the right venue for your customers’ events, especially for those in the medical industry?

There are a few factors which we normally look for in a venue. These would range from fitting into customer program, the possibilities to rent and the  cost of additional services, and accommodation options available.  Venues accessibility within the city, as well as the city itself. All these requirements are tailor weighted per the priorities of the specific association.
I believe that while these criteria will continue to be the key decision makers, new “soft” criteria which will take up a significant weight in our future decision making process will arise. The first criteria will be flexibility.
We are facing many unknowns when it comes to planning an international meeting. For example, a world meeting which takes place biannually and was held recently, in say China, is likely to be very different from the next edition, which would take place for example in the US. When we come with our estimations, we are facing a growing challenge to forecast the outcome of a meeting which rotates between continents over time. This is especially viable at present when changes like compliance, legislation, and strategy could change drastically from one year to another.
Compliance is also a key factor now. It implies that we need to carefully analyze each venue and assess whether the pharmaceutical codes will approve its usage in a few years’ time, since international meetings customarily select venues 2-6 years out. For many venues the approval is straight forward. Nevertheless, in a rapidly changing world of restrictions, often venues that were passing the compliance test in the past, may no longer be in compliance in the future.

5 — We live in unstable times internationally. How do you think it will or has already affected the events industry? Will the use of telepresence increase  in order to avoid travel?

The current instability has brought a negative impact on travel. However, this is likely to be short term. Participants at meetings are mainly attending, to benefit from networking opportunities and to connect with peers. Thus, international events which provide such possibilities are likely to continue to draw participation, subject to the new financial strings implied by the economic situation.
Security is a matter of perception and in the past it was proven to have a very short-term impact. Thus, likelihood of such events to have an impact on the entire industry is unlikely. Even after September 11^th the industry recovered from the uncertainty in personal security relatively quickly.
Teleconferencing is not a replacement for meetings that provides networking value. It is likely to be a temporary solution due to financial or security issues. However, it does not currently provide a solution for the delegates’ networking experience. This could be compared to the Olympic Games: while there are hundreds of millions watching the games via a sort of transmission, the stadiums are mostly full of people who want to experience the games first hand in a completely different way.

6 — What trends do you observe in the planning and organization of medical events for the immediate future? What new areas is Kenes Group investing in?

The world of medical events is finally getting geared to address the scope of needs of our clients. A major trend will reflect on the way content is disseminated. The traditional frontal presentations will slowly lose their standing as the sole format of sessions. Meetings will accommodate various session formats with different set-ups and hall sizes. The entire decision making process is already changing.
Kenes is involved in several plans scheduled to address the scope of needs and expectations of our clients and their attendees. The main one is Meeting Architecture: our attempt is to structure the format of meetings in order to establish a positive ROI for all stakeholders.
Kenes Group is also offering a large variety of accommodation options to our attendees. Kenes is now developing a tool that will enable delegates to network with colleagues not only at the meeting but also by selecting their preferred accommodation.

7 — What is the best advice that you have ever received from your father (Gideon Rivlin, founder of Kenes Group)?

The best advice was that If I believe in something, I should keep moving forward and could not let anyone discourage me from my vision.