IPCAA NEWSLETTER

Industry advocacy, quality educational programmes, informational resources, industry-specific research and valuable networking are all hallmarks of the Healthcare Convention & Exhibitors Association (HCEA), which will celebrate its 80th anniversary in 2010. During its long history, HCEA has developed into a dynamic organisation that remains solely dedicated to improving the effectiveness of all conventions, meetings and exhibitions for the healthcare industry. HCEA brings together industry stakeholders, including healthcare convention marketers, healthcare exhibition and meeting organisers and industry suppliers and sponsors, who are instrumental in promoting healthcare convention marketing and exhibitions as vital components of the healthcare marketing mix.

HCEA began as the Medical Exhibitors Association (MEA) in 1930, launched during the Michigan State Medical Convention in Detroit, Michigan. According to historical archives, 12 charter members established a treasury with personal donations of $100 each to fund the new organisation. During the first year, MEA membership rose to 22.

In the early 1930s, MEA began compiling information about select medical meetings, and in 1934, MEA published the first Schedule of Conventions (which later evolved to become the Directory of Healthcare Meetings and Conventions).

In 1951, MEA joined forces with convention managers to hold the first Joint Conference on Medical Conventions (JCMC). This group of convention managers would later organise as the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA).

In 1973 the organisation announced that it had changed its name to the Health Care Exhibitors Association to represent more closely the broad range of business activities of its members. By 1978 membership stood at 209 and was open only to companies exhibiting at healthcare meetings, a policy that later changed when membership was opened to healthcare associations and industry suppliers.

In January 1986, Kellen Company, an association management firm headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, was chosen to manage HCEA, a change that led to many new important developments for the organisation. From 1986 to 1990, rapid growth and expansion took place. Membership increased by 43 percent, Annual Meeting attendance increased nearly 100 percent and member services grew dramatically.

On January 1, 1990, at the beginning of its 60th anniversary year, HCEA added the word “Convention” to its title, becoming the Healthcare Convention & Exhibitors Association to reflect the wider range of activities of HCEA’s members. In 1999, HCEA launched the Healthcare Convention Marketing Summit, a one-day educational meeting held in January that focused on highlevel peer-to-peer learning.

HCEA began the next century with several new programmes. For example, HCEA’s Research Grant Programme was created to fund academic research on the healthcare exhibiting industry. The first study from that programme, conducted by Dr. Jeff Tanner of Baylor University, was completed and published in 2005. Also, an e-mail newsletter, now known as HCEA Edge, was launched to bring up-to-date industry information directly to the members. In 2004, HCEA launched the Online Directory of Healthcare Meetings & Conventions.

In 2005, HCEA celebrated its 75th anniversary, and a number of new member benefits and services were unveiled to commemorate it. For instance, a membersonly online resource center was introduced, and a staff initiative to conduct exhibitor training for exhibitors at healthcare conventions was launched.

In January 2007 HCEA introduced landmark research on the state of the healthcare exhibitions industry. The groundbreaking research analysed over 15,000 healthcare meetings over the previous decade, and included information on professional attendance trend analyses for all reported medical meetings, medical meetings defined by size categories and medical meetings defined by therapeutic specialities. This research study has become an annual project for HCEA and continues to provide valuable perspective for members planning their marketing strategies. In addition, HCEA introduced other industry benchmarking resources including the HCEA 100 Index Report, which identifies 100 bellwether medical conventions throughout the United States, and the HCEA top 50 largest medical meetings ranked by total reported attendance. In 2008 HCEA released research results on the impact of globalisation on medical meetings and conventions.

HCEA continues to prepare for the future of the healthcare convention marketing and exhibitions industry, as well as meeting the needs of new members in an evolving environment. For example, distance-learning opportunities such as online workshops, podcasts, webinars and teleconferences have become a regular part of HCEA’s educational offerings. New industry research projects are under development. Additionally, HCEA has formed a task force to explore the future of the healthcare exhibit hall, including the potential for new research into healthcare professionals’ reactions to innovations that do not even exist yet.

There is one thing that will not change anytime soon, however: HCEA will continue to serve as a force for bringing together the different stakeholders involved in healthcare convention marketing and exhibitions to promote the value of the industry.