Case Study
Building a community is all about ‘ listening ’
Paul Colston caught up with Informa ’ s Adam Andersen , executive vice-president , pharma , ahead of the portfolio ’ s flagship event CPHI Barcelona hosted at Fira Barcelona , 24-26 October
EW : The CPHI events are held internationally around the world – have you seen any stand out regional / international trends this year ? AA : We have seen all our events , including China , have positive results and we continue to see a strong demand for face-to-face engagement in the pharma industry . Asia has seen good growth in pharma , and we will launch CPHI Middle East in Riyadh in December 2024 , which will create new opportunities and market access in an exciting and fast-moving market .
Do you have a feel for any innovations we might see – or new technologies in the year ahead ? A few commentators have noted that event companies ’ greatest assets now are the data they have on markets . Data is a key development and value proposition for many events . We ’ re proud of the global network of pharma professionals we have built up and are always working hard to improve our understanding of that data to deliver the best experiences before , during and after our events , and offer the most value and insight for our customers . What the last year has shown , as live events return globally is that human connections really need to be at the core of what we do and data driven tools can continue to enhance and evolve that experience .
What learnings can CPHI give to other large global exhibitions – as we move into in an era when international travel is perhaps more considered than before ? I am going to split the question into two halves . Because the first part is very simple – listen . Continually taking feedback from your
Adam Andersen
Left : Continually taking feedback from your audience is key to success audiences is the key to success , and that means taking on board the good and the suggested improvements .
Looking specifically at more ‘ considered ’ travel , as event organisers we need to make sure that travel is worthwhile and intentional for our attendee bases – people will always travel if there is value within their business for it . Focus on delivering value to your audience base , an experience or group of connections that cannot be delivered anywhere else . We survey our visitors to understand their travel methods and priorities , and what comes through is that travelling to a major event like CPHI , where all the key players are together and focused on connecting , can mean a beneficial and productive time spent and reduction on travel throughout the rest of the year .
CPHI ’ s largest event also famously moves around different locations in Europe – how is that achieved balancing the needs of global pharma ( large numbers come from the USA , China and India ), while trying to shine the global pharma lens on the pharma communities it visits . ( This year Spain , next year Italy and Frankfurt is also a frequent host )? We want to ensure we deliver synergies and extra value for the host cities we visit – because a large amount of our international attendee base comes to the event year on year . We asked how we can use that audience to deliver value to the smaller parts of the pharma communities in host cities , being mindful that we can have an effect beyond the economic impact . We have begun to introduce a range of local engagement incentives , including our Start-Up Market , more local partnerships , encouraging use of public transport with a number of free metro tickets , promoting
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