Medical Congresses in the Digital Age: How Pharma Can Maximize Engagement 

Before the global pandemic, most medical congresses were held in person, letting attendees meet and network during lectures and at booths. During the COVID-19 crisis, the industry pivoted to a virtual format. Participants adapted by digitizing their content, creating remote presenter briefings, and exploring new ways to ensure high engagement.  

Like any challenge, this shift also brought exciting opportunities. Virtual meetings expanded reach and introduced innovative strategies to track audience engagement. 

As we approach 2025, are virtual congresses becoming a thing of the past? What is the best way to host a medical congress, and how can you enhance its impact?  

This article will answer these questions. But first, let’s define a medical congress and look at its role in engagement. 

What Is a Medical Congress?  

A medical congress is a professional event where healthcare providers (HCPs) come together to share and expand their knowledge and advance their professional development. Dating back to 1867, these congresses have evolved to focus on scientific exchange among medical associations, institutions, and practitioners.  

Participants share the latest discoveries and breakthroughs in medical technologies to enhance their practice and improve patient care. Networking is also an essential aspect, as attendees connect, forge new relationships, and explore opportunities for collaboration each year. 

Why Are Medical Congresses So Valuable for Engagement? 

Why do pharma brands have to treat medical conferences as one of their vital channels? Here are the key reasons: 

Showcasing your product 

Medical congresses provide an ideal platform to demonstrate your innovative approach, ground-breaking medical technology, and the latest research or clinical trials. This approach allows you to market your solutions in an organic, impactful way. Brands often show real-life examples of how their offerings address individual HCPs’ pain points and tackle broader industry challenges. 

Building credibility 

A medical congress is where HCPs can engage directly with your brand through meaningful conversations. Whether face-to-face or virtual, these interactions allow you to educate professionals about your products and position yourself as an industry expert. You foster trust, credibility, and authentic, human connections by showing the real people behind your brand and addressing their questions. 

Getting to know the audience 

Communication with HCPs provides valuable insights into their challenges in patient care. These insights can help you enhance your brand’s relevance to its target audience –– not just through product improvements but also by tailoring your engagement strategies. For example, if cardiologists mention their demanding schedules and limited time for meetings with MedReps, you could shift your approach to self-detailing tools instead of relying on remote or in-person visits. 

How Digital Transformation Is Changing Medical Congresses 

The COVID pandemic catalyzed digital transformation, reshaping the organization of medical congresses. Attendees embraced virtual events to connect and continue learning. A major advantage was the ability to join sessions previously missed due to scheduling conflicts or travel limitations.

This format worked for a while, but eventually, virtual communication fatigue set in. Attendees began to miss the real-life connections that in-person events offered.  

Beyond networking, presenters struggled without the ability to see their audience’s reactions and body language. This made it harder to foster two-way communication or create engaging, shared stories with the audience. Questions submitted in the chat during the live stream could not fully replace the dynamic discussions of an in-person meeting. 

Moreover, there were logistical challenges. Organizing virtual congresses across multiple time zones took a lot of work. Often, HCPs had full workdays, or the meetings took place late in the evenings. 

Both in-person and virtual formats have pros and cons, as well as fans and critics. One study reveals that over half of HCPs are open to attending in-person medical conferences. At the same time, another highlights that an impressive 87% of providers prefer virtual or hybrid events –– a mix of online and in-person participation.  

Today, hybrid models are becoming the new norm for medical conferences, catering to the audience’s diverse needs. This setup lets pharma companies enjoy the best of both worlds while focusing on an improved experience for HCPs. 

Key Steps for a Smooth Hybrid Congress 

When preparing your presentation for a hybrid congress, you will likely encounter a common challenge: bridging the gap between the immersive interactions of in-person attendees and the engagement of your virtual audience participating via Q&A chats. Virtual attendees may feel less connected to the medical congresses, often battling distractions from their clinics or homes. 

Consider using the following strategies to address this challenge and ensure HCP engagement: 

Offer content in diverse formats 

Make sure you deliver content in different formats to meet the needs of a diverse audience. Some attendees prefer to dive into details like in-depth data charts, while others want concise, bite-sized information they can skim through. Remember that your content should be mobile-friendly so that HCPs can access the medical congresses on smaller screens. 

Also, providing short-form, condensed updates after the event can help reinforce key takeaways, while detailed resources, like whitepapers, can help you maintain engagement. Make sure both physical and virtual attendees have access to the same types of content.  

Leverage virtual reality 

While there will always be some gap between virtual and in-person attendees, your primary goal is to minimize it as much as possible. One effective solution is to equip on-site participants with virtual reality (VR) headsets to facilitate interaction and networking with the virtual audience.  

This innovative technology can also enhance product demonstrations or bring clinical trials to life, creating immersive and memorable branded experiences. This way, you can boost brand recognition and foster deeper engagement with your audience. 

Use visual storytelling 

A single video can convey more than a thousand words during your presentation. While a well-rehearsed script is essential, the visuals grab attendees’ attention and make your message more impactful and digestible.

Animated videos are a powerful tool you should leverage at your booth and share with your online audience. Keep in mind that these videos need to be more than just visually appealing. They must also be highly informative and tailored to meet your audience’s expectations, delivering the content they value most.  

Additionally, slide decks and interactive infographics can help providers better understand complex medical information, synthesize findings, and showcase your brand’s creativity and personalization. Consider sharing printed visual materials that HCPs can take home or providing them as follow-ups via email for virtual attendees. When crafted well, these materials can sustain engagement long after the event ends.

Monitor virtual audience activity 

Tracking your results is essential for optimizing your future medical conferences and identifying the best next actions for engaging HCPs. With modern technologies, you can easily monitor various metrics to evaluate your impact, especially among virtual attendees.  

First, you should focus on reach metrics like open, click-through, and conversion rates. Then, to analyze engagement, consider factors such as claps, viewing time, and attendance.  

Be aware of brand advocacy. You need to know how your audience feels about your brand. Is it emotionally connected to your business? How likely are your customers to recommend you to their friends? Metrics like net promoter scores, post-event surveys, and customer experience assessments can provide valuable insights. 

Capture the results in your customer relationship management (CRM) system. This single source of truth will help medical representatives (MedReps) plan their face-to-face visits better. 

Measure physical attendee interaction 

You might be asking: ‘How do you track your interactions with physical attendees when the data is not as readily available as it is for online audiences?’ Sure, evaluating your reach and engagement will take more work, but it is essential for delivering a compelling customer journey. 

You will want to track attendance, conduct surveys, and distribute feedback forms to evaluate whether the congress was successful for your brand. Keep track of how many contacts you have made with HCPs and how many printed materials you have handed out. 

Emotional intelligence is pivotal in face-to-face interactions. While technology is expected to do much of the heavy lifting, there are moments when the human touch is irreplaceable. 

Listen to your audience’s reactions during panel discussions or at your booth.

• Are they asking questions and maintaining eye contact?
• Do they stay to talk after your presentation, or are they quick to leave?
• Are they laughing at your jokes and applauding enthusiastically? 

After the hybrid event, using social listening is a smart move. While HCPs are often cautious about sharing negative feedback on social media, it is worth checking if they praise your brand.  

Finally, focus on engagement rates with your follow-up materials, and remember to share post-event surveys to understand what resonated with the audience. 

Engage Audiences Like Netflix Does 

The great thing about Netflix is its on-demand content. Pharma brands can adopt this approach to make medical content delivery more convenient for HCPs. With physicians seeing an average of 20 patients daily, finding time for medical congress content during work hours can be tricky.  

Adopt a Netflix-style approach to content delivery to accommodate their busy schedules. Provide access to your materials for up to a year after the hybrid event so HCPs can learn at their own pace. 

Final Words 

A medical congress is a significant event that brings together hundreds, if not thousands, of industry professionals. Your goal should be to make the most of this opportunity now rather than wait until next year. 

To succeed, tailor your content formats to match your audience’s expectations. Since there is a gap between virtual and on-site participants, consider using the latest advancements like VR for networking. Incorporating visuals into your storytelling is also a good idea to make medical data more engaging and easier to understand.  

Track interactions with both virtual and in-person audiences to refine future campaigns and identify the next best actions. And do not forget to provide on-demand content access for HCPs’ convenience. 

Reach out to the Viseven team for expert assistance in content production and analysis for medical congresses.