The Abu Dhabi Medical Congress benefits from an extensive and structured marketing strategy. Promotional activity is ongoing throughout the year but gets more intense in the four months preceding the show. The entire marketing mix is used to promote the event and ensure maximum exposure. The marketing campaign is split between the visitor and delegate promotions, targeting specific audiences to attend the event.
With over 67,000 visits in 2011, the show website, www.abudhabimed.com, played a key role in the visitor and delegate campaigns. It contains show updates, exhibitor list, all sponsors’ logos, healthcare industry news, detailed conference agendas and prices, incentives, tips about Abu Dhabi and any information related to the show.
The ADMC Facebook page, LinkedIn group and Twitter profile were created in 2011, raising awareness of the show, generating traffic to the website by engaging the community and bringing new visitors to the event. Created in August, the ADMC Facebook page is now close to 3,000 fans!
Over 55,000 postcards, visitor tickets, conference brochures, personal invitations were mailed, faxes and sms were broadcasted to a variety of target audiences in the UAE and beyond.
Posters promoting ADMC 2011 have been placed in UAE hospitals and clinics to increase show awareness and attract more visitors and delegates to the event.
Regular e-mail broadcasts have taken place throughout the year, promoting the congress as well as the exhibition. Several exhibitors, sponsors and their products have been featured in these e-mails to create interest among healthcare professionals. Competitions to win iPads, iPods, an Apple MacBook Air, a trip to Sri Lanka and many other prizes have also been launched to incentivize visitor and delegate registrations. Pre-registered visitors received regular show updates in order to ensure their presence at ADMC 2011.
Regular advertisements promoting ADMC have been placed in trade magazines destined to healthcare professionals.
Closer to the show, all pre-registered visitors and delegates received SMS and were tele-reminded of the upcoming ADMC.
Thanks to an active PR campaign, ADMC 2011 enjoyed a fantastic media coverage in printed and online press:
- Print media coverage valued at US$ 115,000 with editorial in major publications such as The National, Gulf News, Khaleej Times, Al Ittihad, Al Khaleej, Al Wahda, Kabayan Weekly, MENA Health World, Arab Medico
- Online media coverage valued at US$ 400,000 on website such as Emirates 24/7, Business Intelligence Middle East, Al Bawaba, Zawya, Emirates Week, Health Imaging Hub
- Throughout the event, 35 media personnel covered ADMC 2011 live.
Through carefully selected media partners, ADMC 2011 benefitted from printed and online advertising, editorials, e-mail campaigns in trade magazines or web portals such as Arab Medico, Arab Hospital Magazine, Clean Middle East and Arab Medicare, reaching thousands of healthcare professionals in the Middle East.
ADMC personalised invitation letters were sent to selected guests in the region inviting them to attend the show as VIPs.
The ADMC team put together a show catalogue comprising exhibition floor plan per sector, all exhibitors entries, detailed conference agendas, exhibitor advertisements and a new section, Innovations of the Year, featuring new products of selected ADMC exhibitors. The show catalogue was available onsite for exhibitors, visitors, delegates and media.
Several radio stations and TV channels including Arabian Radio Network, Gulf News Broadcasting, Emirates News Agency, Rotana Khaleejiah TV, Al Aan TV, Al Hurrah TV, Decision Makers TV covered ADMC 2011.