Many companies exhibiting at healthcare tradeshows have two distinct goals. Commercial teams hit the show floor with specific sales goals in mind. They are looking to communicate the benefits of their brand and ultimately influence healthcare professionals (HCP) into prescribing their medication or purchasing their product.
While Commercial exhibits are designed to convey information on disease symptoms, safety profiles, and product efficacy, Medical Affairs booths are more about raw clinical evidence, biological disease states, and cellular mechanisms of action. Consequently, the layouts of and experiences within the two types of booths are vastly different.
Additionally, if both teams are attending the same show in adjacent booth spaces, there are strict rules for how they must be separated.
What Visual Boundaries Are Required Between Commercial and Medical Affairs Exhibits?
At medical congresses, thoughtful exhibit design helps maintain a clear distinction between commercial promotion and non-promotional Medical Affairs activities.
Many company compliance policies require that commercial branding and promotional materials, including banners, kiosks, and digital displays, not be visible from the Medical Affairs area.
Meeting these requirements calls for careful planning of sight lines, and the placement of walls, planters, or other barriers in a way that aligns with the requirements of each company’s Medical, Legal, and Compliance teams. This also means that exhibitors generally avoid providing easy access from one booth to the other, such as a walkway that invites people to move freely between the spaces.
In addition, Medical Affairs exhibits should be labeled “Medical Affairs” or “Medical Information” to clearly signal their purpose to attendees. Significant efforts should be made to prevent attendees from confusing the company’s Commercial and Medical Affairs presences.
What Are the Considerations for Acoustic Boundaries Between Commercial and Medical Affairs Exhibits?
How companies approach acoustic boundaries varies. Some are not particularly concerned about them. Others receive guidance from their legal compliance and regulatory departments that they should strive to ensure attendees in one booth can’t hear conversations, presentations, or other audio from the other booth.
This might include taking actions that prevent sales discussions or voiceover tracks on promotional videos or demos playing on the Commercial side from bleeding over into the Medical Affairs exhibit. The combination of physical barriers and directional audio speakers is often used to achieve this goal.
Beyond adhering to internal compliance guidance, preventing audio from the Commercial booth—which is often from engaging simulations, gamification, and interactive kiosks—from reaching the Medical Affairs side helps the MSLs achieve their goal of productive, undisturbed scientific discussions.
Compliant Literature, Sensitive Inquiries, and the Handoff Protocol
Another area where Commercial and Medical Affairs booths differ is the availability of product literature. With Commercial teams looking to build the sales pipeline, brochures and other information are readily available in self-serve mode.
On the Medical Affairs side, information is sometimes more tightly controlled and provided by team members, whereas some companies may display Medical Information content through touchscreen kiosks or looping videos. Which approach is better for a given show or audience is open to interpretation by that company.
In some cases, an attendee has interests that touch on both exhibits. If so, they should be guided to the appropriate booth based on their needs.
Information on adverse reactions may be logged in a Medical Information Request Form (MIRF). The company records the prescribing clinician’s identity and precise therapy observations, though no consumer personal data is required or collected. Data may be captured on paper forms and stored in sealed privacy envelopes or logged digitally.
Who Enforces the Delineation Between Commercial and Medical Affairs Booths?
Show organizers enforce construction rules within the venue, including aisle setbacks, overhead sign parameters, and structural transparency. However, they don’t verify compliance between brand and scientific spaces.
That task falls on the companies themselves. Each must act as its own regulatory entity, relying on its in-house medical, legal, and regulatory (MLR) review teams to evaluate and approve booth architectures and contents well in advance of the event.
Failing to do so can open an organization to violations that might be observed by plainclothes FDA inspectors who sometimes walk the floors of major healthcare tradeshows. They are looking for issues like brand representatives making unapproved product claims or MSLs having conversations that venture into marketing or sales territory.
Exhibitors can also be called out by aggressive industry rivals looking to raise red flags about compliance issues. Ultimately, there is ample incentive for exhibitors to police themselves.
Designing for Each Team’s Definition of Success
The return on investment (ROI) of Commercial programs centers on productive conversations with decision-makers or influencers. Badge scans and pipeline expansion are some of the metrics that matter for the Commercial team.
On the Medical Affairs side, the focus is on the depth of the discussion. MSLs track and report on the qualitative value of peer discussions, engagement duration, and plans for meaningful follow-up conversations. Consequently, the booth layouts and contents differ significantly.
Commercial spaces focus on capturing attention and channeling foot traffic through dynamic brand interactions:
- Bold brand palettes with integrated accent lighting
- Structured narrative paths guiding attendees through the booth
- High-energy product simulations, gamified displays, and interactive builds
- Directional sound zones for focused presentations
- Open, unmonitored literature displays for easy self-service
Medical Affairs footprints prioritize quiet, peer-to-peer scientific exchange driven entirely by attendee interest:
- Subdued, neutral finishes without promotional branding
- Comfortable, casual lounge seating supporting extended stays
- Balanced ambient lighting optimized for digital data displays
- Secure cabinetry for confidential and regulatory documentation
- Dedicated, private meeting suites with acoustic dampening
An Emerging Booth Design Trend (and the Pushback From Organizers)
Healthcare companies are increasingly seeing the benefits of meaningful conversations in both Commercial and Medical Affairs booths. Consequently, they are requesting the integration of meeting rooms into booth designs.
More conversation spaces mean an increased focus on acoustic dampening and privacy for designers like ours at Slate360. Adding meeting rooms also means contending with pushback and new rules from event organizers and other local area stakeholders who often derive revenue from the rental of offsite meeting space.
Understanding this dynamic is important for exhibitors as they plan their show schedules and consider booth designs.
Frequently Asked Questions About Commercial vs. Medical Affairs Exhibits
Can Commercial and Medical Affairs share the same exhibit space at a healthcare tradeshow?
Yes, companies can have both functions within a single footprint provided there is clear physical demarcation, distinct sightline and acoustic separation, and independent entrances.
What triggers a handoff from a Commercial booth representative to Medical Affairs?
Staff members in a Commercial booth direct attendees to the Medical Affairs booth when a conversation turns clinical and scientific. This includes situations where a healthcare professional asks about off-label indications or requests detailed trial data.
Who is primarily responsible for ensuring the separation between promotional and scientific activities on the show floor?
Exhibiting companies must police themselves through internal medical, legal, and regulatory (MLR) review, as show organizers only enforce structural display rules while regulators like the FDA (and competitors, in some instances) monitor for compliance violations.
Let’s Align Your Booth Designs With Your Tradeshow Objectives
Whether you will have a Commercial exhibit, a Medical Affairs booth, or both at a particular tradeshow or medical congress, we can work with you to create environments that will support your business goals.
Contact Slate360 today to get the conversation started.