The ASSOCIATION FOR VASCULAR ACCESS (AVA) was founded in 1985 in an effort to standardize training, education, and research and development for the emerging vascular access specialty. AVA now includes more than 2,600 healthcare professionals who promote patient advocacy, establishing best practices in vascular access to protect patients and providers and save lives.
THE CHALLENGE
AVA hosts an annual meeting for its multi-disciplinary membership, the intent of which is to provide attendees with an opportunity to network, review new product demonstrations, receive hands-on clinical training, and engage in education sessions. AVA found it challenging to provide the meeting’s 1900 attendees and 80 exhibitors sufficient opportunities to network with one another, and to fulfill the exhibitors’ goal of capturing high-quality leads. AVA enlisted SB Expos & Events, a leader in exhibitor and sponsorship optimization, to develop revenue generating solutions to address these deficiencies. The solution, an interactive game in the exhibit hall, not only increased networking but served as a lucrative sponsorship for the meeting.
OUR STRATEGY
The format of AVA’s annual meeting, with eight exhibit hall hours spread over three days, presented a challenge to exhibitors as they sought meaningful face time with attendees.
Gamification
SB Expos & Events developed an interactive game called Scan and Win, run through the meeting’s increasingly popular Cadmium mobile app, designed to increase interaction between exhibitors and attendees. Attendees search for QR codes on exhibitor booths, scan them with the app, and answer the resulting clues by discussing them with participating exhibiting companies. Points are awarded for each correct answer, and prizes are awarded daily, with a Grand Prize winner receiving accolades on the final day of the exhibit hall.
“Our exhibits and sponsorship revenue has increased thanks to the interactive sponsorship ideas that create innovative ways for our attendees to connect with our industry partners. The professional staff at SB Expos & Events have truly become a part of our team and care about our event as a whole. This is what a true partnership looks like!”
– Tonya Hutchison, CAE, Chief Operations Officer, Association for Vascular Access (AVA)
THE RESULTS
The Scan and Win game is both popular and profitable. Ten sponsoring companies participated last year, generating $25,000 in revenue for the conference and increasing traffic at the sponsors’ exhibit booths.
Increased Interaction
The benefits of using the app technology to increase booth traffic in the hall are tangible—exhibitors are able to capture quality leads and interact meaningfully with a larger number of attendees. The first year SB Expos & Events introduced Scan and Win, more than 50% of meeting attendees participated, and it has increased in popularity in subsequent years. Attendees enjoy their time in the exhibit hall, receive information about products and
services in the vascular access field, and win amazing prizes.
Increased Sponsorship Revenue
Scan and Win has been a successful addition to the exhibit hall at AVA’s annual meeting, increasing engagement between exhibitors and attendees, providing lead information for companies, and growing sponsorship revenue.
PDF of case study SB_CaseStudy_AVA_6-17-25.pdf (1425 downloads )
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