With the transformation of RDD 2020 into Digital RDD 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the biggest questions has been whether previously booked exhibitors would still choose to participate in the technology exhibition. According to Richard Dalby, one of the organizers of the meeting, not only have many of the previously booked exhibitors chosen to take part in the digital exhibition, several companies that were not previously booked have now reserved digital exhibit tables.
In fact, companies are continuing to inquire about joining the exhibition, and one benefit of a digital meeting, Dalby points out, is that there is plenty of room for everyone — whereas at physical meetings, the organizers may have to turn away potential exhibitors because of the room capacity, there are no limits on space for the digital exhibition. Companies that might regret their decision not to convert to the digital meeting could still change their minds. And because the meeting will run for over a month, companies could even decide to join the exhibition after the start of the meeting, though Dalby expects that most of the delegate activity will take place in the first two weeks.
In addition to company details, logos, etc., the digital exhibit tables will include a PDF provided by the company that can include whatever information the exhibitor chooses to highlight. While exhibitors will not be able to meet delegates face-to-face as they would at a physical meeting, there will still be opportunities for contact through the Digital RDD 2020 messaging app and through links that exhibitors can embed in the PDF. Delegates will be able message exhibitors to set up a phone or video meeting outside of the confines of the conference, and exhibitor PDFs may include links to contact forms, email addresses, and social media accounts that would allow delegates to contact them more directly.
Dalby says that he is seeing a lot of creativity from companies as they put together their PDFs, with some using QR codes or links to additional PDFs or videos — the whole concept is experimental, he says, so people are free to try whatever they think will work best. One big challenge, he points out, is that it’s hard to know what devices delegates will use to view the PDFs, so companies are trying to make sure that the files are as legible on phones as on large computer monitors.
Some exhibitors will be undoubtedly be aiming to capture the attention of the many inhaled and nasal drug developers working on COVID-19 products. OINDP testing specialist Proveris Scientific, for example, says that delegates will be able to contact Senior Product Manager Ian Flaherty via their digital table “to answer questions about innovative testing solutions for understanding OINDP in vivo performance and share how Proveris is helping drug developers fast track development of products for new therapies and vaccines such as SARS-CoV-2.”
