The annual HIMSS conference continues to be the event where Health IT marketers put their best foot forward. Several companies stood out at HIMSS23 for their eye-catching, creative, and effective marketing including: Care.ai, Symplr, Altera Digital Health, OtterBox, Interlace Health, Ellkay, Howard, Salesforce, Avadin, Vynyl, and Experian.
Creativity on Display
With limited time, space, and budget, exhibitors at the HIMSS conference must be creative and resourceful when designing their booths. Everything from the layout to the furniture to the giveaways must be carefully thought out.
When marketers get it right, the booth will attract guests. Get it wrong and the booth will be a ghost town.
At HIMSS23 there were plenty of crowds as the conference drew tens of thousands of attendees (the official registration count was 35,000). It certainly felt like a “normal” HIMSS – Hal Wolf, CEO of HIMSS, said just that in his media briefing. With so many people, it was easy to tell which exhibitors were a hit with attendees.
After three days on the show floor, here are the companies and exhibits that I consider to be the “Best of HIMSS23”.
Care.ai
The stop-you-in-your-tracks booth at HIMSS23 was care.ai’s. Their booth featured a tall cylindrical video display. The display was completely round, seamless, and was an impressive 12-15 feet tall. The visuals on the pillar rotated slowly giving the booth a very dynamic feel. You could not miss it while walking down the aisle.
Salesforce
Even though the Salesforce booth has not changed in three years, it continues to be an attention-grabbing design. Their use of greenery and earth-tones stands in stark contrast to the sea of blue, white, purple, and green that dominate the rest of the exhibits. This year, their booth featured nice “campfire” meeting stations.
Experian Health
Sometimes it is the subtle things that make a booth stand out. Experian Health’s booth had a unique table-top that was designed to store water bottles in a way that did not clutter up the counter top. Their table had a sunken center so that the bottle tops were just peeking out.
Interlace Health
The creative minds at Interlace Health used a classic carnival/arcade game to attract attendees. Their booth featured a classic “claw” machine. A steady stream of people couldn’t wait to press the button to grab a stuffed animal. It was fun to see the cheers from the crowd when the claw pulled one up.
Symplr
The team at Symplr also used a popular game at their booth – cornhole. Two competitors would square off in a game and the winner would receive a nice giveaway. It was to see how serious some people took it and how laid-back others were. The attraction regularly drew crowds.
Howard
Continuing with the games theme…the Howard Computers booth featured a mega-sized TV where people could play MarioKart. Who could resist steering Mario around Rainbow Road on a giant screen?
Avadin
Hands down, the cutest product on display at HIMSS23 was the companion robot from Avadin. These small robots interacts with elderly patients and also monitors several vital signs. The big anime-styled eyes just made you want to grab one.
Vynyl
By far, the most unique and popular giveaway at HIMSS23 came from Vynyl. They were offering a free record of your choice at their booth. Of course the records were classic vinyl’s which perfect matched the company’s name and vibe. (photo by Ashley Dauwer).
Ellkay
One of the unique giveaways at HIMSS23 were the jars of honey from Ellkay. Co-founder Lior Hod has long had a dream of raising honeybees and today there are over a million that call Ellkay’s rooftop home. Their honey is delicious and goes particularly well with cheese or in tea (speaking from personal experience).
Altera Digital Health
There were many high-quality giveaways at HIMSS23 but most were reserved for clients or VIP attendees. At the Altera Digital Health booth, everyone could get a quality Bluetooth speaker. These speakers were hefty, have a long battery life, and sound fantastic.
OtterBox
You would expect a consumer brand like OtterBox to have a great giveaway and they did not disappoint. No they didn’t give away any of their products, but they did have a unique “detailing kit” for phones and tablets. These kits had a microfiber cloth, brushes, and towelettes – exactly what you need to get rid of smudges and grime on your device.
Quest Global
A special mention needs to go to Quest Global. While dozens of other booths featured cookies, candy, coffee, cappuccino, and popcorn, they went in the opposite direction and were the only ones to offer attendees fresh fruit at HIMSS23.
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