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Venues used for promotional speaker programs are evolving as they reopen: IQVIA data reveals how
Staci Hutchinson, Director, Client Services
May 25, 2021

IQVIA’s comprehensive, longitudinal survey series — the only one of its kind in the industry — has been yielding a rich trove of insights around how and when venues have been reopening and adapting to the new demands placed upon them by the COVID-19 pandemic. The newest tranche of data shows that venues are reopening and eager to resume hosting promotional programming and other face-to-face events.

At the end of the first quarter, fully two-thirds — 67% — of nearly 4,400 venues around the United States reported to IQVIA surveyors that they had reopened. A mere 5% reported that they were permanently closed, and an additional 6% characterized their status as temporarily closed.

Venues that are welcoming groups for venue-based programming have undertaken new sanitation protocols and invested in new hygiene equipment and staff training to mitigate coronavirus transmission. Six in 10 require masks or mask and glove usage for all parties, including staff, patrons and anyone else on-site. Nearly half — 47% — have masks and/or gloves on hand to offer attendees, and 33% require speakers and presenters to be masked.

Social distancing and sanitization are paramount: 67% of venues have sanitizer available in restrooms and at tables for attendee use, 44% require six feet of space between groups or dining table set-ups and 22% require between 30 and 60 minutes to sanitize spaces in between groups or reservations.

The likelihood that virtual and hybrid events will remain an indelible part of the promotional speaker programming matrix for the foreseeable future means that program managers and planners have to prioritize the technological capabilities that can facilitate the integration of face-to-face and remote learning and networking. Venues are adapting to these demands in the following ways.

More than six in 10 — 61% — of venues offer virtual capability, and 61% have audiovisual capability. In an acknowledgement of the specialized skills required to operate high-quality virtual and hybrid programs, 62% allow third-party audiovisual setup, although 38% require additional time to set and service the function room when a third-party audiovisual provider is in attendance.

The trend lines in the venue survey responses for all of the above metrics are ascendent: More venues in March than in January had audiovisual and virtual capabilities, and a growing number of venues provided accommodations for program directors to bring in their own audiovisual specialists — an indication that venues are responding quickly to the requirements today’s promotional speaker programs need to be successful.

In an encouraging sign for promotional speaker programs, a snapshot of those scheduled for the first half of 2021 confirm the recovery of in-person HCP engagements. More than four in 10 of the speaker programs scheduled as of June, are planned as in-person meetings.

While the high percentage of virtual programs still taking place indicates that the path back to full resumption of in-person events lies in the future, the trajectory on a month-to-month basis shows a clear trend towards a reversion to the norm of in-person events.

In January, just 18% of sales rep program scheduling requests were in-person, with the remainder virtual. But the quarter showed an increasing prevalence of in-person programs being requested by sales reps: 23% of those requested in February were in-person, and that number climbed to 28% in March.

Nearly two-thirds — 63% — of IQVIA’s clients had resumed venue-based programs, and 75% had resumed in-office programs. These steps are being taken with no small degree of deliberation, though, and life sciences companies are approaching the resumption of face-to-face promotional activities with great caution.

More than one in 10 — 12% — of IQVIA clients report that they are currently operating under internal corporate guidelines governing the percentage of in-person events they are permitted to conduct. This suggests that companies are adjusting their protocols as the guidance from public health regulators is refined in response to current COVID-19 rates and growing knowledge about the impact of activities such as in-person programs health conditions.

Such risk aversion is not only prudent, but imperative in a highly complex environment with little precedent for guidance and a panoply of approaches. State-by-state variations in venue reopening and recovery illustrate the tremendous challenge ahead for life sciences companies and their promotional communication strategies.

With no consensus from regulators, promotional speaker program managers have little guidance for navigating this fast-evolving situation. This is where IQVIA’s compliance-centric operational framework and unparalleled degree of industry visibility have proven to be a strategic combination on which life sciences companies can rely: IQVIA has the in-depth insight and granular knowledge base to guide program producers stymied by this complex and ever-shifting array of expectations and demands.

IQVIA meeting and events experts support the ever-changing speaker programs environment. In addition to hands-on support, we deliver strategic insight and integrated solutions — with embedded compliance — to facilitate HCP engagements where, when and however they take place. To hear more insights about the current state of HCP Engagements, please register for our Connected Intelligence TechIQ Series.

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