Challenge

Caris Life Sciences (Caris) is the leading molecular science and technology company actively developing and delivering innovative solutions to revolutionize health care. For the 2022 ASCO Annual Meeting, Caris partnered with Hamilton to maximize their exhibit space, foster hospitality, and stand out on the show floor. The objective was to design multiple meeting areas to create a welcoming and dynamic environment for innovative conversations on precision medicine while minimizing footprint. They wanted to provide the opportunity for oncologists to interact with leading cancer experts from around the country. Caris needed to create efficient conference room scheduling to maintain an aggressive back-to-back meeting schedule during the event.

Approach

The design focused on developing hospitality with private, semi-private, and open meeting areas. General hospitality seating facilitated casual conversations and gave attendees a comfortable environment while they enjoyed cappuccinos. Caris hosted a cappuccino station in the exhibit every day of the show. Two pods provided semi-private conversation spaces allowing for discretion and seclusion around discussions. Private meetings were in two large conference rooms fit for bigger groups. The pods and conference rooms created four meeting areas to accommodate their fully booked meeting schedules while utilizing limited space. Hamilton worked with Caris to build digital meeting room signage used at ASCO by attendees to check meeting times, locations, and participants. Almost every meeting was pre-scheduled, but the scheduler was hosted on the cloud to assist with immediate changes. A presentation area between the pods with monitors on both sides had a touch screen monitor on the exhibit interior that let presenters show attendees Caris’s case studies. The exhibit’s location on the show floor led the layout to include multiple entry points. The Caris Life Sciences logo and the need for substantial hospitality also influenced the exhibit design.

Results

The Caris exhibit remained packed throughout the show and sustained nearly a 50% increase in attendance from 2019. Caris organized hundreds of back-to-back meetings by providing a continually updated scheduler for attendees to check when, where, and with whom they were gathering. The large circular hanging Caris sign illuminated the show hall drawing in attendees from every perimeter. Caris experienced dramatic growth in brand visibility from a very modular exhibit. Hamilton blended cutting-edge digital messaging, substantial conference areas, and impressive hospitality to create a memorable and productive experience for Caris.