LAS VEGAS – Some trade show booths are more exciting than others. At last month’s Medtrade Spring, Medela Inc distinguished itself as one of the “others” with a bright and clean presentation that captured attention.
John Broughton, director of Marketing, Healthcare Medela Inc, McHenry, Ill, believes the company won the award due to the open and inviting nature of the booth layout. “We had clear and concise messaging of the products and services presented in the booth graphics, plus a clean booth background appearance presented an image of high quality products and services,” he says.
Most people who stopped by the Medela booth wanted to know: What is PartnerFirst and how do I become a member? According to Broughton, PartnerFirst is a program exclusively offered by Medela that is dedicated to growing a provider’s negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) business. “It consists of training events, web-based tools, and programs that are designed to enhance your expertise and confidence in delivering NPWT. To begin the process of becoming a member, visit www.medelapartnerfirst.com. As for this year’s Medtrade, we are already signed up for a 10-foot by 20-foot booth at Medtrade Fall.”
The Creative Concept Award went to EZ-ACCESS of Algona, Wash. The marketing team came up with a Las Vegas-based vibe: “Our theme was don’t gamble with accessibility – EZACCESS is a sure bet!” explains Dave Henderson, senior marketing analyst. “We were excited to win this award. Our goal is to provide dealers with a unique trade show experience that gets them out of the doldrums of the competitive bidding scenario, and develop some out-of-the-box strategies that will help accelerate cash sales…The odds are 100% that we will be in Atlanta this year for Medtrade [Oct 20-23].”
The Provider’s Choice Gold Award, sponsored by HomeCare Magazine, went to The iWalk2.0 Hands Free Crutch from iWalk Free Inc. “The market is there,” said Brad Hunter, director of Business Development, iWALK-FREE, Long Beach, Calif. “So at our booth, we spent a lot of time dispelling myths, because most people have healthy skepticism toward a new concept. By allowing the attendees to demo the product themselves, we were able to prove that users need only average strength and average balance to use the iWalk2.0. Anyone who dispenses knee scooters knows that when patients hit a step, their world ends—not so with the iWalk2.0, plus your hands and arms are free to perform your daily routine.”
The Jordi-Stick by Jordi Airflow, Germany, earned enough votes to win the Provider’s Choice Award in the Silver category. “I think we won the award, because our Jordi-Stick is a simple innovation, which fixes a problem very well,” says Dieter Kirsch, general manager/owner, Jordi Airflow GbR, Bad Langensalza, Germany. “Usually, when people see and understand how the Jordi-Stick works, they think: ‘Of course, that’s a solution. Why has nobody done it before?’ It will be on the German market in the next three months. Our distributor, MPV Medical will also bring it to Italy, Austria and Switzerland. Jordi Airflow is looking for other distributors worldwide.”
Finally, the Endevr StrengthTape by Utah-based Stander earned the Providers’ Choice Bronze Award.