Mergers and acquisitions create unique problems for exhibitors, and the tactics they use to address them are many and varied. In the case of Zoetis Inc., which in 2018 acquired Abaxis Inc., a leader in diagnostic instruments for point-of-care veterinary services, the solution was a walk in the park.
Founded in 1952, Zoetis made its name as a top dog in animal pharmaceuticals. The addition of Abaxis' diagnostics tools equipped Zoetis to support veterinarians and the animals they care for from check-in to treatment to discharge. What's more, in-house diagnostics help vets respond to their clients' health needs quickly while managing economical and profitable practices.

Despite their eagerness to promote the acquisition, Abaxis and Zoetis maintained separate exhibits in 2019, having signed booth-space contracts before the merger. Moving into the 2020 season, then, Zoetis saw its largest conference, the Veterinary Meeting and Expo (VMX), as the first chance to really demonstrate to vets the full breadth of its combined portfolio within a single booth.

"At VMX, we were excited for vets to see how we can provide everything they need across the entire continuum of care," said Chelsea Montufar, CTSM, marketing manager for conferences at Zoetis Petcare (a U.S. business unit of Zoetis). In addition, the company was set to debut its newest product, ProHeart12, which protects pets against heartworms transmitted by mosquitoes. To celebrate its status as an industry titan, tout its new diagnostic offerings, launch ProHeart12, and demonstrate the company's full suite of solutions, Zoetis wanted a suitable space to tell its newly enhanced story. So the company traded in its previous 50-by-50-foot VMX footprint for a 70-by-70-foot space that would feature the entirety of Zoetis' pharmaceuticals and diagnostics. With so much to announce and so many products to spotlight, Zoetis needed a multipart campaign that would help the company get the word out, draw people to the booth, and keep them there long enough to soak up the whole "One Zoetis" story.

Paws for Reflection
Zoetis enlisted the Ogilvy Health division of Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide LLC to develop an integrated campaign that could accomplish all those objectives. "We knew it was important to have a robust pre-, at-, and post-show communications plan," says Kathleen DeLemos, medical education lead at Zoetis Petcare. "Over the years, we've learned that a single touch isn't sufficient for VMX attendees. Vets are busy. You need to invite them, remind them, and keep reminding them if you want to get their attention and score a position on their must-see lists at the show. And you also need to align your show strategy with not only your corporate objectives, but also with customer needs and priorities."

Animal-health professionals attend VMX to learn, earn continuing education credits, catch up on the latest industry news, and understand animal disease states in a new way. They want to obtain resources, learn which medicines will be the best for their customers, and purchase items that can help grow their practices. Therefore, Zoetis sought an engaging and educational exhibit that accommodated those needs, educated guests about Zoetis products, and kept them engaged for an ample amount of time. And, while Zoetis obviously wanted its VMX exhibit to generate unique leads, it consciously prioritized connection, interaction, and education over a hard sell.

Ogilvy began by developing a multichannel pre-show communication strategy to spark attendees' enthusiasm. Sneak peeks shared with registered attendees hinted at what they'd experience in the Zoetis booth and spotlighted educational offerings.

For example, a 3-D mailer sent to 7,000 registered individuals and practices previewed unifying design themes of the campaign, with clean lines, pet imagery, and the proprietary color the team refers to as "Zoetis orange." The succinct text, "Diagnostics made easy," was linked with the company's logo on the front panel, announcing (or reminding them of) Zoetis' expanded capabilities. A call to action encouraged booth visits and drove interested registrants to a promotional microsite for more details about the at-show offerings.

A pre-show email, topped with an image of a pup bum resting on a grassy lawn, invited recipients to "Park it at booth 817" and "Walk our paths. Learn about Zoetis products. Design a custom pet treat jar to take home with you." Hoping to reach attendees at just the right time when awareness of and planning for the conference was likely more relevant, the pre-show email arrived a few days later than it had the previous year. The message included a promotional offer for diagnostic instruments and a schedule of Zoetis' extensive educational sessions. Opened by a wag-worthy 75 percent of the 11,700 recipients, the email doubled the previous year's 37-percent open rate. On site, a registration bag insert in the same design reminded all 18,000 eventgoers to visit the Zoetis booth and provided a Zoetis symposia schedule. An accompanying coupon promised a free, customized pet treat jar when redeemed at the booth.

Dog Park
As Ogilvy was executing pre-show communications, Global Experience Specialists Inc. (GES) was developing a 4,900-square-foot exhibit capable of fostering the kind of connection and education Zoetis was after. "Zoetis wanted to literally walk guests through its products," says Shelley Lewin, senior strategic account executive at GES. So GES set a soft-sell scene by fabricating a park-inspired space comprising natural materials as often as possible, Zoetis-orange elements, and an outdoor ambiance sure to elicit purrs of relief from weary showgoers tired of sitting in educational sessions. Custom artificial arborvitae, commissioned by GES, added an authentic touch, along with directional signage. And just like an actual park, this face-to-face marketing facsimile was designed to offer a variety of engaging touchpoints.

Zoetis marked its territory with a pair of overhead fabric elements sporting the company name and logo. When guests approached the booth, they were drawn to a faux cobblestone walkway made of digitally printed vinyl and decals that started on one corner of the booth and curved inward before leading guests back toward the aisle. Along the path were three distinct zones representing prevention (on one end) and treatment (on the other), with detection (in the form of diagnostics) located at the axis of the two. Eye-level trail maps with mounted arrows pointed guests in the right direction based on their primary interests. Inside the 150-foot-long path, grassy turf enhanced the park-like aesthetic and set the stage for the new interactive space.

The open floor plan, recommended by GES as a way to invite booth traffic from all sides and enable unhindered navigation, further enhanced the feeling of an expansive park with distinct zones nestled throughout. Playful park scenes and pet imagery invited veterinary professionals to step into the bucolic setting. A micro theater provided comfortable seating where guests could sit down and soak in their surroundings.

Noting the laid-back atmosphere, attendees casually meandered onto the cobblestone path at the front of the booth. Staffers scanned badges at welcome stations with shrubbery-adorned signage designating the different zones. Within each zone, product kiosks featured 46-inch touchscreen navigation panels, each designed to enhance one-on-one interaction for a different Zoetis product.

Company representatives staffed each station and talked with guests about their vet practices and associated product needs, enriching their interaction with touchscreen activities and insights. Zoetis created a "choose your own adventure" experience for the navigation panel at the booth's Vaccines station that allowed guests to walk a ridiculously cute, virtual basset hound through various digital environments while learning about his exposure to infectious disease along the way – and how Zoetis products can help. Meanwhile, the "Catch a Chew" game on the Anti-Infectives navigation panel invited guests to slingshot imaginary treats into the mouth of another animated pup. "We had a product navigation panel for every offering," says Montufar. "We worked across 12 brands to incorporate gamification and interactivity into each product's content, ultimately creating 12,000 engagements across our navigation panels in the booth."

Demonstration stations encouraged dynamic discussions between Zoetis medical professionals and guest vet speakers on key animal care topics. At the Chronic Pain station, a new addition to the booth, Zoetis representatives and professional service veterinarians talked attendees through different approaches to effectively communicating with pet owners about the signs and symptoms of pain. The Chronic Pain navigation panel provided dynamic elements to enhance the discussion, including a quick quiz, animations, interactive checklists for diagnosing cats and dogs with osteoarthritis, and info on a related Zoetis product. Dermatology is a fast-growing area of veterinary medicine and a potential tonic for practices' financial health. Zoetis' Dermatology touch table illustrated how individual vet employees can play an integral role in the care of itchy dogs. Like a game of animal-care Clue, a touchscreen showed typical rooms within a vet practice and highlighted the types of support each veterinary team member can provide within that space. What can receptionists do when fielding phone calls inquiring about psoriasis? They can encourage an exam, as the culprit may be allergies, which can only be properly diagnosed by a veterinarian. And what of the vet technician in the exam room? By collecting history, performing diagnostics, and educating pet owners about their dogs' conditions, they can also be allies in squelching the itch. Before participants left the station, Zoetis provided them with complimentary educational resources.

Flanked by the Prevention and Treatment zones, activities to celebrate the launch of the new ProHeart12 product held court front and center. A small digitally rendered pond served as a focal point – and target – for an interactive multiplayer game. LED panels on stilts simulated water while a surrounding ring and cover created the illusion of a circular pool. Vinyl graphics affixed to the LED panels formed targets denoting 50- and 100-point scoring areas. An emcee enthusiastically invited attendees to test their skills at three ProHeart12 ProTector game monitors by simulating the product benefit of Zoetis' new heartworm medication. The still "water" of the pond represented a typical hot spot for mosquitos and heartworm transmission. Players protected an on-screen canine by flinging virtual heartworm larvae and mosquitos away from the pooch and, ostensibly, off the gameplay monitor altogether, into the raised pool. Heart-shaped bursts on players' screens awarded ProTector points for castaway dangers accurately aimed to land within the target. Player information, captured at the start of the game, facilitated follow-up, and new product information embedded into the interaction educated players at the conclusion of each of three rounds. Gameplay intensified as players progressed into the second and third rounds, which required participants to move quickly and created a comical shared experience as passersby enthusiastically cheered on wildly gesticulating players. Participants who scored more than 2,000 points walked away with branded sunglasses, and the top scorer for each day earned a Wickedbone Smart Bone interactive dog toy.

A full suite of diagnostic equipment was displayed on custom-designed counters in the Detection zone, located at the axis of the prevention and treatment areas. Orange acrylics paired with special bases and hardware created dividers between each of the equipment stations, and a corresponding product navigation panel offered interactive learning about diagnostic offerings. Two VIP conference rooms, built into the back corner of the booth, offered quiet spaces for private conversations and sales meetings. Diagnostics sales reps and technicians met with current and potential customers about a promotion for free use of diagnostic instruments to customers who committed to a minimum threshold of pharmaceutical and diagnostic product sales.

Go Fetch
To increase engagement inside the booth, attendees were invited to pick up surprises along their park walk – and not the kind that require a plastic bag. Each product kiosk and demo station featured an appropriately themed enamel pin. The Anti-Infective station handed out a petri dish pin with the words "Let's Dish." A sleepy cat and "Go with the Flow" text adorned the Anesthesia station's pin, while a small dog's hind leg reached toward its ear on the "Itchin' for it" pin at the Dermatology portfolio table.

"We knew that the more stations guests visited, the more they would be exposed to our products and solutions," Montufar says. "This was important, as we were excited for vets to see the breadth of our new portfolio. People loved the pins, which incentivized them to engage in multiple activities, and visitors walked away with a greater understanding of Zoetis."

To further facilitate exploration of the booth, attendees who collected at least three different pins could take home a custom-engraved pet treat jar, a notable departure from the pet caricatures handed out in previous years. "I was a little nervous about the treat jars," Montufar admits, "but they were a huge hit, as more than 84 percent of visitors collected three or more pins and received the custom giveaway." Pin collection and personalized giveaways were also a hit with Sizzle Awards judges, one of whom described the approach as "a great way to incentivize attendees to spend more time in the booth than they otherwise might have."
In addition to the 11 product, demonstration, and education stations positioned around the exhibit, the booth's theater hosted presentations and technical deep-dives on products and disease states to audiences of 15 to 40 attendees. Branded lunch totes, notepads, educational materials, pet toys, and plushies were handed out to reward guests for participating with session-related questions and trivia.

The focus on education continued far beyond the confines of the exhibit. Zoetis boasted 36 formal educational sessions outside the booth. Eight industry sessions were presented on five different topics, such as "Canine Heart Disease: What We Thought We Knew, What We Know Now" and "The Secret Life of Fleas: What's Really Going on in the Home?" Four distinct symposia series comprised a total of 12 expert presentations on dermatology, feline care, infectious diseases, and feline pain control. And 17 learning and discovery sessions drove discussion on 11 topics of interest, from wellness diagnostics, automated urinalysis, and heartworm care to allergic dermatitis and canine flu.

In a final stroke of on-site genius, Zoetis hosted an in-booth event on the second-to-last day of the conference. Having learned from past VMX shows that exhibit-hall traffic tends to wane on that day, the company encouraged key customers to make the trek to its booth to enjoy hors d'oeuvres and a raffle for high-quality stethoscopes as music played. This simple strategy attracted more than 400 targeted clients as well as throngs of additional attendees and passersby who joined in the festivities while imbibing Zoetis' branding and key messaging.

But education didn't end at the conclusion of the show. Information gathered during visitors' in-booth interaction enabled multiple courses of post-show email communications. A general message thanked all who visited the booth, and the Zoetis customer service team followed up via email to guests with lingering questions. Zoetis educational session participants received links to symposia proceedings and product pages where they could learn more and access resources related to their session topics.

Every Dog Has its Day
The company's results from VMX 2020 may be best summed up by the booth's own external graphic of an enthusiastic dog's epic frisbee catch just over a lush hedge. Sizzle Awards judges heralded the integrated program as an "impactful activation with measurable results that will lead to growth" and cited the team's "great use of giveaways, gamification, and communications before, during, and after the event." The team delivered its largest and most robust booth ever, with a new design, a new product, new content, and an entirely new diagnostics division.

VMX 2020 tallied the highest interaction rate Zoetis had seen in years. The event generated 39 percent more booth visitors than in 2019, including nearly 10 percent who visited multiple times over the course of the show. Interaction within the various product zones increased as well. Engagement with the Vaccines stations was up 250 percent thanks to expanded content developed for the 2020 exhibit, and nearly half of booth visitors engaged with the new diagnostics portfolio. Interactions with the company's anti-infective products doubled, and more than five times the number of attendees consumed Revolution Plus product information than in 2019.

By showcasing its newly acquired diagnostic offerings within the context of new and existing pharmaceutical products – all the while putting education first, fostering meaningful interactions, and rewarding guests with a treat (or treat jar, in this case) – Zoetis showed that planning a post-acquisition exhibit doesn't have to leave face-to-face marketers yowling. What's more, the company's multipart strategy helped demonstrate its ability to assist veterinarians and their animal clients along the continuum of care, proving that while dog may be man's best friend, Zoetis is a vet's best ally. E