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What is HCEA? The Healthcare Convention & Exhibitors Association (HCEA) is a trade association solely dedicated to improving the effectiveness of all conventions, meetings and exhibitions of the healthcare industry, including quantifying the value of healthcare exhibiting in the marketing mix. HCEA represents more than 700 member organizations involved in healthcare exhibitions and conventions.

Background This research grant program, administered by HCEA, was established in 2001 to demonstrate the value of healthcare exhibiting. It is the first grant of its kind. The grant is not given for financial aid to individuals.

Definition of Terms: To provide a clearer understanding of terms used in this application, the following terms are defined:

Healthcare Marketing - The marketing of healthcare products (e.g., pharmaceuticals, medical devices/supplies/equipment, medical services). Encompasses pharmaceutical marketing (see below). Does not include the marketing of hospitals or other healthcare facilities or healthcare provider plans.

Pharmaceutical Marketing - The marketing of pharmaceutical products. Does not include marketing of pharmacies or pharmacy services.

Tradeshow Marketing - The marketing of products at conventions and tradeshows. Does not including the marketing of tradeshows. Synonymous in this document with the terms exhibit marketing and convention marketing.

Terms of Eligibility The grant program is intended for all graduate students and faculty interested in conducting research in the healthcare marketing or tradeshow industry or becoming more involved with the healthcare tradeshow industry. Undergraduate students are not eligible to apply. Applicants should demonstrate that they intend to study a quantifiable, or possibly a qualitative, measure of healthcare exhibit marketing's effectiveness. The recipient must possess an earnest interest in the healthcare industry, and in particular, in exhibit or healthcare marketing. The ideal recipient will be working towards a graduate degree, preferably in marketing, possibly with a desire to pursue a career in healthcare marketing or the tradeshow industry. Eligibility will also be determined by the topic the candidate proposes to study, with those topics having the greatest likely direct demonstration of healthcare exhibit marketing's return on investment given preference. All research should be conducted with university faculty review and oversight, in addition to HCEA's.

Restrictions The grant is not given for financial aid to individuals. Rather, it is given for specific research on healthcare meetings and their ROI. Personal travel for the benefit of any individual is not the intended focus of this grant.

HCEA does not provide any indirect expenses with the grant.

Ownership of any non-expendable items of commercial value used primarily for the research project will be retained by HCEA upon termination of the grant.

All research data materials generated as a result of the recipient's Research Grant project will become the property of HCEA for its own use, at the submission of the project to HCEA. HCEA may extend researchers the right to publish the findings in an academic journal if so requested.

Terms of Grant The stipend will be up to $10,000.

A committee of HCEA member representatives and staff will evaluate applications.

The recipient will have no more than one year to use this money, complete all research and draft a final report for the research project. A summary of the work for publication in HCEA's various publications will also be required as part of the project.

Progress reports are required three times during the course of research and are to be sent to the attention of Jennifer Palcher at HCEA and approved before final grant payment is made.

Recipients will receive one-third of the grant payment at the time of selection, with the remaining balance to be paid when the research has been satisfactorily completed and turned in to HCEA.

The recipient(s) may be invited to attend the HCEA Annual Meeting to present the results of his/her research.

Research Proposal The proposal for how you will conduct your project needs to be clearly defined in five pages or less. This proposal needs to be typed and accompany your grant application, and it must include the following: title of the research project, background information, description of the research project and a proposed budget with specific budget items. No requests for funds will be considered unless accompanied by two copies of the application form and proposal.

A description of the deliverables of your project--that is, how you plan to submit your results (e.g., data sets, case studies, slides)--should be included with your Research Proposal. Only one option is necessary.

Potential Research Topics HCEA is looking for research that quantifies the effectiveness of exhibit marketing by a particular company or subset of the healthcare industry (pharmaceutical, device/supply/equipment, service, etc.), at a particular meeting, or at a series of meetings either within a medical specialty or at a particular venue. Current, original data measuring the effect of a given exhibit marketing effort is always welcome. Following are some suggested research ideas:

1. Examine exhibit marketing's effectiveness from within the framework of a particular marketing principle or theory. Demonstrate how exhibiting contributes to the effects (e.g., attitudinal, volitional changes) articulated by the principle or theory, and any resulting implications for exhibiting's place in the marketing mix.

2. Compare exhibit marketing to one or more other marketing media for effectiveness in achieving a particular marketing goal. Examples might include a study comparing an internet site to a healthcare convention in number of physicians reached, interactivity, attitudinal changes measured, quality of information imparted, etc.; comparing recall of exhibits to journal ads, each in its appropriate setting; and comparing sales calls to exhibiting along similar lines.

3. Examine variances in exhibit marketing's effectiveness for various marketing goals relative to the products being marketed. Examples might include comparing exhibit marketing's effectiveness based on where products are in their life cycle, what medical specialties are being reached, the complexity of the messages and whether they are pharmaceutical or device/equipment/supply.

4. Compare exhibit marketing to one or more other marketing media relative to compliance with Food and Drug Administration regulations governing healthcare product marketing. Examples might include areas in which one or the other might be more or less prone to violative activity and any resulting implications for marketers, or examining and comparing techniques that have been implemented to reduce the potential for violative activity.

5. Examine booth size, floor placement, number of booth sales reps or other variables relative to exhibiting effectiveness.

6. Examine the alignment of a particular exhibit marketing effort with corporate (or product) strategic branding initiatives. How do booth design and structure, messages, booth rep presentations and details and other components of the exhibit marketing effort support (or fail to support) branding strategies?

7. Compare exhibit marketing to one or more other marketing media relative to their unique strengths and weaknesses in supporting branding initiatives.

8. Compare exhibit marketing to one or more other marketing media relative to their unique strengths and weaknesses during a product launch. In what ways are each component of the marketing mix particularly well suited (or poorly suited) to the strategies and objectives of the product launch?

These are examples only and do not necessarily indicate a research preference. It is by no means an exhaustive list. Ideas other that those presented above are welcomed and encouraged. In all of the above (as well as with any additional ideas submitted), research proposals that support their claims with quantifiable data will be given preference over those that do not.

Application Timeline

Download the Application Form (MS Word Document)

Time allotted for applications to be submitted - Fall 2003
Deadline for grant submissions - December 1, 2003
Applications reviewed - December 2003
Winning recipient notified - January 2004
Grant money paid and research to be conducted - Spring 2004 to no later than January 2005