Client
HORIBA ABX – Haematology, Clinical Chemistry and Point of Care

Case
Promote HORIBA ABX at IBMS Congress 2007 through stand and print material bringing in the new corporate Ginkgo designs and messaging.

Action
With thinking caps on and in consultation with Cleve Wright, Vanessa Chomyn and Colin Dalziel of HORIBA ABX the Alto team settled down to some brainstorming. Creative thinking overflowed linking HORIBA ABX’s Japanese heritage with the new corporate image of the Ginkgo leaf. This led to the theme for the stand design - a relaxing Zen garden complete with water feature and Ginkgo trees. Wanting to stand out from the crowd at IBMS, HORIBA ABX made the decision not to have any products on the stand which undoubtedly created quite a stir during Congress and made the news in the daily IBMS eNewsletter.

At Alto HQ, researchers read up on Japanese traditions and searched for unique gifts and food to keep the stand authentic.  A beautiful bamboo scroll was commissioned to display the name of HORIBA ABX in flowing Japanese Shodo calligraphy.  As the stand concept evolved, the Japanese theme developed to include a delicious lunch of mouth watering Japanese canapés, colourful Japanese cocktails and Sappora beers available each afternoon and cooling HORIBA ABX branded paper fans. 

The most novel prize draw giveaway ever seen at Congress -  a Bonsai tree -  was promoted through an e-mailer and mail shot sent out prior to the show directing people to an informative web landing page, all following the Ginkgo design. The mailing cards doubled up as competition entry forms which were returned to the stand during the event. The Japanese authenticity continued as information plaques on the Ginkgo leaf to help with the competition answers were printed in both English and Japanese script and displayed next to the plants during the show.

Epilogue
Throughout Congress the stand was busy and bubbling with conversation as the HORIBA ABX specialists engaged with delegates, inviting them back to the stand for drinks in the afternoon and encouraging them to enter the competition. With over three hundred entries, generating over 120 business leads the Bonsai trees were a much coveted prize.

The buzz around the stand was electric as the absence of equipment drew many interested people over to ask questions. Cleve Wright of HORIBA ABX had the following comments, “Despite a relatively last minute change of exhibition plans, Alto once again excelled by working to a short deadline and delivered one of our most creative stand designs. We had one of our busiest ever Congresses and received extremely complimentary feedback from both trade and delegates.”