Attracting nearly 18,000 attendees from more than 100
countries, the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions is the premier
opportunity for medical professionals to come together to share ideas on how to
build healthier lives, free of cardiovascular disease and stroke. As a leader
in the global healthcare field, Switzerland-based Novartis was looking to make
a dynamic statement at the event through a colorful digital media and
interactive trade show display. Wanting LED video to play a prominent role in
the booth design, Novartis turned to Milan-based WorldWide Events and
Vancouver-based Xibita to help them create a truly memorable digital media
showcase using 13 different LED video design elements from PixelFLEX.
“We are the preferred supplier in North America for
WorldWide Events who was retained by Novartis to create the AHA Scientific
Sessions trade show display,” began Hanif Muljiani, President, Xibita. “When we
all got together to speak about the design concept, they wanted a design that
was open, friendly and natural, with warm tones and much more color than you
would normally see in a typical pharmaceutical booth. They also wanted to
feature LED video technology so that the graphic messaging could be changed
very quickly, and while we typically do one video wall in a trade show design,
this one was quite an immersive experience and the PixelFLEX technology really
allowed us to make the design quite unique.”
As the design team began the process of selecting a LED
video provider, they knew it would be a challenge to find all the elements
needed to bring the complete design together. With so many LED video surfaces
planned in the design, they needed a supplier with a breadth of innovative
inventory plus the technical support to match. Off the recommendation of a colleague,
they found both qualities in Nashville-based PixelFLEX.
“One of our biggest challenges was trying to find a
company that could provide all of the LED video elements needed within our
budget and timeframe,” continued Muljiani. “We only had about eight weeks to
build the display and with that much technology, it definitely required
everyone to work together to make it happen. For the technology, we needed a
small pixel pitch and high resolution for the elements that would be viewed
close-up, plus we needed video elements capable of working with the curved
structures to create the archway that would be a focal point in the design.
PixelFLEX has a significant amount of innovative inventory and they really
helped us bring the whole project together.”
With PixelFLEX now on board, the design began to take
shape and as they identified the ideal LED technologies needed for the design,
the final concept included FLEXLite and FLEXLite Plus 3.9mm LED, and FLEXTour
2.8mm LED video technology.
“In the final design, we ended up flying all the LED
video elements except for the curved arch structure and it really helped when
PixelFLEX worked directly with Freeman to assess how we would support the
structures in the booth,” added Muljiani. “We had five days at the show to
build the complete installation and this was the first time we would actually
put the entire system together. We live in a technology environment where
things are inevitably going to be a challenge and to have an organization like
PixelFLEX that you can count on to be adaptive and reliable is a tremendous
advantage.”
Now that the LED video elements were all in place, it was
time to program the content for the show so the design could finally come to
life. Without having the opportunity to complete a full-scale mock-up prior to
the opening of the show, Muljiani was excited to see the finished design for
the first time.
“For the content, WorldWide Events worked with Novartis
to create dynamic graphics along with presentation text and messaging to convey
the attributes of the Novartis products,” explained Muljiani. “Driven by the
mandate to attract attendees from all over the trade show floor, the finished
design was very bright and colorful, and it looked absolutely beautiful.”
With their work now complete, the AHA Scientific Sessions
opened the doors to the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans,
Louisiana. Eager to see the reaction of the show attendees, Muljiani took a
moment to stand back and take it all in, knowing that they had not only met,
but surpassed all expectations for the Novartis trade show design.
“The day the show opened, my account manager and I stood
back to look at the design and it was unbelievable,” concluded Muljiani.
“Together we walked the show floor and from every angle the technology blended
with the structures and balanced itself very well with the overall design.
Technology should fit into the overall booth environment and not take it over,
and that’s exactly what the PixelFLEX technology did. With the choice of colors
and patterns along with the choices in pixel pitch and resolution, the entire
design worked together as one cohesive display making it an exciting and
visually captivating experience.”
To find out more about the Novartis trade show display at
the AHA Scientific Sessions, visit the Portfolio
page. To find out more about the PixelFLEX trade show design-build services,
visit the Services
page.
