FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 17, 2006

CONTACT:
Frank Skinner
Jennifer Palcher-Silliman
(404) 252-3663

ATLANTA — Landmark healthcare meeting and exhibit marketing trend research will debut at HCEA’s 2007 Healthcare Convention Marketing Summit, to be held January 18, at the Sheraton Inner Harbor Hotel in Baltimore. This state-of-the-industry report comprises 10 years of healthcare meeting and convention demographic data never before seen in the industry.

Healthcare conventions represent a quarter of the entire convention market, and this pioneering industry report analyzes over 30,000 medical meetings to highlight seminal issues such as exhibit cost trends, attendance statistics, meeting location trends and emerging medical specialty shows. James Hladnik, Manager, Medical Convention Marketing, Abbott; Eric Allen, Executive Vice President, and F.R. Skinner, Market Research Analyst, HCEA, will present this innovative research.

The Summit will also feature the following sessions:

• The Complementary Effect of Exhibitions on Personal Selling
  Presented by Srinath Gopalakrishna, Associate Professor of Marketing, College of Business, University of Missouri
• Critical Issues Discourse: Association/Industry Exchange
  Moderated by Cindy Holloway, Director of Marketing Communications, Tyco Healthcare, and Garth Jordan, Vice President, Product Marketing and Sales, Association of periOperative Registered Nurses
• Update on State and Federal Laws That Impact Healthcare Convention Marketing
  Presented by Jeffrey Mittleman and Christopher Myers, Holland + Knight LLP
• A Day in Their Shoes – The Ethnography of the Physician Convention Experience
  Presented by Stephen Mapes, Vice President Creative Services, Impact Unlimited, Inc.

Registration costs before December 15, 2006, are $245 for HCEA Regular/Associate Members, $345 for HCEA Supporting Members and non-member Regular/Associate organizations, and $445 for non-member Supporting organizations.  Visit www.hcea.org for updated details.

HCEA is the only association solely dedicated to improving the effectiveness of all conventions, meetings and exhibitions for the healthcare industry.  HCEA represents member organizations involved in healthcare exhibitions and conventions.