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Conference Tools for Exhibitors: A Companion App Approach That Protects Your Content IP

At large medical conferences, it’s common for pharmaceutical companies to send dozens, sometimes hundreds, of employees. These teams attend sessions, meet with HCPs, and manage logistics for booths, meetings, and sponsorships. To navigate the busy days onsite, pharma teams rely heavily on detailed schedules and quick access to event information. But event organizers face a tough challenge: how to support these key stakeholders without compromising attendee privacy or intellectual property.

Many meeting planners have had to limit exhibitor access to the official event app – especially with increasing privacy regulations and concerns around unauthorized data scraping. While the restriction is understandable, it creates real friction for pharma teams that need tools to do their jobs efficiently.

Two secure, compliant solutions exist to meet the needs of both organizers and pharma exhibitors:

1. Companion Event App for Exhibitors

For event organizers who already use the EventPilot Conference App, an Exhibitor Companion Event App (EventPilot LITE) is a low cost solution to offer a streamlined option specifically for exhibitors who are excluded from logging into the official conference app. In addition to the core EventPilot features such as scientific search engine, offline use, related sessions, schedule recommendations, interactive floor plan, etc., it includes the data for:

• Sessions and presentations

• Speakers

• Exhibitors

In order to protect your professional attendee base from unsolicited outreach and maintain control over your conference content, the companion event app excludes attendee networking, CE credit claiming, full text research abstracts, slide presentation downloads, ePosters, and live stream or recorded content.

Special authentication setup limits login to exhibitor registration types only. You can also include event logistics details like booth setup instructions, expo contact info, emergency procedures, or even promote additional sponsorship and advertising opportunities. Because the companion event app is embedded within the branded EventPilot Conference App shell, exhibitors stay within the event ecosystem – no third-party systems, rogue apps, or illegally scraped content.

You can customize the exhibitor companion event app just like you customize the official event app:

• include your official event brandin
• design a custom home screen
• add additional content helpful for your exhibitors (exhibit setup details, onsite contact info, emergency procedures, etc.)

2. Content License with API Access

For pharma clients who need to integrate session and speaker data into their internal event tools, a content license provides the ideal legal and technical solution for them. Exhibitors purchase the license from the organizer to gain secure API access to:

• Session schedule
• Speaker details
• Exhibitor listings

They can use these data sources within their own internal event apps or opt to purchase a custom-branded event from ATIV for their internal use. This keeps everyone aligned, ensures content accuracy, and helps reduce the risk of data scraping.

This option is especially appealing for exhibitors like large pharma companies who wish to add internal meeting schedules or support MSL (Medical Science Liaison) teams with preloaded conference itineraries. You can also offer this as an attractive bonus feature to bundle into top-tier sponsorship packages, especially when sponsors are purchasing scraped event program data or are building shadow apps without permission.

The Bottom Line

Large pharma companies will continue to invest heavily in medical conferences – and they’ll need tools to coordinate their teams attending your event. By offering legal exhibitor solutions like the EventPilot Exhibitor Companion Event App or a content license with secure API access, medical meeting organizers can:

• Support key stakeholders
• Protect attendee privacy
• Maintain control over conference content and IP
• Generate new sponsorship value

FAQ

Why should I offer my exhibitors a companion event app or API?

If your exhibitors can’t log into the official event app, a companion app or content license API lets them build their own session schedule and plan their time without compromising attendee privacy or content IP.

How do I limit who can access the exhibitor companion event app? 

You can restrict access using authentication tied to your registration system, so only attendees with an exhibitor registration type can log into the exhibitor companion event app.

What is an exhibitor companion app?

It’s an exhibitor-only version of your official conference app that includes the session schedule, speaker list, and exhibitor directory, but without attendee networking, CE credits, or proprietary materials.

What is a content license for my conference app data? 

A content license provides legal API access to session and speaker data so pharma exhibitors can integrate your meeting program into their internal event apps or planning tools.

What type of content is excluded from the exhibitor companion app?

The companion event app excludes full-text abstracts, CE tools, attendee networking, presentation slides, ePosters, and streaming/recorded content to protect your medical meeting’s intellectual property.

Can I promote my sponsor packages or advertisement opportunities in the companion app? 

Yes, because only exhibitors use the companion event app, it’s an ideal platform for promoting sponsor packages using home screen ads, banner placements, or in-app alerts.

About the Author

Silke Fleischer is a conference technology strategist with over a decade experience supporting scientific and medical associations. She partners with meeting planners to implement secure, scalable tech solutions that protect organizers’ intellectual property while supporting complex exhibitor needs and creating high-value sponsorship opportunities. Connect on LinkedIn.