Focus Magazine - Fall 2017 - 20

COVERSTORY

The reinvented meeting
was a success. Brands and
sales forces that had not
initially adopted the idea saw
the results and wanted to be
included in the future.

was made to eliminate some
traditional meeting conventions and
agreed to:
* Host a virtual general session prior
to the start of the live, in-person
meeting. As a result, learners at the
live event went right into learning
sessions focused on application.
* Develop a meeting that was "nonlinear". Participants would attend
diﬀerent courses or sessions in a
diﬀerent order meaning that
content needed to be designed so
the order in which it was delivered
did not matter.
* Create highly interactive exhibits
such as:
- An exhibit that included actors
cast as patients to guide
participants through case
studies.
- An exhibit designed as a game
show that presented diﬀerent
role-playing scenarios.
- An exhibit designed as a
cooking show that included all
the marketing "ingredients" for
a successful sales call.
* Develop interactive workshops that
captured the spirit of the interactive
booths in longer workshop formats.
Learners spent most of the time in

small groups working through exercises while standing and moving.
e revamped meeting format
became a learning experience not only
for the attendees, but for the trainers
as well. e success of the meeting led
Otsuka to expand the concept to the
entire sales force for the Spring 2017
national meeting.

* Small steps become infectious.
Success with the pilot group led to
an increased interest from more
internal teams which led to the
company-wide change. Each step
led to diﬀerent, important
learnings that could improve the
next experience.

Meeting Execution, A
Building Movement and
Lessons Learned

e reinvented meeting was a
success. Marketing teams and sales
forces that had not initially adopted
the idea saw the results and wanted to
be included in future meetings using
the new format. By September 2016
the challenge was put forth to have a
reinvented meeting for all
participants.
Otsuka had a history of measuring
Level 1 response. e new format led
to record high feedback. More
importantly, marketing teams have
seen an improvement in overall
representative execution, leading to an
increase in message recall which
training credits to the new format.
Overall, the training staﬀ doesn't
foresee a return to the old "national
meeting as usual" format. ■

Some of the key learnings that
came from the events are:
* ere is no such thing as small
logistics. Every element of the
meeting needs to be considered in
the new interactive format. Very
detailed planning is required
around such things as of how the
participants would flow through
the meeting content, and how the
interactive pieces would work
together.
* Medical buy-in is key. Trainers
worked with reviewers from
concept through execution to
ensure that the new format would
meet the needs of compliance
requirements of our medical and
legal colleagues.

Measurable Results

Matthew Yesko is a senior consultant with Aquinas Leadership Group. Email Matthew at myesko@aquinaslg.com.

FOCUS | Fall 2017 | www.L-TEN.org

http://www.L-TEN.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Focus Magazine - Fall 2017