Best of Booths: #AAPS2014

The American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists national meeting just wrapped up in San Diego. C&EN had a booth on their show floor, and took some time to chat with other exhibitors. Here’s just a quick wrap-up of the exhibit floor for those who could not attend, which we’ve categorized in to a ‘best of’ trade show edition. Read on to see our favorites!

Best Displays

Capsugel definitely caught your eye on the show floor. Their overhead display was big, colorful, and quirky, while still relaying something on what their company does. In their booth, they showed off their work in another visual, but simple way. The pills were enclosed in clear plastic containers, while some opened up so attendees could interact with them.

Best Minimalist

On the flip side, we wanted to capture some of the best ways to use your space without the grand displays. The photos don’t quite capture it, but GlobePharma had a simple booth set up that really focused on their products. A wood floor and a nice arrangement of their equipment called attention and looked rather sleek. We imagine this was a nice way to interact with attendees, as there was enough space for multiple people to walk around and take a look at the process equipment, blenders, and other machines on display. The one banner they had also called attention to their 20-year history, which was a nice message to choose when you really only have one.

Runner-up would be the Particle Sciences booth. It was not overly flashy, but your eye was still drawn to it. For those who knew what they were looking for, it provided a sense of privacy for those conversations, while giving passersby a glimpse of the action.

Best Use of Video & Best Entrance

Hospira’s One 2 One booth wins in two categories. As one of the major sponsors of the event, you would assume they’d have some flash!

We snapped this picture without first even realizing that this ‘entrance’ actually incorporated their One 2 One logo. Clever! They had bright, contrasting colors and an inviting interior space as well.

We also liked the use of video in their booth. A few key displays caught your attention: a large video on the outside wall, and a few on the inside as well. It would give you something to do as you waited to talk to a rep, and also gave purpose to a middle beam that divided the space nicely.

Best Overall Booth

So, who won at AAPS 2014? Hands down: Pharmatek. When we first saw their booth, they were hosting a fun game show. They had a smaller space than all of our other ‘winners’, but they made excellent use of the layout. They picked a theme, and weren’t afraid to ham it up.

The second time we saw them, they showed us another excellent way to draw in attendees: armadillos. Yes, armadillos. At first, we couldn’t quite tell what it was, because it looks rather… alien. While fun, what does this have to do with pharmaceutical science? Nothing. Which was a point their rep kept making as new attendees walked up, so not to confuse anyone with its purpose. However, it was not totally unrelated. Their representative works on quality assurance at their company, and on the side, also volunteers at a local animal rescue shelter. This armadillo, Quasimodo, goes around and visits local hospitals to cheer up sick children and other patients. Here, he never once curled into an armadillo’s signature defensive position, so he was quite comfortable among the attendees, – including our own Kirsten Dobson!

Did you attend AAPS 2014? Any booths you liked that we missed? Let us know in the comments below!