Graphic production for the pharmaceutical sector: stands, congresses and point of sale

A pharmaceutical company needs a partner that can handle three fronts at once: medical congresses (stands, exhibition areas, wayfinding and stage sets), the point of sale (POS displays and pharmacy materials) and its own spaces (offices, headquarters and internal events). And it has to work to the congress calendar, leaving room for the client to review every piece before it goes into production.

In this guide we explain which pieces are usually needed, how lead times are organised and what we have learnt working for healthcare companies. If you are looking for a stand straight away, you will find all the details on our exhibition stands page.

At a medical congress the commercial stand is the most visible piece, but rarely the only one. Depending on the company's role at the event, the brief may include:

• Product or therapeutic area stand, often with screens, tablet holders and a meeting area.
• Registration desk and welcome area, when the company organises or sponsors the congress.
• Wayfinding to the session rooms, the plenary hall and the poster area.
• Stage sets for the auditorium: stage backdrop, built-up letters, backdrops.
• Venue dressing: floor graphics and graphics on stairs, columns and the lobby.

Every venue and every organiser has its own rules (maximum heights, materials, build-up and breakdown times). Before designing anything, read the exhibitor manual. If you have questions, we can help you go through it.

The key decision is whether the stand is built with a modular system (aluminium and tension fabric, reusable across several congresses) or bespoke, with joinery. Many pharma companies combine both: a modular structure that pays for itself congress after congress, plus bespoke elements (counter, raised logos, lightboxes) that change with each campaign.

As a guide, a modular stand starts from €1,200, and from there it depends on the size, materials, structure (modular or bespoke joinery), graphics, lighting and furniture. To compare options, read our guide to types of trade show stands and our article on stand materials.

One detail specific to the sector: the same stand often has to carry two messages, the corporate brand and the product campaign. It pays to decide from the outset which walls will stay fixed and which will be reprinted for the next congress.

The campaign does not end at the congress. The same visual line usually carries through to the pharmacy: counter displays, stands, posters and window vinyls. And to the sales reps, who need roll-up banners, brochures and support materials for their visits.

A pharmacy is a small, crowded space, so POS has to be compact, sturdy and easy for staff to set up themselves. If it is shipped to many locations, think about packaging and clear instructions too. You will find more on our POS and displays page and more ideas in our article on retail POS display ideas.

Besides third-party congresses, pharma companies run many events of their own: cycle meetings, medical training courses, summits, product launches, shareholder meetings or internal awareness days. That is where stage sets, photocalls, welcome desks and route signage come in. We cover all of this under corporate events.

At headquarters, offices and laboratories the work is more permanent: wall logos, vinyl on meeting room partitions and corporate wayfinding to guide visitors and staff. If that is your case, our corporate signage guide will help.

In pharma the date does not move: the congress starts when it starts. That is why it makes sense to plan backwards from build-up day:

• Build-up and breakdown: set by the venue. You need to know them before the design is closed.
• Workshop production: depends on complexity. A fabric wall is produced faster than a joinery counter with lighting.
• Approved final artwork: the point from which printing can start. Anything that delays this milestone cuts into production time.
• Design and proposals: the earlier you start, the more room there is for reviews.

We cannot give you a fixed lead time without seeing the project, because it varies a lot between a fabric stand and a bespoke one. What we do recommend is getting in touch as soon as your participation and floor space are confirmed.

Many pharmaceutical companies put their promotional materials through an internal review (medical, legal or regulatory, depending on the company) before signing them off. That review is the client's responsibility and a supplier cannot replace it, but it can make it easier:

• Blocking out the time your process needs in the schedule, so production does not eat into it.
• Working with numbered versions and proofs, so that exactly what will be printed is what gets approved.
• Separating, in the design, the copy that needs approval (product messages) from the elements that do not change (structure, corporate brand), so a last-minute change does not mean redoing everything.
• Printing nothing until the final artwork has been approved in writing.

These are some of the projects we have produced for pharmaceutical and healthcare companies. Many prefer not to be named, so in those cases we mention them anonymously.

• Exhibition area at a dermatology congress: U-shaped registration desk, product stands with backlit fabric frames, wayfinding to the plenary hall and modular benches, all in the congress's blue and orange identity.
• Cava Pharma: a premium stand of more than 30 m² at an international pharmaceutical fair, with a matt black structure, blue perimeter LED, large backlit panels and a lounge area.
• Timedi and JVM: a stand of more than 50 m² at a sector fair in Barcelona, with built-up letters, an entrance arch and a demo area for pharmacy dispensing machinery. For Timedi we also produced the corporate vinyls for their offices.
• Nestlé Health Science: a stand for its clinical nutrition division, with graphic panels, a counter and a product area designed for conversations with healthcare professionals.
• Campaign with pharmacy POS: congress stand, posters, pharmacy displays and sales rep support materials, all in one visual line.
• Gastroenterology congress at the CCIB: welcome desk, graphic discs, large-format floor vinyl and the header for the poster area.
• Interview studio stand: circular platform with an illuminated edge, a slatted backdrop with a lightbox and floor vinyl, designed for interviewing specialists during the congress.

We have also produced stands for Eversense and BioHorizons at medical and dental implantology congresses, and for Sky Softgel & Pack at a pharmaceutical machinery fair.

We manufacture in Barcelona and install all over Spain, with our own installation team. Since 1994 we have completed more than 3,000 projects, many of them at healthcare congresses and events.

To give you a useful quote it helps to know: the congress or event and its date, the floor space and type of space, whether the stand needs to be reused, which pieces you need besides the stand and how much time your internal review process takes. With that, we can propose options and a realistic schedule.

Request a quote or call us on +34 937 50 23 04.