Case study: IDEM Singapore

The 10th edition of IDEM Singapore took place at Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre last month and welcomed dental professionals from the region across a three-day event.

IDEM has positioned itself as the “dental conference to be seen at” through the decade, and organisers Koelnmesse attribute that to “always being two steps ahead” in order to push the conference brand.

“There are lot of dental conferences in the market now we have to really stay ahead of the game,” said Mathias Kuepper, managing director at Koelnmesse. “The key takeaway is that we have to continue to innovate because the expectations are really high on the audience’s side. So we’re always looking for different content formats, more interaction, more live demonstrations, and maybe shorter sessions.”

The most important factor in a medical conference is certainly content, and Kuepper and his team have to be up-to-date on technical medical content as well as new solutions and ideas in the field.

The agency’s scientific program director doubles up as a dentist, and he advises the team on content and speakers for each edition. The content creation process takes about two years, or the length that separates each conference edition.

“Content is very important. Dentists wouldn’t come if there’s nothing they can take away from it. And we realise over the years, that when we invite a high-profile speaker, we see a surge in interest,” Kuepper said.

On top of that, IDEM attracts delegates by demonstrating new tech in the field. Not only is this a way for the conference to veer from conventional 90-minute presentation formats, it also gets attendees to have a feel of new gadgets.

“Dentists like to work with their hands so we give them opportunities at a lot of hands-on workshops to try out these technologies,” he said.

“There’s a new generation of medical conference participants who consume content very differently. And live demos are definitely one way to go. Live demos also help in branding IDEM and setting us apart from other dental events.”

As with any conference, deciding who should attend is also a task. Because IDEM’s brand as a niche medical event, attendees expect to connect with the who’s who of the dental world.

“We have to be strongly connected in the dental industry so we work with dental associations, media partners, and other organisations. We’ve had a database from the last 30 years so we know exactly who should go to this event,” Kuepper said.

“What we’re learning more and more is IDEM is an important brand. They’re not just coming here for the content; they’re also coming here for the community."