London’s ExCel was the venue for this year’s Showcase, the first under the organiser’s new name of British Dental Industry Association. The name change was deemed necessary to reflect the evolution of the association, and proof of its development was evidenced in the impressive variety of stands exhibiting this year.
Gold sponsor Oral-B showcased its new SmartSeries electric toothbrush with Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity. It also informed visitors about the revolutionary Test Drive trial programme, which allows multiple users to experience Oral-B power and toothpaste using a shared handle in a hygienic way. As well as the exhibition stands, visitors to Showcase were also able to attend an abundance of mini lecture and on-stand presentations which provided a range of CPD opportunities.
The theme of this year’s event was ‘Putting Innovation into Practice’, and with over 350 exhibitors present it was a great opportunity for the whole team to keep up-to-date with a vast range of products and everything needed to keep a practice one step ahead with the latest dental technology. The BDIA was making use of technology itself with the use of its Showcase smartphone application. The App allowed users to search all the exhibitors, make a favourites list and fully plan their time at the event ensuring they got the most out of the experience.
Trust
The BDIA used Showcase as an opportunity to again highlight its campaign against counterfeit products. The Counterfeit and Substandard Instruments and Devices Initiative is an industry wide activity to promote awareness of the dangers of poor quality, counterfeit and illegal dental instruments, provide a quick and simple method of reporting these to relevant bodies and promote purchasing from reputable manufacturers and suppliers. The growth of internet purchases and the globalisation of dental manufacturing has created an opportunity for unscrupulous traders. At Showcase though principals and practice managers could discuss their product needs with companies they could have complete faith in. Tony Reed, executive director of the BDIA explained: “By purchasing only from reputable suppliers the end user can be assured of a high quality product that meets all the necessary requirements and that will not endanger the user or the patient, nor risk punitive actions from the courts or regulatory bodies.”
Attracting attention
Every year the exhibitors at Showcase do their best to attract the attention of delegates, whether it be through the attractiveness of their stand, the offers available or free sample giveaways and this year was no exception. For example Colgate was giving visitors samples of the new Cavity Defence toothpaste, whilst the Denplan stand offered delegates apple flavoured ice cream (along with information on payment plans).
One of the more visually striking initiatives was the photo booth at the British Dental Health Foundation stand. Visitors were encouraged to don blue lips and pose for pictures ahead of Mouth Cancer Action Month (which took place in November).
Winners
As with every year, the BDIA has stand awards to acknowledge the effort that exhibitors go to to make Showcase such a success. This year they invited the Association of Event Organisers (AEO) to select the winners for. The large stand winner was The Dental Directory (A18/19). Judge Lauren Edney, of the AEO explained: “The Dental Directory had great pro-active interaction with visitors and the stand was a hive of activity.” Philips (P09) were highly commended and Lauren added: “Philips had an appealing stand design that incorporated on-stand lectures.”
The winner of the medium stand was Perfection Plus (H11), Lauren explained: “Perfection Plus had a highly eye-catching stand with great sensory marketing.” Dental Design (N09) were highly commended.
The winner of small stand/shell scheme was Charles Russell (F04): “This was a very professionally presented, clutter-free stand with a clear message to exhibitors,” explained Lauren.
Showcase again proved to be a great success attracting thousands of dental professionals from around the country. Though the 2014 event has now passed, the technology and demand for improvement continues – and the BDIA is already gearing up for next year’s Showcase, it will be back in Birmingham’s NEC from October 22-24 – we hope to see you there!