Exhibit Hall at 2016 ODA Annual Session offers comprehensive, efficient shopping experience
The ODA Annual Session Exhibit Hall will feature more than 200 booths, and attendees will have an opportunity to comparison shop and speak with company representatives.
The Exhibit Hall at the 2016 ODA Annual Session will be a comprehensive, efficient way for dental practices to shop for equipment and products. Plus the Exhibit Hall will also be taking part in the ODA’s 150th anniversary celebration.
This year’s Exhibit Hall will feature over 200 vendors and is one of the largest in the area. The hall will be open from noon to 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 15; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 16; and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 17.
“In a situation where someone is looking for a lot of equipment or some different small equipment items, the experience is good because the Exhibit Hall gives the opportunity for a dentist to compare almost side-by-side different brands of the same or similar products,” said Dr. Mike Winick, 2016 Annual Session exhibits co-chair. “So if you’re looking for a new dental chair, you would have an opportunity to see several chairs on the floor all in one place. If you tried to do this at any other time, you would have to travel. It does give a unique opportunity to compare and contrast.”
In addition to comparison shopping in one place, the Exhibit Hall also provides attendees with several other opportunities for an efficient, comprehensive shopping trip.
Dentists who bring their entire team with them to Annual Session can shop for products together.
“You might be able to make some of these purchases a group decision, where that may not be possible outside the Exhibit Hall,” Winick said. “If you’re there with your whole team, the team could weigh in, and that could be very beneficial, especially if you’re looking for some hygiene items.”
Additionally, dentists can check out the online list of vendors, which is always being updated, before visiting the Exhibit Hall to plan out their trip. That way, attendees with limited time can map out a route of the companies they would like to see in the Exhibit Hall. If attendees know their dental supply company will be at the meeting, Winick said they could schedule an appointment to meet with a sales rep from that company. A full list of exhibitors, plus a map of the Exhibit Hall and a product search function, is available at www.oda.org/events.
Attendees will also have an opportunity to go straight to the Exhibit Hall to look at equipment after attending a CE course.
“If you’re taking some courses and the lecturer is recommending certain products that would fit into a technique or something new that you’ve just learned, you could go right to the Exhibit Hall and find these products, and maybe even have a hands-on experience at the exhibit booth,” Winick said. “Sometimes you go to a lecture and it might be weeks later until you talk to a rep, this way it’s all fresh in your mind and you can go right into a specific exhibitor and see products immediately.”
Winick said attendees should be sure to visit the Exhibit Hall because there are always new vendors and products each year.
“The exhibitor list does change somewhat year-in and year-out, it’s not just the same old same old,” he said. “It’s important for people to know that if they’re coming to the meeting they should carve out some time to go to the Exhibit Hall because they’re going to see some exhibitors that they haven’t seen there before. The Annual Session Committee works hard to continually introduce new exhibitors into the hall.”
Winick also added that it’s important for attendees to check out the Exhibit Hall to ensure that the ODA Annual Session continues to be a strong meeting that exhibitors want to come back to.
“This meeting really comes out of the thought of a service to our members, and it’s all connected,” Winick said. “Visiting the Exhibit Hall, taking the time to interact with some of the exhibitors, to help them have a better meeting, is going to keep them coming back. The exhibitors put a lot of effort into this, and their reward is the presence of attendees.”
New this year, the ODA Annual Session Committee will also be thanking exhibitors who promote the meeting with a chance for them to win the ODA’s “MVP (Most Valuable Promoter) Award.” Exhibitors will be distributing promotional sheets during sales calls, in mailings, with invoices or products, or however they see fit, that include their exhibitor ID. Attendees who register with that exhibitor ID number will gain points for that exhibitor, and the company with the most credited registrations will win coffee & breakfast delivered to their booth by the committee on Friday morning.
In celebration of the ODA’s 150th anniversary, the ODA membership booth in the back of the Exhibit Hall will feature artifacts from the ODA’s history, including the minutes from the first meeting of the Ohio State Dental Society, as the ODA was then known. Additionally, there will be lapel pins and pens given away in the Exhibit Hall in honor of the ODA’s anniversary.
And on Thursday evening, attendees can head to Union Station Ballroom B right across from the Exhibit Hall after the hall closes at 6:30 for Celebrate!, a special event in honor of the ODA’s 150th anniversary to celebrate all that the ODA represents and stands for – dentists and their teams. A DJ will be playing great music and a cash bar will be available. This event is free with registration.
The Exhibit Hall will also feature several special events throughout Annual Session. The Welcome reception will be from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday and will feature hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar, plus members of ODPAC who have a red, white and blue ribbon can stop by the ODA membership booth for a free drink. After the hall closes, attendees can continue the party at Celebrate! across from the Exhibit Hall.
On Friday, attendees can Take a Break! from 3 to 4 p.m. with ice cream and freshly baked cookies.
Also on Friday, attendees have an opportunity to earn up to two free hours of CE in the Exhibit Hall by attending Table Clinics. Table Clinics are informal, interactive presentations that are educational in nature and last up to 15 minutes, and they will be held Friday, Sept. 16 from 4 to 6 p.m. Presentations are given several times during the two-hour time slot.
And on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Tailgate! will feature popcorn and a free drink while attendees catch up on the latest football games.
Daily drawings for member dentists, hygienists and staff will take place in the Exhibit Hall each day in the ODA membership booth. Attendees will have an entry ticket printed with their registration materials and will need to visit the membership booth each day to be entered in the drawing. Prizes for dentists include: Thursday, a $500 gift card to Tiffany & Co.; Friday, a YETI Tundra Cooler; and Saturday an Apple Watch. Prizes for hygienists include: Thursday, a sterling silver Tiffany Paloma Picasso Olive Leaf Heart Pendant; Friday, a Michael Kors handbag; Saturday, a Fossil Q Smartwatch. Prizes for dental staff include: Thursday, a sterling silver Tiffany Arrow Pendant; Friday, a Coach North/South Swingpack; and Saturday, a Fitbit Alta.
For more information about the Exhibit Hall and ODA Annual Session, including a full schedule of events and registration, visit www.oda.org/events.
