St Jude Medical is the pulse of innovation at Heart Rhythm, 2011

To understand this exhibit challenge, consider a few facts. St Jude Medical is a Fortune 500 medical technology company with products sold in more than 100 countries. Here are just a few of the items in their product portfolio: implantable cardioverter defibrillators, cardiac resynchronization therapy devices, electrophysiology catheters, mapping and visualization systems, structural heart products, and devices for spinal cord and deep brain stimulation. They wanted every product area to be represented, and also to feature one major innovation.

St Jude’s next big conference would be Heart Rhythm 2011, the premier event for 13,000 of the world’s experts in research and delivery of arrhythmia care. For a company dedicated to reducing risk and contributing to successful outcomes for heart patient, they needed to do the same for their exhibit strategy: reduce risk and enhance outcomes.

Crafting a complex story for a distracted audience

The process began for Catalyst a year earlier by sifting through 20-pages of documentation and requirements. St Jude had stiff demands for presenting their 4 broad product lines. But Catalyst Exhibit also saw the strategic need to create a cohesive design with a powerful presence. Catalyst knew what to avoid: confusing the attendees with too many messages and difficult navigation.

Another practical matter was added to the exhibit requirements. St Jude needed to scale up and down a very large exhibit for a variety of venues with different footprints and ceiling heights.

At the heart of the matter: a single cohesive visual architecture

Catalyst designed an 80 x 100 foot space with a defined center from which every product and meeting area branched. The motif was classic architecture—flowing, navigable, calming. The spatial organization was disciplined and well ordered. Yet every cubic foot served a purpose.

At its heart was a space deemed the lab of the future with the theme “Advancing the Practice.” This inner space featured MediGuide, a sophisticated proprietary sensor used for minimally-invasive intrabody navigation. The 3-D sensor technology could depict the most sensitive changes in a patient’s heartbeat or respiration.

St Jude is the destination booth among hundreds

Strong green and white branding unified the space. The company logo soared 20 feet overhead and was visible from across the tradeshow floor.

Architectural panels defining the layered space caught curious attendees, luring them into the heart of the space.

Fabric scrim ceilings transformed the exhibit and made an oasis within the hall. The interiors were quieter and more intimate with the sense of opaque walls and ceilings. Light glowed and softened the lines through the space. The effect was a jewel box, almost emerald-like within the central space.

Strong exhibit outcomes from show to show

Catalyst Exhibit set the bar high with a customized, fully branded experience that was still scalable and practical. With lightweight, advanced materials and modular elements that may be swapped out according to show needs, St Jude found the solution to better outcomes.