Marketing of luxury events. Case study on the tenth Congress of anti-aging medicine, Bucharest, 2018

• Main Authors: Pop Nicolae Al., Ott Cristina-Maria, Simion Daniela, Zottu-Z Monica
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Sciendo 2018-05-01
• Series: Proceedings of the International Conference on Business Excellence
• Subjects: classic vs. modern medicine; event marketing; exploratory marketing research; marketing programme; high-class; luxury
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.2478/picbe-2018-0069

Medicine and the pharmaceutical industry have a long and rich history of events. The transition from magic to modern medication was gradually achieved over thousands of years of evolution. Ambroise Pare, a French anatomist and surgeon from the 16th century, stated that it was very simple: “The doctor cares, God heals.” The medical-industrial complex appears to grow much faster than the economic power. And this is because the system is oriented not only by the demand, but also by doctors who play a double role. They offer medical services and, at the same time, they control their need (demand). Along with human and technological evolution, in some countries of the world, medicine can be inaccessible, perhaps untouchable or it is even considered to be a luxury. In this case, luxury is presented in the form of rationality that draws the medical world at various congresses, where the only words that can characterize the event are: the performance, high-class, luxury and international reputation of the doctors or of the speakers. This article briefly outlines the results of a qualitative marketing research among medical congress organizers-social events where high-quality marketing blends nicely with the quality of modern medicine news and perspectives, thus forming a clearer picture of the tradition and the priorities of topics chosen for medical events. The result of the research is reflected in the sketch of a program of such an event in Romania, combining the high scientific performance with social elements that can significantly increase the attractiveness of such a manifestation. In order to obtain a conclusive feedback, a useful tool is also developed and accessible to the organizers. The bibliography supports theoretically the concepts with which it operates (event marketing, the significance of high-class professional performance and the specific coordinates of the medical sector).