What ASCO® 2026 revealed about the future of pharma congress engagement

At the ASCO® Annual Meeting, standing out wasn’t about having the biggest booth or the newest technology. It was about creating experiences that captured attention, encouraged meaningful engagement, and left a lasting impression. Nick Bellomo, VP of Experience and Technology at Inizio Medical, shares the engagement innovations that caught his eye – and what they reveal about the future of congress design.

What stood out on the ASCO® 2026 exhibition floor

Anyone who has attended ASCO® knows the challenge isn’t finding innovation—it’s deciding where to look. Across more than 2.5 million square feet of exhibition space, hundreds of companies compete for the attention of the world’s leading oncologists.

Of course, one of the key ways that companies stand out is by incorporating technological elements into their environments. AI was one of the defining themes across the exhibition floor, with brands using it in increasingly creative ways, including lifelike patient experiences designed to deepen engagement.

As technology evolves rapidly, brands need to think more strategically about how they use it.

Screen technology is evolving beyond passive displays

LED screens have become an expected part of the congress environment. The challenge is no longer whether to use them, but how to make them genuinely engaging. It wasn’t too many years ago when just having a screen positioned you at the cutting-edge of innovation. Today they’re everywhere, to the point where they almost feel like background noise.

One of the noticeable trends at ASCO® 2026 is how companies are evolving screens beyond just looping content, to create more interesting and engaging experiences.

For example, there were giant LED screens that offered high levels of interactivity, making content more engaging and intuitive to explore. One of the other advantages of interactivity is that you can see what delegates are most interested in and how long they’re spending on different sections. Beyond creating engagement, interactive experiences also generate valuable behavioral insight.

Understanding which content visitors explore, where they spend time, and what captures their attention helps teams optimize both the current congress experience and future engagement strategies.

Also, there were a few environments that used kinetic LED screens made up of individual motorized tiles that moved in and out. The content was tailored specifically for this technology, creating unique animations and motion patterns that were difficult to ignore as you walked by.

Immersive experiences are reshaping congress engagement

But why simply stand in front of a screen when you can be in it? Well, almost. Wraparound screens create deeply immersive experiences, placing visitors right at the heart of the content.

Several exhibitors combined immersive digital environments with physical effects such as motion, sound, scent, and tactile elements. The result wasn’t simply a technology demonstration—it was a richer, more memorable scientific experience.

Some exhibitors fully leaned into the physical, scaling back the technology almost completely. They designed themed environments or crafted artefacts that brought stories and science to life in memorable and engaging ways, particularly enjoying one brand’s detailed recreation of a 1970s lab.

Why successful congress design balances creativity and science

It’s important to note that whether companies went with moving screens, interactive AI avatars, or physical items, the best booths weren’t merely novelty attractions. Creative teams had clearly thought beyond any initial hook to deliver rich, substantive, and compelling experiences.

That’s something we never lose sight of at Inizio when we’re creating congress experiences with our clients. We continually explore emerging technologies and innovative ways to apply them, but we never choose technology for its own sake. It has to strengthen scientific communication, create meaningful engagement, and generate insights that improve future medical congress performance.

To ensure that happens, we employ an approach called Intelligent Congress, which brings together strategy, experience design, delivery, and measurement into one connected solution – one that drives meaningful shifts in HCP understanding, engagement, and behavior.

Learn more about Intelligent Congress

Want to see how leading pharma companies are rethinking congress engagement? Watch our on-demand webinar, Smarter science, sharper strategy: Expert perspectives from ASCO® 2026, where our experts unpack the biggest technology, engagement, and scientific trends from ASCO® 2026.

As medical congresses continue to evolve, the organizations that combine purposeful design, meaningful scientific engagement and measurable insight will be best placed to create lasting impact.