What the best congress experiences got right at ASCO® 2026

The ASCO® Annual Meeting is the world’s largest oncology congress and one of the most influential events in the pharmaceutical calendar. With over 44,000 delegates and thousands of exhibitors competing for attention, brands must work harder than ever to make their congress investment count. Simon Davenport, Global Head of Environments for Inizio Engage, shares his insights from the floor at ASCO® 2026.

Why ASCO® 2026 raised the bar

ASCO® wasn’t just bigger in 2026, it was also more competitive, with environments that were more ambitious, sophisticated, and complex than ever before. That increased competition means success is no longer defined by the size of an environment, but by how effectively every element works together to create meaningful engagement.

Brands are doing everything they can to cut through the noise, so the level of investment this year was off the scale, with teams even working through the Memorial Day weekend to get their environments ready on time.

While investment matters, the brands making the biggest impact weren’t necessarily those spending the most. They were the ones designing every element of their congress presence to work together toward a clear objective.

So what separated the most successful congress experiences from the rest? After spending time on the floor and observing how brands engaged attendees, three principles consistently stood out. They also sit at the heart of Intelligent Congress, Inizio’s solution to designing medical congress experiences.

1. A clear point of view

If you’ve been to ASCO®, you’ll know that the sheer amount of information in the hall makes it very difficult for a visitor to take anything in.

The strongest environments carried a consistent narrative across architecture, content, and human interaction, making it easier for visitors to understand, remember, and engage with the scientific story. That consistency elevated the entire experience and ensured every touchpoint reinforced the same core message.

2. Interactions that earn their existence

Advances in technology enable us to create interactive congress experiences like never before – and there were some innovative, attention-grabbing booths that used technology in clever ways. But technology should never be used for its own sake. The most effective interaction isn’t always the most technologically advanced. It’s the one that best supports the intended experience and helps visitors engage meaningfully with the content.

At ASCO® 2026, some of the most memorable experiences were creative, tactile, and deliberately low-tech, standing out among a sea of digital touchscreens while communicating their messages remarkably effectively.

3. Designing for different depths of engagement

No two HCPs engage with a congress in the same way. The strongest brands created flexible experiences with multiple entry points, allowing visitors to engage at the depth most relevant to them. These thoughtfully designed arenas facilitated the visitor’s journey rather than driving them down one prescribed engagement route.

Turning congress insights into better strategy

These three principles underpin how we design congress experiences with our clients. They’re central to Intelligent Congress – our connected solution that brings together strategy, experience, innovation, delivery, and measurement.

Ultimately, successful congress experiences should be designed not only to capture attention, but to generate measurable insight that informs future engagement.

As congresses continue to grow in scale and complexity, organizations that connect strategy, experience, delivery, and measurement will be best positioned to maximize both scientific engagement and long-term commercial value.

Looking for the full picture?

The three principles explored here are drawn from broader research featured in Emota’s Designing for Engagement at ASCO® 2026 report, which explores six principles for creating more effective congress experiences. If you’d like to explore the complete framework, you can download the report here.

Want to explore what these trends mean for your congress strategy?

Watch our expert webinar, Smarter science, sharper strategy: Expert perspectives from ASCO® 2026, where our panel explores the scientific highlights, attendee perspectives, and practical approaches to creating more measurable oncology engagement.

Watch the on-demand webinar