Phacilitate events exist because this industry moves fastest when brilliant minds meet face to face. Whether your goal is brand awareness, lead generation, thought leadership, or partnership development, Advanced Therapies Europe brings together a highly curated audience of senior decision-makers united by a shared ambition: accelerating advanced therapies to patients.
The sponsors who achieve the strongest results are not simply the ones with the biggest stands. They are the ones who plan ahead, promote deliberately, show up with energy, and follow up with purpose. We often talk about the 40-20-40 principle: 40% of event success comes from what you do before the event, 20% from your time onsite, and 40% from what happens afterwards.
This guide is designed to help you maximise every stage of that journey. Inside, you'll find practical ideas, proven tactics, and simple actions to help you build awareness, generate meaningful conversations, and turn event activity into measurable business outcomes.
Key Principle
The sponsors who see the clearest ROI share one thing in common: they arrive knowing exactly what success looks like. Define your goals early, measure what matters, and build every activity around achieving them.
Set Your Goals
Before anything else, get specific. Your answers to the questions below will shape every decision that follows, from who you bring to how you design your stand to how you follow up.
Goal
Questions to Answer
New Leads
How many qualified leads do you need? How many deals must close, at what average value, to make this event worthwhile?
Brand Awareness
Which organisations or job titles do you most want to be visible to? What impression do you want to leave?
Product Launch
What is the announcement? Who is the primary audience? How will you measure cut-through?
Relationship Building
Which existing clients or partners should you prioritise? What does a strengthened relationship look like in practice?
Thought Leadership
What perspectives do you want to put into the room? Which sessions or formats best amplify your voice?
Team Tip
Share your specific goals with your Phacilitate account manager as early as possible. The more detail you give our team about who you want to meet and what you want to achieve, the more effectively we can support you.
Get Onboarded
As soon as your sponsorship is confirmed, you will receive a series of onboarding communications. The single most important first action is completing your Sponsor Essentials Form.
Sponsor Essentials Form
This form gives us everything we need to get your brand live on the event website, typically within a few working days. From the moment it is submitted, passive promotion begins. Your logo will be included in exhibitor carousels, pre-show communications, and partner-facing content throughout the build-up.
What to include:
Company logo at high resolution
Stand name and company description
Key products and services
Names and email addresses of all team members who should receive organiser communications
Do not delay this form. Your brand cannot appear in pre-show promotional content until it is submitted. The sooner it is in, the sooner your passive promotion starts working for you.
Complete Your Networking Form
This is one of the most impactful steps you can take in the run-up to the event. The networking form is your direct line to our audience development team, who go out on your behalf to personally invite the right attendees, regardless of your sponsorship level.
The More Detail, the Better
The form is not obligatory, and you do not have to complete every field. But the more granular you can be, the more targeted our outreach becomes. Consider including:
Specific job titles you want in the room
Company names or types you are targeting
Clinical phases, therapy areas, or geographies that matter to you
If you are a Gold sponsor or above, our Phacilitate Networking Concierge service takes this further. Rather than simply extending invitations, our audience development team will actively help facilitate the specific meetings you want. Reach out to the team directly to enquire here: team@phacilitate.com
Heads Up
Phacilitate's Advanced Therapies Europe 2026 is capacity-capped and routinely sells out weeks in advance. Submit your networking form early so our team has maximum time to work on your behalf before that window closes.
Plan Your Stand or Presence
Your pre-booked meetings are invaluable. But unplanned conversations with people who walk past and stop can be just as valuable. A standout experience on your stand can open doors that no amount of outreach would have found.
Stand Design Principles
Invest in quality artwork and branded display rather than generic pipe-and-drape where possible
Keep the stand tidy. A clean, organised stand signals a professional organisation
Create a space to sit. It signals openness to conversation and doubles as an on-site meeting point
Keep your team standing and facing the aisle. Nothing stops foot traffic like a team on their phones
Choose colours and visuals that stand out. You are competing for attention in a busy room
Stand Activations
Activations turn a stand into a destination. Below are ideas that have worked well at Phacilitate events, from quick wins to more involved experiences.
Activation
What It Looks Like
Why It Works
Branded Merch
Stickers, bottles, tote bags, tech accessories. The more useful it is, the further it travels.
People share on social and take it home. Your brand leaves the venue.
Product Demo
Scheduled live demos at set times throughout the day, promoted in advance.
Draws a crowd, builds credibility, and gives people a reason to return.
Expert Office Hours
15-minute open problem-solving slots with a named expert from your team.
High perceived value. Particularly effective for consultancy or platform businesses.
Competition
Badge scan for a prize draw, or an interactive challenge.
Low barrier to entry. Generates leads and creates a reason to return for results.
Coffee Cart
Good coffee on your stand. Consistently one of the most-visited activations.
People keep coming back. More dwell time equals more conversations.
Photo Opportunity
Branded photo wall or booth with a social share prompt.
Organic social coverage. Tagging generates reach into new networks.
Charging Station
Branded charging packs or a bank of sockets for phones and laptops.
Practical, memorable, and keeps people at your stand longer.
Think Beyond the First Visit
Most stands are designed for a single interaction. The best exhibitors think about the second and third visit too. Update your activation daily, post a leaderboard, change the competition question. Give people a reason to return.
Tell the Marketing Team
Let us know what you are planning. We run daily on-site programming boards and include stand activations in pre-show marketing. The more we know, the more we can promote it on your behalf.
Around eight weeks before the event, your audience begins actively planning their time. The event app goes live. Calendars get blocked. This is the window where your outreach has the most impact.
Your Personalised Referral Link
We will send you a personalised graphic and referral link to share with your network. It includes a discount code that represents meaningful savings on ticket prices. It takes under a minute to post, and we include pre-written copy you can use or adapt.
How to Share
We'll send this link and graphic to you directly. If you have any trouble accessing it, please email marketing@phacilitate.com.
Share across your social media channels, especially LinkedIn
Send directly to key contacts via email or direct message
We will reshare any posts that tag us, giving you additional reach
Ask the marketing team for a plain version of the graphic without our branded template if preferred
Create Your Own Marketing Assets
Need something a little more tailored to your brand? We know many sponsors prefer to create their own promotional materials for social media, email campaigns, websites and customer outreach. To help, we've created a library of official event logos, artwork, banners and brand assets that you can use in your marketing.
Marketing Asset Library
Official event logos, artwork, banners and brand assets ready for use in your own campaigns and materials.
Always use your unique tracking URL when promoting the event. This allows us to accurately attribute registrations and attendance generated through your marketing activity, helping us measure performance and recognise your contribution to the event's success.
Don't have a unique tracking URL yet? Contact marketing@phacilitate.com and we'll provide one for you.
Free Guest Passes
As a sponsor, you receive 3 complimentary guest passes to extend to your network. We encourage you to send these invitations out early as ATE has a limit to tickets and will sell out ahead of the event.
How to Redeem
Log in to your Exhibitor Hub and select 'Allocate Guest Passes'.
You should have already received your Exhibitor Hub login invitation. If you can't locate it or need assistance accessing your account, please contact us at team@phacilitate.com.
Please Note
These passes are not valid for tools, tech, solutions providers or CDMOs.
Upgrade Your Visibility
Sponsors who take part in additional promotional activities receive significantly more enquiries than those who do not. Options available across our events include:
Option
What You Get
Roundtable Discussion
Host a senior-level conversation on a topic specific to your market. Intimate format, high-quality room.
Workshop Session
A broader session open to the full audience. We film it, provide the recording, and deliver social media clips ready to publish.
Featured Email Send
Dedicated communication to our pre-registered audience on your behalf.
Website Advertising
Banner placements across the event website in the run-up to the show.
App Banner
Prominent placement in the event app. Ideal if you are hosting a session or activation.
On-Site Filming
Our crew captures your Q&A, product demo, or sponsored session. Raw footage delivered to you to use as you see fit.
To discuss any of the above, contact your Phacilitate account manager.
Master The App
The event app will open to sponsors on Monday 3 August.
This gives you a full week to complete your company profile, review your exhibitor listing, and ensure your team members are correctly registered and visible within the platform.
Attendees will gain access on Monday 10 August. From this date, you'll be able to browse the attendee list, send meeting requests, and begin building your team's schedule.
Before the App Goes Live
Check your company profile on the event website. It will pull through to the app automatically
Check all team members are linked correctly to your profile
Prepare a list of 50 to 100 key accounts you want to meet, using job titles, company names, and relevant filters
Brief your team, or a dedicated assistant, to begin outreach systematically as soon as meetings go live
When the App Goes Live
Start sending meeting requests immediately. Do not wait for people to come to you
Use the audience filters: company type, clinical phase, job title, and free text search
Pair your LinkedIn outreach with app messages. A warm connection before the event dramatically improves acceptance rates
Register your team for networking events on a first-come, first-served basis. Evening functions and facilitated sessions fill up fast
Strategy Note
A pre-booked meeting with a decision-maker is worth ten badge scans. Treat the first week of app access like a sprint. Send as many targeted requests as possible before the best slots fill up.
Gold Sponsors and Above
Our Networking Concierge team will actively help manage your meeting requests to assist in filling your calendar with the right people. Get in touch with your account manager to activate this service.
Phacilitate events are multi-day formats where the same attendees return each day. You have multiple opportunities to deepen the same relationships across the event, and that continuity changes everything.
Your Stand Team
Put your most engaging, energetic people on the stand. First impressions are everything
Stand up and face the aisle. An open, welcoming posture draws people in
Put phones away. It signals you are not open for conversation and discourages approach
Ensure everyone on the team can articulate your value proposition clearly and knows your key targets
Lead Capture
Every sponsor receives a lead scanner with their package. Scan every person who visits your stand, without exception.
Before the event, create a set of lead qualification questions within your scanner. This will allow your team to capture consistent information and prioritise follow-up once the event is over.
Suggested examples:
Multiple Choice
What is this contact's relationship to our business?
Prospect
Existing Customer
Partner
Investor
Key Opinion Leader
Multiple Choice
How interested are they?
Hot Lead
Warm Lead
Early Stage
Not a Fit
Checkboxes
What are they interested in?
Product Demo
Partnership Opportunities
Manufacturing Support
Investment Discussion
Scientific Collaboration
Free Text
Key notes or agreed next steps
Content and Social During the Event
The Phacilitate LinkedIn community is one of the most active professional networks in the advanced therapies space. What you post during the event reaches thousands of professionals who are not in the room.
Share genuine insights from sessions you attended. What surprised you? What is the industry talking about?
Post informal video conversations with people you meet on site. Tag them. It generates organic reach into their networks
Take a photo with an interesting contact and share what you discussed. People engage far more with this than a generic stand post
Avoid posts that only say "come visit us on stand X". Give value first
Always Worth Remembering
People remember how you made them feel, not what you said to them. Whether it is through your stand design, your team, or your activations, find a way to generate genuine excitement or curiosity. That stays with people long after the event ends.
Follow Up and Measure Success
The event closing is not the finish line. It is the starting gun for your post-show pipeline. Research consistently shows that trade show leads followed up within 24 to 48 hours are around 60% more likely to convert, yet only roughly 18% ever receive a meaningful follow-up. The majority of the value from any Phacilitate event will be realised in the weeks and months that follow, but only if you are deliberate about it.
Suggested Post-Show Communication Cadence
When
Action
Tone
Day 1
Send a warm, personalised thank-you email. Reference something specific from your conversation. No pitch, no deck, no demo request.
Friendly, human, no call to action
Day 2 to 3
Send a LinkedIn connection request with a personalised note. Engage with their content if relevant.
Conversational, relationship-led
Day 4 to 5
For warm or hot leads, consider a phone call. By now they have enough context to recognise who you are and why you're calling.
Direct, purposeful, not salesy
Following week
Check-in email referencing your conversation. Share one genuinely useful piece of content relevant to their challenge. Offer a clear next step.
Personal, direct, low pressure
Weeks 2 to 6
One to two value-led touches per week. Case studies, industry research, event recap content, webinar or roundtable invitations. Your product should not appear until at least the third email.
Helpful, authoritative, trust-building
Ongoing
Move leads into your CRM pipeline, tagged with the event name. Monitor pipeline at 3, 6, and 12 months. Introduce your sales or account contact when the timing is right.
Structured and systematic
Not All Leads Are Equal
Only 5% to 15% of event contacts are genuinely sales-ready. Categorise every lead in your CRM by spend potential, purchase timeline, strategic fit, and buying intent. Cold leads receive educational content. Warm leads receive social proof and comparisons. Hot leads receive direct sales outreach. Treating all leads the same is one of the fastest ways to reduce your conversion rate.
Measure What Matters
The most common mistake sponsors make after an event is letting leads sit untouched. Tag every contact in your CRM with the event name from day one. Most B2B sales cycles span six to twelve months, so an event that looks expensive on a cost-per-lead basis today may generate substantial revenue over the following year.
ROI Formula
(Revenue Generated - Total Event Investment) ÷ Total Event Investment × 100
Your investment should include: booth space, stand design, shipping, travel, staff time, and pre-event marketing. Many businesses consider 100% to 150% ROI a strong result, though benchmarks vary by industry and sales cycle.
Key Metrics to Track
Qualified leads generated
Lead-to-opportunity conversion rate
Meetings booked and demos scheduled
Average deal size
Pipeline value at 30, 90, and 180 days
Closed revenue with event source tag
Cost per qualified lead
Decision-maker engagement rate
The Full Measurement Timeline
Day 0 to 2
All leads tagged and entered into CRM
Follow-up rate target: 100% within 48 hours
Week 1 to 4
Meetings booked
Email reply rates
MQL conversion rate
Day 30 to 90
Opportunities created
Pipeline value
Cost per opportunity
Day 90 to 180
Pipeline progression
Deal velocity versus other channels
Month 12
Closed revenue
Customer lifetime value
Final ROI calculation
Share Your Results With Us
We love to hear about your outcomes. Knowing how many meetings converted, what pipeline was generated, and what the ROI looked like helps our team build a better event for you every year. Please share that data with your Phacilitate contact after the event.
Action Checklist
Immediately on Confirmation
Submit your Sponsor Essentials Form
Confirm all team members are added to organiser mailing lists
Brief your account manager on your specific goals and target accounts
Activate your 3 complimentary guest passes via the Exhibitor Hub
Eight Weeks Out
(deadline window opens)
Complete the Networking Form in as much detail as possible
Share your personalised referral link on LinkedIn and via email
Decide on your stand activations and brief any suppliers
Submit your Marketing & PR information to the team
Confirm your team for the event and book additional delegate passes if needed
Six Weeks Out
Confirm your stand design and order any printed materials
Flag any product launches or major announcements for PR consideration
Explore optional add-on packages such as workshops, roundtables, and filming
Monday 3 August — Sponsor App Access
(act immediately)
Complete your company profile in the event app
Check all team members are linked correctly to your profile
Build your list of 50 to 100 target accounts ready for outreach on 10 August
Register your team for networking events and social functions
Monday 10 August — Attendee App Access
(begin outreach)
Begin sending targeted meeting requests immediately
Pair app outreach with LinkedIn connection requests
One Week Out
Confirm all pre-booked meetings and prepare briefing notes for your team
Set up lead qualification questions in your scanner before the event
Brief the stand team on goals, activations, and key target accounts
Prepare your Day 1 follow-up email template in advance
On Site
Scan every visitor to your stand, every time
Tag and qualify leads in real time using your pre-set questions
Post genuine insights to LinkedIn during the event
Update your stand activation daily to give people a reason to return
After the Event
Send personalised thank-you emails within 24 hours of the event closing
Send LinkedIn connection requests on Day 2 to 3
Make phone calls to warm and hot leads on Day 4 to 5
Tag all leads in your CRM with the event name and lead tier
Send a value-led check-in email the following week
Continue nurturing with relevant content through weeks 2 to 6
Build your pipeline and schedule review points at 3, 6, and 12 months
Final Thoughts
The sponsors who generate the greatest return from Phacilitate events are rarely those with the largest stands. They are the ones who arrive with clarity of purpose, the right people in the room, and a disciplined plan for every interaction. We are genuinely rooting for you.
Need Help?
Your dedicated Phacilitate account manager is your primary point of contact for all event-related matters, from onboarding to networking strategy to post-show measurement. Do not hesitate to reach out at any stage.
Phacilitate’s Next Global Meeting:
Advanced Therapies Europe 2026
Join the industry in Barcelona | 7 - 9 September 2026 for 3 days of deal-making, data-driven insight and serious momentum across cell and gene therapy. From early science to commercial scale, this is where the full ecosystem connects, collaborates and moves the field forward.
