How Boehringer Ingelheim makes every conversation at conferences count

Improved budget management

By implementing a more strategic approach to conference participation, Boehringer Ingelheim enabled 35-45% more effective budget management. With targeted engagement and better alignment of internal colleagues to high-value events, the company maximized the impact of its resources. This focus ensured that funds were allocated where they would deliver the greatest value, reducing unnecessary expenditures and supporting more purposeful participation at key conferences.

BOEHRINGER INGELHEIM CHOSE DEFINITIVE HEALTHCARE TO:

• Map high-value conference contributors to the right internal colleagues
• Prioritize stakeholder engagements using comprehensive intelligence
• Streamline conference preparation and competitive insight work

Making every conference engagement more purposeful for teams

Boehringer Ingelheim leverages its global footprint and scientific leadership to advance therapies across the world. To bring its therapies to the right patients, the company engages deeply with the healthcare ecosystem, sharing scientific insights and clinical data with providers and stakeholders worldwide. Conferences are a key part of this engagement, offering a forum to present research, track emerging trends, and connect with high-value contacts– reinforcing its strategic visibility.

The challenge

Focusing expert engagement at crowded global conferences

Boehringer Ingelheim attends 120–160 conferences globally each year, making it critical to match the right internal colleagues with the right conference contributors. Conferences are crowded, and stakeholder time is limited. Without a clear conference strategy, opportunities can be missed, resources wasted, and engagements less impactful. Preparing means reviewing internal strategy documents, past conference notes, third-party data, and conference schedules, which is a slow, time-consuming process that makes having a clear, complete picture crucial.

Specifically, Boehringer Ingelheim sought to:

• Map high-impact, high-value conferences to high-impact resources
• Stand out in a crowded forum with every major pharma present
• Bring together conference insights from several resources

In short, Boehringer Ingelheim needed a systematic, data-driven approach to prioritize high-value stakeholders, balance resources, and ensure the right people were present to guide productive interactions, so every minute onsite was used with purpose.

The solution

A smarter way to plan for medical and scientific conferences

Boehringer Ingelheim leveraged Monocl Conferences as the core hub for conference planning. The solution provides a clear view of which stakeholders and emerging experts contribute to each event, and which competitors will be represented, including any priority compounds they plan to showcase.

  Using keyword-driven analysis, teams identify the highest-value posters and stage presentations, ensuring they prioritize the sessions that matter most. Monocl Conferences also supports feedback to marketing, guiding pre- and post-conference messaging that aligns with observed trends and stakeholder interests. What once required months of manual research can now be accomplished in days.

Boehringer Ingelheim also used generative AI to combine different sources of information, including Monocl data and internal notes, into complete pre- and post-meeting briefs. By bringing all data together in one place, teams could prepare more efficiently and focus on relationships that could have the biggest impact. 

The impact

35%-45% more effective budget management

Boehringer Ingelheim’s data-driven conference strategy transformed the way teams approach global congresses. By leveraging Monocl Conferences, internal teams focus on the highest-value stakeholders and engagement opportunities. Preparation is faster, travel is more purposeful, and every stakeholder interaction is informed by insights. The result is a smarter, higher-impact approach to global conference strategy and relationship building.

SMARTER ENGAGEMENT: Data-driven conference strategy allows high-value interactions with the right external and internal experts.

BETTER RESOURCE PLANNING: Well-balanced global resource allocation and planning.

COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE: Teams arrive prepared with targeted insights and talking points, making every interaction more impactful.

Collectively, this led to 35%-45% more effective budget management. With these gains, the team could focus its energy on fostering the key relationships that ultimately help deliver transformative therapies to patients.