Big Society Meetings are a staple in the foot and ankle community and a must attend event for education, comradery, and business. ACFAS was able to sneak theirs in just before the pandemic put us all on hold. AOFAS Summer Meeting is scheduled for 9/9 which seems just far enough away that the meeting may be able to take place, but should it? Will people attend? Will companies have the cash to put up these massive booths and staff them this year? I for one, do hope the meeting takes place, even if it is a slimmed down version.

Regardless, it seems that virtual meetings are here to stay, for the near term at minimum. With a ton of webinars popping up every week, getting attention and attendance will get harder and harder for the marketing teams behind these events.

What can companies do to stand out? Producing great content on current practice topics or new products are one way to do it. CME? That would help, especially with the cancellation of many local and state-run meetings.

Look at what Dr. Myerson did this past weekend, 48 hours of live Foot and Ankle talks from around the world. Registrants had the opportunity to view 102 talks. Right now, Steps2Walk Global Congress is the king. Who’s next? Maybe us?

DISCLAIMER:
This is all being drawn up in the dirt as I type, so bear with me.

PROPOSAL:  FAN BATTLES

Pitting product or service categories relevant to foot and ankle surgeons against each other in some type of webinar format would provide something different for the viewers.

These head to head talks could extend to all sorts of products and services: TTC Fusion Nails, DME Products, MIS Systems, Telemedicine Platforms, TAR systems, DME, Frames, Soft tissue and more.

We could have Surgeon vs Surgeon or even Sales Rep vs Sales Rep for a little change of pace. As we all know there are many different ways to skin a cat, so the presentations wouldn’t need to be too cutthroat or combative, just a different format to present information on products or services.

EXAMPLE OF A BATTLE: Rotational Bunions

Rotational bunions have been making some serious noise over the last couple years. Former Wright Medical executive John Treace and Treace Medical have created and taken the market by storm around a single product – the LAPIPLASTY Procedure.

Featured in their LinkenIn post yesterday, Treace Medical highlighted their achievements as the “recognized leader in advancing the study of hallux valgus” and “is the #1 bunion product in the US.” Truly amazing accomplishments. With success comes competition, and in the highly competitive extremities market, it has arrived.

Wright medical recently launched its LAPIFUSE product at ACFAS in San Antonio this February. Zimmer and Nextremity have the INCORE Lapidus Nail System that “stabilizes correction in all three planes.” P28 has a proximal TMT sparring product called the PROMO, is that the answer?

Treace vs Lapifuse vs Promo vs Incore?

Can FAN become the UFC of the Foot and Ankle World?

  • Question One: Should we battle and is this something you would want to see/be interested in? EMAIL US YES OR NO
  • Question Two: Are you a doctor or a company who would like to participate in a future battle?  EMAIL US YES OR NO