Explained: astraZeneca redefined ASCO 2025 with sustainable design

Objectives

The project set out clear goals:

• Reinforce AstraZeneca’s leadership in oncology.
• Showcase a unified, global portfolio spanning pipeline to therapies.
• Engage healthcare professionals (HCPs) across every touchpoint with tailored, interactive journeys.
• Create a modular, scalable toolkit adaptable to 300+ events annually over 3 years.
• Embed sustainability as a visible design principle, aligned with AstraZeneca’s Net Zero 2030 commitment.
• Deliver measurable improvements in engagement, efficiency, and environmental performance

Strategy

Our research with oncologists and insights from our research reports highlighted two imperatives: interactivity and responsibility. Delegates consistently valued personalized, immersive experiences that sparked dialogue - and increasingly expected visible commitments to sustainability. In a crowded environment, a booth that combined both would stand apart.

Creative Concept

From these insights emerged the creative territory: ‘Explore for yourself the possibilities of what science can do.’ Oncology is advancing rapidly, and AstraZeneca’s pioneering pipeline offers much to discover.

The booth was designed as an invitation to step inside a world of science, guided by an ecosystem avatar symbolizing oncology’s interconnected community - patients, advocates, HCPs, scientists, and partners. Leadership was expressed not in volume, but in depth of experience and the integrity of sustainable design.

Execution

Architecture and Journeys

The booth reimagined delegate flow from the inside out. Towering 20-foot fabrics and curved architecture created a flowing, open yet intimate space. The design accounted for three visitor behaviors - skimmers, paddlers, and divers - ensuring that every delegate, whether seeking headlines or deep exploration, found a tailored path.

Immersive Content & Technology Ecosystem

The booth moved beyond static displays to become a living environment - a fusion of immersive storytelling and cutting-edge technology.

• 23 LED screens and 19 synced displays created a continuous, 360° visual landscape.
• Six 77-inch transparent OLED touchscreens — a world first and the first units off the production line - offered futuristic, intuitive interactivity never before seen on a congress floor.
• Floor screens, directional audio, and dynamic lighting enveloped delegates in synchronized sensory experiences.
• Apple Vision Pro provided a next-generation perspective on AstraZeneca’s science.
• Interactive tools - including 8 touchscreen apps, 18 iPads, RFID-enabled personalization, and QR-based mobile tools - empowered delegates to control their own journey.
• All content was powered by FOYAH, Emota’s custom content management system, which allowed delegates to curate personalized baskets of content and instantly transfer them to their own devices.

At the heart of it all was the unique creative approach – a particle-based ecosystem avatar, evolving across every screen to guide delegates through personalized journeys. This integration of creative design, immersive media, and breakthrough technology turned the booth into a dynamic world of science - content not to watch, but to experience.

Sustainability by Design

Sustainability was not an afterthought but the foundation of the entire booth design. Using Emota’s Enviroplan methodology, the build prioritized modularity, material innovation, and circular design thinking.

Key material choices included (see supporting document for more):

• FSC-certified modular furniture: 50% fewer fabrication steps, reusable across 300+ congresses.
• Structural cardboard: 70% less CO₂e than MDF, fully recyclable.
• Recycled PET acoustic panels: chemical-free, durable, recyclable.
• Carpet from recycled bottles: reused across shows, landfill diversion programme.
• Paper art from 85% recycled paper: sustainable alternative to vinyl and foamboard

All materials were celebrated as design features and explained in a dedicated sustainability zone - reinforcing that sustainability was not hidden behind the scenes, but a visible, integral part of the experience.

Scalability and Circularity

The booth was designed as a toolkit for reuse across three years and 300+ annual events worldwide. Modular layouts flexed like digital interfaces, adapting to any venue while maintaining visual consistency. This transformed the booth from a single-use build into a long-term asset - reducing waste, lowering fabrication and transport emissions, and embedding year-on-year sustainability gains.

Results

Audience Engagement

The results exceeded expectations:

• 18,257 unique visitors - 41% of all ASCO attendees.
• 87% conversion from walkway traffic.
• 11% of visitors returned for repeat engagement.
• Average dwell time: 7 minutes 10 seconds.
• 2,209+ touchscreen content views

Delegates responded with enthusiasm, with AstraZeneca’s booth widely hailed as the standout of ASCO 2025.

Sustainability Impact

Measured through the BOSS system (see the supporting document for more details):

• 85% overall Sustainability Score
• ‘Green’ rating on the Carbon Action Indicator
• 3 UN SDGs supported
• ‘Potential for Positive Change’ designation (meeting all six auditable criteria)

Material reductions included:

• 67.9% lower CO₂e (cardboard)
• 70% less CO₂e (carpet)
• 90% less CO₂e (paper art)
• 10% less LED use vs 2024

Waste Reduction & Circular Value

Perhaps the most significant sustainability achievement was the toolkit reuse model. By designing the booth for redeployment across three years and over 300 annual shows, AstraZeneca dramatically reduced fabrication waste and eliminated the ‘single-use’ booth model that dominates the exhibition industry. Each reuse compounds carbon and waste savings, proving that high-impact activations can also be circular by design.

Commercial Efficiency

Sustainability also delivered efficiency:

• 12% budget reduction compared to 2024
• Freight reduced from 12 trucks to 9, cutting both cost and carbon

Brand and Industry Impact

The design extended AstraZeneca’s leadership beyond the show floor:

• 50% more LinkedIn mentions than the nearest competitor
• 20% more combined mentions across LinkedIn and Twitter than the nearest competitor

More importantly, the booth was widely recognized as ‘best of show’ by peers, competitors, associations, and attendees. This recognition was not only about aesthetics - it was acknowledgment that sustainability-led design had set a new benchmark.

Beyond ASCO, Emota’s award-winning Enviroplan methodology used here has been adopted by 80–90% of exhibition clients, and is now extending into live production and logistics. This project has therefore influenced not only AstraZeneca’s approach, but the wider industry - inspiring a shift from temporary spectacle to sustainable experiences that endure.

Bobby Pierro, Senior Manager, AstraZeneca Oncology Exhibitions, said ‘The booth onsite was truly outstanding - every aspect: design, content, technology, film, digital, coffee, all of it. I received (with no exaggeration) hundreds of remarks on how incredible the booth was. It was called ‘best of show’ and, by some, the best they’d ever seen - feedback coming from AZ staff, competitors, stand builders, creative agencies, associations, and attendees alike.

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