Felix Abt
First fashion show in Egypt organized by a multinational pharma company! Read more here:
As country director of a multinational pharmaceutical group, Felix Abt intended to introduce a new treatment in Egypt that had already proven highly cost-effective in European countries. It was protecting patients during and after surgeries against infectious diseases. Surgeons in Egypt were extremely busy and had no interest to come to an event where foreign medical professors would talk to them about their experience. Worse still, Felix Abt was told by his staff: "It's totally useless to organize an event for surgeons!"
Abt learned that Egyptian women, in particular those from the middle and upper classes were extremely fond of fashion and fashion shows. A textile manufacturing industry association had planned a fashion show at the Nile Hilton Hotel in Cairo, due to take place a few months later. Felix Abt decided to organize the medical event on the same day at the same location. The fashion show organizers had their fashion show during the day and Abt asked them if they could repeat it later in the evening. Since the fashion models were already there that day, the cost for the additional fashion show was minimal.
Felix Abt's sales staff brought invitations to the wives of Egypt's leading surgeons. They were highly pleased and made sure that their busy husbands accompanied them to the Nile Hilton, a 5-star hotel, now called the Nile Ritz-Carlton which stands between Tahrir Square, the birthplace of Egypt's "revolution" in 2011; the iconic Egyptian Museum; and the burned-out headquarters of the ousted dictator Hosny Mubarak’s National Democratic Party.
While the wives enjoyed the fashion show there, the husbands listened to the lectures by European peers. The product launch became an instant success: The opinion leaders and leading prescribers embraced the new treatment. But without the doctors' wives' fondness of Western-style fashion shows the introduction of the new medicine would have become nothing but a costly uphill struggle.
First fashion show in Egypt organized by a multinational pharma company! Read more here:
As country director of a multinational pharmaceutical group, Felix Abt intended to introduce a new treatment in Egypt that had already proven highly cost-effective in European countries. It was protecting patients during and after surgeries against infectious diseases. Surgeons in Egypt were extremely busy and had no interest to come to an event where foreign medical professors would talk to them about their experience. Worse still, Felix Abt was told by his staff: "It's totally useless to organize an event for surgeons!"
Abt learned that Egyptian women, in particular those from the middle and upper classes were extremely fond of fashion and fashion shows. A textile manufacturing industry association had planned a fashion show at the Nile Hilton Hotel in Cairo, due to take place a few months later. Felix Abt decided to organize the medical event on the same day at the same location. The fashion show organizers had their fashion show during the day and Abt asked them if they could repeat it later in the evening. Since the fashion models were already there that day, the cost for the additional fashion show was minimal.
Felix Abt's sales staff brought invitations to the wives of Egypt's leading surgeons. They were highly pleased and made sure that their busy husbands accompanied them to the Nile Hilton, a 5-star hotel, now called the Nile Ritz-Carlton which stands between Tahrir Square, the birthplace of Egypt's "revolution" in 2011; the iconic Egyptian Museum; and the burned-out headquarters of the ousted dictator Hosny Mubarak’s National Democratic Party.
While the wives enjoyed the fashion show there, the husbands listened to the lectures by European peers. The product launch became an instant success: The opinion leaders and leading prescribers embraced the new treatment. But without the doctors' wives' fondness of Western-style fashion shows the introduction of the new medicine would have become nothing but a costly uphill struggle.