Application to Exhibit

• Eligibility
• Application Process
• Booth Configurations
• Payments and Refunds

Eligibility

ASH is committed to providing a quality exhibition. For an exhibit application to be accepted by ASH, the products and services must be educational in nature and directly relate to hematology or the medical field. Applicants may qualify to exhibit if at least two of the product categories listed on the Application to Exhibit are applicable. The Exhibitor Information portion of the application must be completed in order to be considered for participation.

ASH reserves the right to accept or reject a potential exhibitor based on its assessment of whether its products and/or services are relevant to ASH members and meeting attendees. All exhibits will be reviewed on site by ASH.

ASH will require exhibitors representing joint ventures, nonprofit organizations, or market research companies to provide additional information before being accepted. Please review the paragraphs below for more information.

Joint Ventures
The definition of a joint venture/co-marketing agreement is that in which two or more companies are developing, manufacturing, producing, or distributing the same product. Companies having such a business agreement may choose to: 1) be aligned on the exhibit floor adjacent to each other in order to jointly promote the specific product; 2) be represented by only one of the companies in the agreement utilizing exhibit space, but displaying, through signage, that the product is a joint venture/co-marketed product; 3) exhibit in one booth under the joint venture name with one contact person coordinating all joint-venture booth staff and activities.

Space allocation will be based on the current priority point average of the companies in the agreement. If only one company is exhibiting the co-marketed product, ASH will work with that exhibiting company. Subletting of booth space for the purpose of allowing another company to exhibit within the principal exhibit will not be permitted.

Nonprofit Organizations
ASH encourages hematology-related nonprofit organizations to exhibit by offering a discounted 10’x10’ booth fee of $550. ASH will set aside a specific area of the exhibit hall for nonprofit organizations. Those who pay the rate of $550 will be placed in the nonprofit area, which is adjacent to the poster hall. If an organization would like a booth outside of the nonprofit area, the regular, published exhibit booth rate must be paid. If all space in the nonprofit area is utilized, booth space will be assigned by ASH to areas designated outside of the nonprofit area at the nonprofit rate.

Nonprofit organizations are limited to one 10’x10’ booth at the nonprofit rate. Additional booths may be purchased at the regular, published rates. Nonprofit organizations will be able to use accumulated priority points for booth assignment in the designated nonprofit area only. In order to obtain the $550 rate, proof of nonprofit status, such as a 501(c)3 form, must be submitted with the Application to Exhibit.

Market Research Companies
Market research companies will be assigned booth space only if research is being conducted for an approved ASH exhibitor. In addition to completing the Application to Exhibit, the market research company must submit the name of the exhibiting company for which it is conducting research, the reason for the research, and a copy of the survey to Arthinia Morgan, Exhibits Specialist, at amorgan@hematology.org. The sponsoring companies need not be revealed, although no misrepresentation should be made.

Market research companies must be approved by ASH to conduct research for an exhibiting company. Attendees must be able to complete the questionnaires in 10 minutes or less, and a sign must be placed in the exhibit booth stating the length of the survey. Cash payments to attendees for survey participation are not allowed.

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Application Process

Step 1: Application
Complete the exhibitor application. Full payment in the form of a check or money order should be mailed with a copy of your application to the address listed on the application. Payment by credit card or wire transfer is not accepted.

Step 2: Placement
Booth assignments will be made first to those companies with priority points that have submitted the Application to Exhibit and paid the total booth space rental fee by June 30, 2008. Booth space will be assigned based on the ASH priority-point system.

Companies and organizations with priority points that submit their forms and payment after June 30 will not receive priority placement.

Beginning Monday, July 7, completed Applications to Exhibit that have been submitted with full payment will be date stamped in the order in which they are received to determine placement on a first-come, first-served basis.

Preferred booth numbers must be indicated on the Application to Exhibit or ASH will choose your booth location for you. Please see the exhibit hall floor plan. The floor plan is tentative, and most booth spaces may be reconfigured; colored areas indicate spaces for 10’x10’ booths, which may not be reconfigured. If the requested booth numbers are unavailable, ASH will choose the best available location.

Step 3: Notification
Exhibitors will receive confirmations with the booth assignments after July 7, 2008. All correspondence, including booth placement notification, will be sent to the exhibitor contact by e-mail. An online exhibitor service manual containing service order forms (furniture, shipping, drayage, lead retrieval, etc.) will be available on the ASH Web site in September.

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Booth Configurations

All exhibit backgrounds must conform to the standards set by the Healthcare Convention Exhibitors Association as follows:

• No side rails or counters may exceed 3 feet in height.
• Backgrounds are limited to 8 feet in height (12 feet for perimeter booths) and must not protrude more than 5 feet from the back wall.
• Exhibit construction may not exceed the height of the side rail except in the back half of the booth as noted above.
  
• The reverse side of any wing panel extending from the back wall of the display must be draped in order to avoid raw exposure to a neighboring booth. If the exhibitor does not comply, ASH will have the decorator drape the area at the exhibitor’s expense.
• Corner booths may eliminate the outside 3-foot side rail, if desired.
  
• Absolutely no storage of any kind will be permitted behind an exhibitor’s booth. If the exhibitor does not comply, ASH will have the storage removed at the exhibitor’s expense.
  
• Additional pipe and drape will be required for those booths that have exposed areas between the back wall of their structure and the back wall of the booth.

Please note: Due to a limited amount of space available in the exhibit hall, a square footage cap of 2,500 square feet (50’x50’) will be placed on all island booths. There will be no exceptions.

• Island booths must be constructed to allow access from all sides, with a clear and open sight line enabling an attendee to view the surrounding exhibit area through the island booth. For every 12 feet of solid wall, there must be a 4-foot breakage.
• The top of the booth’s sign must not extend more than 20 feet from the exhibit hall floor and cannot block visibility of ASH signs or other exhibitor’s booths. Variances will not be granted.

An island booth that is 1,000 square feet or more requires the submission of a detailed drawing of the booth to ASH for approval no later than Friday, September 5. Drawings must be submitted to Arthinia Morgan, Exhibits Specialist, via e-mail at amorgan@hematology.org or by fax to 202-292-0269.

Multi-Level Booth

• A certified structural drawing must be submitted and approved by the Moscone Convention Center’s Fire Marshal at least 90 days in advance of the first move-in day, to allow sufficient time for any needed corrections.
• The convention center requires one 2A10BC-type fire extinguisher, which must be easily accessible and unobstructed from view, on each level of the display.
• All areas under multi-level booths must be equipped with a UL-approved, battery-operated smoke detector attached to the ceiling or under-structure.
• No ceilings are allowed on the topmost level.
• If any deck is designated to hold more than 10 people, a second staircase is required for emergency evacuations.
• All stairways must be at least 3 feet in width and must be equipped with a handrail on at least one side.

The final floor plan must be submitted to ASH by Friday, September 5, and ASH will forward these final plans to the Moscone Convention Center for approval. Drawings may be sent by mail to Arthinia Morgan, Exhibits Specialist, or by fax to 202-292-0269.

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Payments and Refunds

Payment must be made by check or money order in U.S. dollars only and drawn on a U.S. bank. Wire transfers and credit card payments will not be accepted.

The Application to Exhibit and full payment must be mailed to:
American Society of Hematology
P.O. Box 79210
Baltimore, MD 21279-0210

• Do not send overnight packages to the above address.
  
• Faxed documents, wire transfers, and credit card payments will not be accepted.
  
• Applications will not be considered unless the Application to Exhibit and full payment are received together.

Booth Cancellation
The deadline date to cancel booth space and receive a refund is September 5, 2008. ASH will subtract a $250 processing fee. After this date, there will be no refunds for booth space cancellations. No exceptions will be made.

Downsizing of Booth Space
Exhibitors must submit any requests for downsizing of booth space to ASH in writing by Friday, September 5, in order to receive a refund for booth fees, less a $250 processing fee. Requests received after Friday, September 5, will not be eligible for a refund. Exhibitors that change the size of their exhibit space are not guaranteed the originally assigned location and are subject to relocation by ASH.

Booth Relocation
ASH reserves the right to reconfigure the floor plan at any time prior to the annual meeting. If a booth assignment is changed, notification will be sent prior to the annual meeting. If a booth is downsized by ASH, the exhibiting company will receive a refund for the difference in price.

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