Flawless by Design: How MTA Delivered at ATS Congress

The Event

• A global life sciences customer participated in the 2025 American Thoracic Society (ATS) Congress in San Francisco, CA. With both commercial and medical teams on-site, the customer hosted a robust slate of activities. This multi-layered presence required 6–8 months of meticulous planning across stakeholders, platforms, and vendors. From the outset, MTA was embedded as a strategic partner – ensuring alignment, readiness, and room for agility as congress needs evolved.

The Challenge

• This global congress brought together internal stakeholders and HCPs from around the world. Due to varying international travel requirements, our team navigated time-sensitive attendee changes driven by external restrictions at the country level.
• Adding to the complexity, the customer’s agenda expanded significantly in the weeks leading up to ATS due to evolving internal priorities. These additions were linked to broader developments in the product lifecycle and required rapid pivoting to accommodate critical, cross-functional activities without impacting previously confirmed plans.
• Despite budget parameters and vendor-related pressures, MTA led with precision. Our approach: focus on what works – clean handoffs, scalable frameworks, and thoughtful use of tools to reduce friction and keep execution strong through the finish line.

The Results

• MTA’s team delivered flawlessly across every aspect of the event:
  • Managing all of the pre-event planning including:
    • Managing attendee registration
    • Securing hotel room blocks
    • Managing speakers for each symposium
    • Arranging speakers’ transportation
    • Submitting requests for approval of auxiliary meetings
    • Sourcing meeting locations
    • Coordinating all onsite staffing
• Proactive Preparedness: Anticipating potential last-minute changes, our team pre-printed badges, configured overflow plans, and implemented signage strategies to manage traffic and streamline guest navigation.
• Strategic Staffing: Described as “perfect” by senior stakeholders, staffing was aligned to every touchpoint through detailed forecasting, delivering VIP-level support while remaining within budget.
• Vendor & Venue Coordination: Strong relationships with congress organizers allowed for swift venue sourcing and approvals – critical to accommodating new activity layers within a narrow planning window.
• Agility Through Collaboration: Working across shared platforms, we jointly identified and deployed the most effective tools for real-time documentation and communication. This enabled us to ideate and execute an entire suite of newly added activities – some finalized just weeks ahead of the congress.
• “No one called me or asked me any questions, either in the week before or while you guys were onsite. And I think that speaks to the amazing execution that everybody did.” Even well-planned programs present unexpected surprises behind the scenes. The stakeholder’s comment reflects the depth of trust our customers place in MTA to manage complexity seamlessly and deliver with confidence.