CIG Healthcare Partnership is gearing up for the SMART Awards & Conference, which is to be held at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole on Thursday 12 February 2015. The event recognises innovation in training, sales and marketing support in community pharmacy and brings leading industry figures together to share their views.

This year’s SMART Conference is titled ‘OTC Medicines – Protecting Your Brand’ and aims to give voice to the needs of manufacturers, their brands and their sales and marketing personnel. The strong line-up includes a keynote presentation from Dan Germain, head of creative at healthy drinks manufacturer innocent.

Findings from Pharmacy Magazine’s major survey into OTC medicines training will be presented at the conference. The survey asked both pharmacists and pharmacy support staff for their views on a range of training issues, like what kind of training is most effective and how sales protocols can be streamlined.

Other highlights include talks from Brian Moore, chief executive of EMR-Namnews and Christopher Cutts, director of the Centre for Pharmacy Postgraduate Education (CPPE).

The event features panel discussions and Q&A sessions to maximise the opportunity for delegate interaction and input. There will be a wide range of discussion points including how to defend brands’ competitive advantage and embracing health opportunities in a digital world.

The conference starts at 11am, with registration beginning at 10.30am. The price per delegate is £295 + VAT and includes lunch, coffee and tea. The price for five or more places is just £245 + VAT per person.

Places can be booked online at www.smartawardsandconference.com or by emailing your request to smart@1530.com. You can also book by contacting Kate Field on 020 7534 7223 or kate.field@1530.com.