The Challenge:
RadCare Services (RCS) was founded in 2012 by medical devices sales reps with a firsthand understanding of the risks inside operating rooms. Co-founder Justin McKay regularly wore hospital-issued lead aprons and thyroid collars designed to protect staff from radiation exposure during imaging procedures. But after contracting ringworm from contaminated protective gear (ew!) and being told to simply “wipe it off and get back to work,” he saw a major gap in healthcare safety practices.
That experience became the foundation for RCS: providing inspection, cleaning, and disinfection services for x-ray protective garments in healthcare settings.
When Marketing Director Hayley Cazares prepared to exhibit RCS at the AORN Global Surgical Conference & Expo in New Orleans, she wanted the booth to feel different from the standard conference setup. Inspired by the immersive, interactive spaces of Indy’s own Gen Con, Hayley envisioned an experience that would pull attendees in rather than waiting for them to stop by.
She partnered with Tactive and connected with Account Executive Megan Parcell, whose own background as a radiographer made her a natural fit for the project. Together, they developed a booth concept designed to turn a serious healthcare topic into something tactile, memorable, and genuinely fun to explore.
The Solution:
The booth stood out immediately on the show floor. Bright yellow branding covered nearly every surface, from staff shirts and tote bags to oversized “lead apron” cutouts, fabric backdrop walls, and carpet decals that guided attendees through each stop of the activation – all created with Tactive’s help.
At the entrance of the booth was an interactive spinner wheel where each guest was assigned an apron that determined their outcome. Some aprons revealed contamination and earned attendees an enamel pin shaped like the specific bacteria infecting their gear, while others had been “professionally cleaned” by RCS and awarded a shield-logo pin instead. Every participant also received a custom purple “Scrub Daddy”-inspired sponge giveaway to match the cleaning theme.
The activation quickly drew crowds, with attendees lining up to participate, even asking to return and collect the entire set of bacteria pins. Hayley shared that RCS would normally expect around 75–100 leads from an event like this… but with the interactive booth set-up at AORN, the team collected 650 badge scans.
Beyond the numbers, the experience changed the energy inside the booth itself. Instead of the typical trade show dynamic of trying to pull attendees into conversation, the RCS team found themselves leading enthusiastic participants through an experience people actively wanted to engage with.
For attendees, the booth was fun. For RCS, it was proof that interactive experiences create stronger conversations, stronger engagement, and stronger results than a table full of brochures ever could.
