Recruitment Help Update: When is Marketing/Communications Review Now Required?

November/December 2023 Issue

(Note: This article includes important new information about when institutional Communications review of recruitment materials is required.)

Author(s):

• Matt Ogrodnik, MS, CIP
  Director, Office of Human Research Affairs

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• Introduction
• When is Marketing/Communications Review Now Required?
• Promotional Material Options
• Requesting Review or Recruitment Assistance
• Conclusion

Introduction

Readers of the CR TIMES know that there are a myriad of steps needed to successfully complete a clinical research project, and each of the steps can be difficult to complete:  getting funding; getting all of the regulatory approvals; conducting a study that is compliant; and recruiting sufficient participants.  The latter is crucial, as failure to recruit sufficient participants to answer your research question means that all of the previous work you have done was for naught. 

Both Boston Medical Center (BMC) and Boston University (BU) have marketing professionals that can help you develop marketing materials and strategies to help in recruitment. 

The Marketing/Communications offices at BMC, BU Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, BU School of Public Health, and BU Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine have a single portal to facilitate interaction between investigators and these two resources. As soon as you are ready (you do not have to wait for IRB approval for your study), you can submit a request through this portal for assistance in developing a study-specific strategy or to request use of their branded templates.

In addition, because both BMC and BU have institutional requirements about use of their respective “branding,” certain types of recruitment materials must be submitted through this portal for sign-off by the appropriate office. One new change is that other types of recruitment materials are not required to undergo review by the appropriate office, but these offices do recommend use of their templates.

When is Marketing/Communications Review Now Required?

The Marketing and Communications (Mar/Comm) offices have recently updated their policies for when their review of promotional recruitment materials is required. Previously, all branded promotional materials needed to be approved by the appropriate Mar/Comm office prior to use (and, thus, the IRB would not approve these types of promotional materials without the Mar/Comm approval documentation).

• Moving forward, printed materials such as flyers, brochures, and postcards that are only physically disseminated at Boston Medical Center or on the Medical Campus do not require Mar/Comm approval. Instead, these offices recommend that studies use the branded templates for printed materials like flyers and postcards. Regardless of whether you choose to use the professional templates or create your own materials, you do not need Mar/Comm approval if they will only be posted or handed out at Boston Medical Center or in another Medical Campus location.

• Promotional materials that are external-facing (i.e., distributed beyond the physical BMC hospital or Medical Campus sites) will still require the Mar/Comm approval documentation. This includes promotional materials such as social media posts, web advertising, email blasts, newspaper/digital media, or printed materials that are disseminated off-campus (such as advertisements on public transportation).

• Please remember that the IRB still needs to review and approve *all* types of recruitment materials prior to use. The information in this paragraph is only referring to the institutional Mar/Comm review.

Promotional Material Options

These Mar/Comm offices do their best to fulfill promotional material requests. All currently available options are outlined here:

Flyers and Postcards
It is highly recommended that you use the branded templates provided by Mar/Comm. When you submit the form, the team will send you a document that contains all branded templates. Print materials disseminated at BMC or on the Medical Campus do not require a Mar/Comm approval stamp.

- Budget: $150-175 to print 100 copies on professional paper. $0 to print internally.

Social Media Advertisement
These offices have partnered with BuildClinical who specialize in landing page development and social/digital ads for research recruitment campaigns. Mar/Comm can connect you to a rep.

- Budget: Majority of studies are $1,000 to $3,000 per month per campaign. The price range is dependent on a few factors such as study design, inclusion/exclusion criteria, the number of participants you still need, and time left to recruit.

Facebook Post
Graphics for Facebook posts can be developed in Marq, which is a web-based desktop publishing software application. Mar/Comm from BMC, BU Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, BUSPH, or BU Dental can upload 1 post on behalf of your study. Please note that the timing of the post must work with their broader social media calendars.

Newspaper/Digital Media Advertisement
Mar/Comm teams can discuss larger media buy options on a case-by-case basis.

- Budget: $900-$15K (this is a wide range depending on your audience, placements, etc.)

Website & Email placement
The following two options are initiated by the study team, not Mar/Comm. There is no charge for any of these placements.

• Have your study listed on bmc.org. The link to the listings is emailed each week in “The Week Ahead” email newsletter to all BMC staff. Email the Clinical Trial Office at CTO@bmc.org
• Submit your study to the BUMC News & Events email, sent to all faculty, staff and students on the Medical Campus every Monday morning. Submit your information through: wwwapp.bumc.bu.edu/weeklyemailer/Home/Start.
• For general questions, please contact: dg-brand@bmc.org.

Requesting Review or Recruitment Assistance

To request review or assistance, please follow these steps:
Go to this website: www.bmc.org/researchpromotion and fill out the form by providing the following information:

• Study Name
• Study INSPIR H-number
• Home Institution of the principal investigator (i.e., BMC, BU Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, BU Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine, or BU School of Public Health; if unsure check www.bumc.bu.edu/PIfinder)
• Your name and email
• Study website URL, email address, and/or phone number
• Brief lay description of the study for recruitment purposes
• Type of promotional material
• Flyer
• Brochure
• Internal Communication
• Newspaper Advertisement/Paid Media Placement
• Postcard
• Social Media/Digital Advertisement
• Social Media Post
• Other
• None - Sponsor supplied materials
• Ideal deadline
• Any related attachments (e.g., relevant images/files/existing flyers about your study OR upload sponsor-supplied materials)
• Any additional relevant notes for Mar/Comm to consider

The appropriate Mar/Comm office will then follow up with you to discuss further. Please note that completing this form is the only way to receive the branded templates; they are not posted publicly. When you submit this Mar/Comm request form, you will receive an automatic email containing the institutional templates.

Conclusion

Recruiting enough participants to successfully fulfill your sample size is an important component of ethical research. We encourage all studies to take advantage of the professional help from the appropriate Mar/Comm office.

Please note that Mar/Comm review of your recruitment materials is also required if the materials will be disseminated outside of the physical BMC/BU Medical Campus location. If, however, you are only disseminating printed materials at BMC or at another physical Medical Campus location, the Mar/Comm review is no longer required. Instead, you are recommended to use their branded templates when creating your printed materials.

The steps in this process that have been described in this article are also found in the Research Promotion Toolkit document here.