The principles of clinical trial advertising

With so much importance given to marketing in other industries, why not use the same principles in the clinical trial industry?

Advertising is used in every industry and when used well it is the determining factor of a successful product, service or project. With so much importance given to marketing in other industries, why not use the same principles in the clinical trial industry? Although there are regulations which might make you think twice, a combination of solid strategy & execution can make advertising for your next trial very powerful.

Like all adverts, the main purpose of advertisements for clinical trials is to create engaging content which attracts audiences to interact with your ad, with the addition of strict guidelines established by your local regulators. It may seem at first these constraints from regulators would make it difficult to create effective ads. However, with some strategy, basic rules and critical thinking, your ad can be a perfect fit when it comes to fulfilling your recruitment goals.

As with any industry that demands advertising, it’s all about being flexible and open to testing (not once but several times). Once you get the hang of it, the process of testing, optimising and running your ads will be a cyclical process that only serves to strengthen your recruitment campaign. The below examples are some of the methods we have used at Clinrol. Keep in mind that some may work and some may not but it is up to you to test and optimise!

Appeal to the emotional response of volunteering

It is said that the top reason why a participant is interested in joining a trial is that they want to help their community and be involved in finding the next generation of treatments. Tapping into the notion that people want to seek better treatments for their peers is a promising approach when writing copy. Examples include:

“Help find the next generation of treatment for Psoriasis”

“Over 100 million people suffer from diabetes. Help fight the disease by enrolling into a clinical trial”

Discuss the benefits of taking part in a trial

A good way to appeal to potential participants is talking about the benefits. However, with regulation in most jurisdictions you cannot entice patients with pay, especially non-healthy volunteers. Of course, there are other benefits when taking part in a clinical trial. These include routine and often better medical care then standard of care. Patients may also find benefit in embracing alternative treatments to what they are currently receiving, particularly when the alternative treatment is free. Additionally, appealing to being part of a new therapy is also going to be seen as a benefit for many audiences.

Be more specific in your ad copy

Although generic ad copy that caters for a larger audience will allow you to increase the amount of leads, the quality of your leads may lower as a result. To attract the right type of audience and obtain the right type of participants, it helps to be specific in your ad copy with regards to the inclusion and exclusion criteria of the trial. This will increase the likelihood that the people clicking on the ad are eligible for your trial. It is always a fine balance though - if you provide too much information, you may bore and lose a potential lead.

Pick the right image

Imagery is said to connect with people more than words. Picking the right image for your ad is critical to attract potential patients into your next clinical trial. For example, for an Alzheimer’s disease study, it would be appropriate to use a picture with a person with a loved one or carer. For a diet or exercise trial, it may be appropriate to have pictures of food or someone doing exercise. It is important to take the time to brainstorm and determine the best picture for the trial in question before creating the ad. Researching your patient population will also help, to better find images that attract the right demographic.

Ad type

The next challenge for your ad, is the ad type. Whether this is on Facebook or Google search, there are several ways ads show up on any given platform. For example, for a younger demographic, it may be more appropriate to engage with them through Facebook stories, Instagram or Reddit. For older demographics, perhaps Google display ads or search will be of greater benefit. As previously discussed, it is important to test, optimise and run various types of ads, to ensure the best engagement with your material. Without doing so, you may be spending too much money and time in the wrong areas.