Checklist for marketing a trial

This checklist has been contributed by Barbara Farrell who prepared it for the second version of the Trial Managers Guide.

At the protocol and funding stage:

Choose a good acronym
Budget for marketing costs, such as newsletters, collaborators' meetings, headed notepaper
Develop partnerships with consumer groups, invite their comments on the protocol and budget for their ongoing input
Start developing the collaborative group

At the start up and recruitment stage:

Choose a striking logo, and put it on a letterhead and all trial materials
Write articles for medical journals and consumer conferences
Present papers and posters at relevant conferences
Provide user friendly, attractive, and stylish trial materials along with clear guidance on how to use them
Be proactive and inclusive in encouraging people to join the collaborative group
Visit centres, meet and talk to as many of those involved in the trial as possible
Consider a 24 hour on call service for dealing with trial queries
Consider a launch meeting for collaborators
Consider a dedicated trial website

To maintain recruitment:

Circulate regular newsletters with updates on progress
Use posters or letters of congratulation to acknowledge good progress
Consider offering incentives for achieving targets, such as T-shirts, mugs or pens
Consider focused collaborators' meetings, bringing together people who work in the same region or country
Use opportunities to 'piggy-back' small meetings on to national or international conferences
Visit centres where there are particular difficulties