A glimpse into the trial-naming process.

A few months back, we brought you behind the scenes to see everything that goes into designing logos for clinical trials. And today we’re excited to give you another glimpse into part of our creative process – the development of study and program names. Here are a few approaches our copywriting team uses when a clinical trial branding and naming project is underway.

Draw inspiration from the study or treatment being tested.

Matt, our creative director, often looks to the study design or the treatment vehicle for naming inspiration. For example, let’s see how this came into play when he named the Breeze Study, a clinical trial for an alternative treatment option for patients with type 2 diabetes.

Type 2 diabetes is a chronic condition that can develop over time. When diagnosed, it often requires rigorous lifestyle changes and taking medications every day. And while clinical trials like the Breeze Study aim to comfort patients, nothing is guaranteed throughout the clinical trial process. Breeze Study participants were asked to replace the traditional, proven insulin shots with an experimental inhaler treatment, yet nothing about the study – from the logo to the name – could make the promise of providing relief.

Matt and the team chose to draw inspiration from the treatment vehicle being tested – an inhaler. The word “breeze” had the added bonus of eliciting a feeling of comfort, putting patients’ minds at ease about participating in the trial.

Consider the emotional sensitivity of patients who will participate in the study.

Liz, a creative supervisor, is mindful of the thoughts and feelings of the patient population whenever she names a study. This came into play, for example, when she was developing the name for the Venus Study, which was a trial that tested a treatment for vaginal dryness in women.

A tricky condition to tackle, Liz and the team had to steer clear of the temptation to play off the condition’s implications in an effort to make the topic more approachable.

After taking that into consideration, Liz and the team decided on the Venus Study. By naming the study after the Roman goddess of femininity and sexual desire, the team found a name that targeted women and, at the same time, gave a nod to one of the condition’s major symptoms: pain during intercourse.

Speak in a language relevant to the target population.

Meagan, a senior copywriter, often looks to the population being recruited for naming inspiration. For example, let’s look at how she landed on the name for the GoodNature Program, a program seeking stool donations in the hope of advancing medical treatment for C. difficile (or C. diff), a bacterium that can cause a potentially fatal infection.

Meagan and the team considered both that the program aimed to recruit college-aged individuals and that it was a donation-based program requiring participants to make a heavy time commitment.

Meagan arrived at the GoodNature Program. This name spoke to the altruistic nature of participants willing to give their time and resources for the sake of research; it also had a lighthearted double meaning (alluding to the “nature” of the study) that appealed to the younger target demographic.

At all times, keep in mind the parameters of the pharmaceutical space.

In addition to the specific points we’ve discussed, our entire creative team has some general guidelines they live by when developing names for studies. They include:

• Assessing potential study names against the chosen creative to assure the two are working in tandem
• Being cognizant of review board scrutiny and internal compliance regulations
• Ensuring there are no other studies actively recruiting with the same or a similar name
• Confirming that website URLs containing the potential study names are available

There’s so much more that goes into naming a study than patients and doctors may realize. Have you recently come across a clinical trial or program with a great name? Let us know in the comments! And if you’re interested in having us name your upcoming trial, we’d love to connect with you.