Collaborating with a graduate marketing class to boost awareness of the aids and cancer specimen resource

Abstract

The AIDS and Cancer Specimen Resource (ACSR) was built and maintained to support research into cancers in individuals infected with the HIV by providing specimens at no charge. Numerous methods to reach investigators about this resource have been used, but the possibility of underusage of the resource has been a concern. Using a commercial marketing firm to raise awareness was not a possibility for the ACSR. However, a unique academic interdisciplinary collaboration was developed with a marketing communications course using primary and secondary marketing research and experiential learning applied to the ACSR. The cross disciplinary approach promoted greater understanding of the intersection between medical research, biobanking, and business. The collaboration resulted in new strategies to improve the visibility of the ACSR by focusing on its social media presence, creating a database of potential new users, enhancing the ACSR website, and making domain name changes. Lessons learned from this exercise should have general applicability across the field of biorepositories.