Aspen 2018 Nutrition science & Practice conference

Renaming an Annual Conference

Client

American Society for Parenteral & Enteral Nutrition (ASPEN)

Overview

ASPEN is dedicated to improving patient care by advancing the science and practice of clinical nutrition and metabolism. With 6,400+ members, ASPEN is a global community of health professionals from every facet of nutrition support clinical practice, research and education.

Since 2002, the organization has held an annual meeting called Clinical Nutrition Week (CNW), which attracts 1,800 attendees each year. Prior, the meeting was known as the ASPEN Clinical Congress.

For several years, ASPEN had discussed renaming the meeting in order to:

  • Attract more attendees, in particular physicians.
  • Position CNW as a global meeting.
  • Ensure that the name properly reflects the content and the state of the field.
  • Demonstrate the breadth of content and new features being offered. The Gavilan team worked with ASPEN to determine if a new name should be considered.

Research

The research included:

  • Stakeholder interviews, online surveys and a review of previous research.
  • Development of name options for consideration.
  • An online survey to test word options and priorities for a new name.

Result

Clinical Nutrition Week was renamed ASPEN’s Nutrition Science & Practice Conference.

The new name and logo were introduced at CNW 2017. The logo was presented during the board president’s address; through signage; and through distribution of buttons, magnets and t-shirts. The Gavilan team wrote a multichannel, year-long marketing communications plan to introduce the conference name, which is currently being implemented.