Advertising and Promotional Materials
Any use of the HMS name or logo in promotional materials must be sent for review and approval to affiliateapprovals@hms.harvard.edu. The guidance below articulates basic standards by content type anchored by three core principles: no visuals of the HMS or Harvard University campus may be used; the use of any HMS logos must comply with current guidance in this manual, including on items shown briefly or in passing, such as on white coats in a video spot; and, the affiliate relationship must be identified in a manner that is clear and accurate, without modifiers (e.g., major, first), separate from the identification of the hospital as a member of a health care system, and directly identifying the affiliate institution as an affiliate or teaching hospital of HMS.
General Guidelines
The following are general guidelines by which HMS will review requests from affiliates to use the HMS name or logo in advertising and promotional materials. Advance approval is required
in all cases.
- Activities/events of departments, centers, individuals etc. may not use any HMS logos to avoid confusion about the institution responsible for the activity or event in question.
- Clinical research and study recruitment may use the HMS affiliate or teaching hospital tag logo only when it is both separate from and sized notably smaller than the affiliate institution’s logo. The material must also clearly state that the study is “overseen by [affiliate]” or “run by [affiliate]”.
- Educational programs and content may only use the HMS name or logo when the course is accredited by Harvard Medical School. When the course is not accredited by HMS, the HMS name may only be used to identify faculty members’ titles in a biographical section.
- Fundraising materials may only use the HMS name to state that the affiliate institution is an affiliate or teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School, without the use of any HMS logos. Exceptions are permitted for joint fundraising initiatives between HMS and affiliate institutions.
- Patient education materials may use the HMS affiliate or teaching hospital tag logo when it is positioned at the end/back of the material and is both separate from and sized notably smaller than the affiliate institution’s logo.
- Television/web-based commercial spots and print/billboard ads may use the HMS name to state that the affiliate institution is an affiliate or teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School in text or voiceover. No HMS logos are permitted, except when shown briefly or in passing, such as on white coats, provided that they align with current guidance in this manual.