Partnering with Apollidon helped Oregon State University (OSU) grow enrollments through corporate and group sales for their online HR Management Skills for Pharmacists course.
The Challenge
OSU launched Management & HR Skills for Pharmacists, an online certificate program and continuing education course for pharmacists. The course was well-received by the pharmacists who took it, but the number of registrants never met OSU’s expectations. Every state requires pharmacists to acquire CE credits on an annual basis, and OSU knew that management skills were not taught extensively in PharmD programs. However, there was some difficulty reaching the pharmacist community. OSU faced the following challenges:
- Extremely busy prospective PharmD professionals
- Individual registrations not financially viable
“The true benefit of working with Apollidon is clearly in the group/corporate contracts we’ve attained through their marketing.”
—Oregon State Director of Professional and Noncredit Education Chris Labelle
The Solution
Apollidon and OSU began working together to develop a unique visual identity for the program that would follow OSU’s branding guidelines. Digital ad campaigns, print advertising, and marketing collateral were developed with OSU’s input, and press contacts were made on behalf of the university. However, the real opportunity came through corporate and group sales. Through this partnership, Apollidon and OSU were able to:
- Create a program identity that pharmacists can identify with.
- Hire a business development specialist who targets cohort sales through associations and corporations.
- Customize training and marketing for large prospective clients.
- Introduce the program to the pharmacist community through conferences and meetings for potential students.
The Result
During the first year of the partnership, half a dozen contracts were signed with corporations, and based on feedback, OSU expanded their course offerings for pharmacists. Apollidon used concentrated outreach to the following groups to secure numerous contracts for multiple-seat registrations:
- Pharmacy associations
- Health system pharmacists
- Retail pharmacists
- Community pharmacists, including their group purchasing organizations