A Marketing Strategy for a Campus Wellness Program

Abstract

A strategic marketing plan was created for an east coast university campus wellness program serving over 12,000 students, faculty, and staff, to include three major program objectives: (1) to increase program awareness and name recognition, (2) to aid in recruitment and enrollment of program participants, and (3) to increase the profit margin by 100 percent. Moreover, a marketing philosophy, marketing goals, demographic analysis, mass segmentation, and marketing strategy analysis were established as components in the strategic plan. In addition to the various media vehicles employed in marketing strategies, several marketing techniques adapted and employed in this strategic plan to accomplish these objectives including: (1) LIFE Enhancement Leaders; specially trained groups of peer educators serving as liaisons to the academic departments and dormitories, (2) a Guest Speaker Series held at various locations on campus, and (3) evening and weekend wellness workshops and screening clinics. As a result of this marketing strategy, all program objectives were met within the first six months of the yearly program assessment. A strategic marketing plan such as this may assist those university sponsored campus wellness programs to initiate and maintain a strong visible program, increase recruitment and participant enrollment, increase profit margins, and most likely, increase the participant adherence rate to program offerings.