Each week we email a tip or news that we are covering in Strategic Health Care Marketing. You can view the archives of this weekly ezine below.
Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU and Children’s Hospital Foundation share a marketing and fundraising story shaped by grit, creativity, and a deep sense of community ownership. See what came next: a coordinated effort between philanthropy and marketing and the ad campaign that brought their shared story to life.
Health care marketing is entering 2026 at an inflection point. AI is no longer an emerging capability. It is a structural force reshaping how patients search, choose, access, and trust health care. In this article, 10 health care marketing leaders weigh in on key priorities for 2026.
Public trust in institutions is eroding, and health policy debates are increasingly polarized. Health care leaders face growing pressure to speak publicly on issues that blend medicine, politics, and public perception. For executive communications teams, the question is not whether to engage, but how and when to do so for maximum credibility.
The search landscape has changed dramatically now that AI-generated answers are featured at the top of search engine results pages. Do consumers trust what they find? How should health care organizations change their approach to content development? New research sheds light on some of the new dynamics.
Is AI ready to accurately predict creative strategy choices? To explore this question, Connecticut Children’s undertook a side-by-side test during the development of the next phase of creative for a brand campaign surrounding the December 2025 opening of a new patient tower. Read on to see how AI-generated research measured up.
Few things connect more directly to human emotion than sound. In marketing, that connection is powerful: Audio cues can reinforce brand recognition up to 96 percent faster than visuals alone. Discover how Northwell’s sonic brand amplifies emotion, strengthens trust, and helps the organization break through the clutter in a fiercely competitive marketplace.
Across a global network of medical centers, The Michael J. Fox Foundation leads a research initiative reshaping how we study, detect, and hope to stop Parkinson’s disease. Discover how a thoughtful marketing strategy helped build the study that’s changing what we know about Parkinson’s.
Top marketers at NewYork-Presbyterian, Virtua Health, and Mass General Brigham share experiences that shaped them as leaders. Their stories of strength, creativity, and resilience are a source of inspiration for leaders and aspiring leaders as you navigate today’s choppy health care waters.
Marketing leaders from Renown Health and The Christ Hospital Health Network share how their award-winning recruitment and retention strategies helped address workforce shortages. Read on to discover how authentic messaging and targeted outreach can strengthen both recruitment and retention.
Chris Bevolo, author of “Joe Public Doesn’t Care About Your Hospital,” shares his thoughts on the evolution of health care marketing in this Q&A. Here’s how he sums it up: “At the end of the day, we need to make things better, whether it’s marketing, health care, or the world.”
Character matters in Dennis Pullin’s 2025 book Suited for Leadership: How to Show Up with Purpose to Have a Lasting Impact. Here, we share a few nuggets from Pullin’s wisdom and how his leadership spreads out from Virtua Health to the community it serves and benefits the industry as a whole.
In an era of shrinking reimbursements and rising costs, philanthropy has become an essential lifeline for hospitals and health systems, with donors contributing more than $20 billion to U.S. hospitals each year. Discover how philanthropy mobilizes communities and provides millions of dollars in essential funding for cancer research and patient care.
By transforming annual specialty updates into dynamic digital impact reports, Cincinnati Children’s builds awareness, strengthens its national reputation, and fosters connections across the physician community. Read on to explore the making of Cincinnati Children’s Accomplishment Reports and the lessons they offer for organizations looking to boost physician engagement.
Banner Health is charting a bold new course. The system needed a brand platform that could keep pace. Read the full article to learn how Banner Health transformed its name into a powerful brand asset, plus insights for shaping your own brand story.
U.S. birth rates just hit a record low, and pediatric hospitals are fighting for fewer patients. The ripple effects are felt across industries, but for pediatric hospitals, the demographic shift raises a pressing question: How do you compete for fewer children? Here are three trends that are shaping children’s hospital strategies.
For more than a decade, digital marketing in health care has existed in a state of contradiction. Caught between regulatory reality and marketing necessity, organizations have turned to a familiar strategy: the workaround. But the era of the workaround is ending, and health care marketers must be ready for what comes next.
As consumer expectations rise and attention spans shrink, traditional messaging about excellence and empathy is no longer enough. Today’s audiences are tuning out institutional voices and tuning in to brands that feel authentic, emotionally relevant, and boldly human. Here, industry leader Stephanie Wierwille offers insights into creating a compelling brand story.
Community Health Centers are bracing for major Medicaid cuts. Community Health Centers, including Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), have been the backbone of health care access since 1965. Hospitals and health systems have a vested interest in supporting their sustainability. Read on to see how health systems benefit by partnering with FQHCs.
Onvida Health reinvented itself with a renewed purpose and values — and then wrapped the package with a new name, brand identity, and smart positioning. Learn how Onvida Health introduced its brand internally and externally, launched a multichannel campaign, and created a platform for long-term connection and growth.
Gun violence is still the leading cause of death among children and adolescents in the United States. Read on to learn about the gun violence prevention movement started by Northwell Health and view the latest public service campaign spot that puts the spotlight on gun safety.
In the current environment of cultural tribalism, how can health care organizations break down barriers and rebuild trust in the communities they serve? Brandon Edwards and Shannon Hooper believe the antidote to toxicity is authenticity. Here, they share ideas for how marketers can break through the red state/blue state conundrum.
The health care system is full of contradictions: more care, more technology — and more frustration. This opinion piece unpacks the growing disconnect with health care and how marketers can close the gap. Read on to explore four critical strategies to rebuild trust, reframe expectations, and reconnect with a new generation of patients.
Large language models are breathtakingly fast at returning answers to our prompts and even adjusting the voice and tone according to our guidance. But people skills, unique to humans, can’t be outsourced to AI. Here are a few of the most important people skills marketers must possess, now and in the future.
In a world of 30- and 60-second TV spots, The Christ Hospital Health Network in Cincinnati is turning heads with something refreshingly brief: 10-second ads that deliver big impact. Airing during Jeopardy, the spots feature a nod to the game show, rotate through service line messages, introduce providers, and reinforce the brand.
For many health care marketers, annual reports often walk a fine line between fulfilling institutional obligations and sparking genuine audience engagement. MD Anderson Cancer Center’s FY23 Annual Report didn’t just meet expectations — it redefined them. Discover how the team executed a single vision for the organization’s annual report across print and digital.