Ignite: Healthcare Marketing Podcast

#201 - The end of easy growth in healthcare

Healthcare marketing is entering a new phase where AI, data, and trust are redefining what actually drives patient acquisition. In this continuation of our 200th episode, we take the conversation further as Lauren Leone, Cardinal's Chief Growth Officer, sits down with our media, analytics, and creative experts who are in the trenches every day. They break down how AI, data, and platform shifts are redefining what actually drives patient acquisition and where most teams are falling behind. You'll learn: * Why first-party data and real patient outcomes now drive visibility and trust * How AI is accelerating insights and changing how teams act on data * What's actually improving paid media performance today * Why creative and full-funnel strategy matter more than targeting As we continue celebrating our 200th episode, this conversation brings the real-world perspective on the trends shaping what's next in healthcare growth. RELATED RESOURCES 2026 Healthcare Marketing Trends: The New Rules Redefining Growth - https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/healthcare-marketing-trends-2026/ [https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/healthcare-marketing-trends-2026/] The Search Plateau Problem: Why Healthcare Providers Need Incrementality Testing - https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/healthcare-incrementality-testing/ [https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/healthcare-incrementality-testing/] Optimizing for AI Search: A New Era in Healthcare Marketing - https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/optimizing-for-ai-search-a-new-era-in-healthcare-marketing/ [https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/optimizing-for-ai-search-a-new-era-in-healthcare-marketing/] Performance Creative: The Key to Paid Media Success - https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/performance-creative-the-key-to-paid-media-success/ [https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/performance-creative-the-key-to-paid-media-success/]

#200 - Healthcare Marketing Trends Reshaping Growth

Search alone is no longer enough to keep driving patient acquisition in healthcare today. In this special episode celebrating the 200th episode of Ignite, Lauren Leone, Cardinal's Chief Growth Officer, and Rich Briddock, Chief Strategy Officer, break down the biggest shifts changing how healthcare organizations drive growth today. From tougher attribution and rising media costs to full-funnel strategy and smarter creative, this conversation shows why healthcare marketers need a more modern approach to stay competitive and prove impact. You will learn: • Why search-only strategies are hitting a ceiling • How better measurement leads to better growth decisions • What a stronger full-funnel media mix looks like today • Why creative strategy matters more as platforms automate If you're trying to drive patient growth in a more competitive, more complex digital landscape, this is the episode to listen up next. RELATED RESOURCES Connect with Lauren- https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurenthomasdigital/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurenthomasdigital/] Connect with Rich - https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-briddock-01426682/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-briddock-01426682/] 2026 Healthcare Marketing Trends: The New Rules Redefining Growth - https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/healthcare-marketing-trends-2026/ [https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/healthcare-marketing-trends-2026/] The Search Plateau Problem: Why Healthcare Providers Need Incrementality Testing - https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/healthcare-incrementality-testing/ [https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/healthcare-incrementality-testing/] When & How to Expand Your Healthcare Media Mix - https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/expanding-channel-media-mix-strategy/ [https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/expanding-channel-media-mix-strategy/] Performance Creative: The Key to Paid Media Success - https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/performance-creative-the-key-to-paid-media-success/ [https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/performance-creative-the-key-to-paid-media-success/]

#199 - Why Good Measurement Starts Outside the Platform

Most healthcare marketers trust the numbers inside ad platforms. The problem is those numbers often don't reflect what is actually driving new patients. In this episode of Ignite, Lauren Leone, Cardinal's CGO and Alex Kemp, Sr. Director of Analytics, break down some of the most common measurement traps healthcare marketers fall into. From blended CPA misconceptions to platform over-attribution, the conversation explores why dashboards alone rarely tell the full story. The discussion also explains how leading teams are building smarter measurement frameworks that connect marketing performance to real business outcomes. You will learn: * Why blended CPA can hide inefficient patient acquisition * How platforms over-credit conversions across channels * What a true source of truth for healthcare marketing looks like * How incrementality testing and media mix modeling improve decisions If you want a clearer picture of what your marketing is actually driving and how to scale patient acquisition with confidence, this is an episode worth listening to. RELATED RESOURCES The Search Plateau Problem: Why Healthcare Providers Need Incrementality Testing - https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/healthcare-incrementality-testing/ [https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/healthcare-incrementality-testing/] When & How to Expand Your Healthcare Media Mix - https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/expanding-channel-media-mix-strategy/ [https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/expanding-channel-media-mix-strategy/] Healthcare PPC & Google Ads Marketing Trends in 2026 - https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/healthcare-ppc-google-ads-trends-2026/ [https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/healthcare-ppc-google-ads-trends-2026/] RevRx™: Unlocking the Power of Media Mix Modeling - https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/media-mix-modeling-revrx/ [https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/media-mix-modeling-revrx/]

#198 - Healthcare SEO Strategy for the AI Era

Healthcare SEO is changing fast as AI reshapes how patients search and how answers appear in Google. In this episode of Ignite, Ashley Petrochenko, Cardinal's VP of Brand Marketing sits down with John Vantine, SEO Director at GoodRx, who helped scale organic traffic from 4 million to 12 million monthly sessions. With more than 20 years of SEO experience, John explains how the rise of AI search and generative answers is forcing healthcare marketers to rethink traditional SEO playbooks. Instead of chasing massive content libraries, the future belongs to brands that focus on trust, intent, and content that actually serves the patient journey. In this episode, you'll learn: • Why publishing thousands of pages is no longer a winning healthcare SEO strategy • How AI search and Google's evolving results are changing patient discovery • The role of user experience and trust signals in modern healthcare rankings • How to build a focused content strategy that drives real business impact If healthcare SEO is part of your growth strategy, this episode will change how you think about content, search, and patient discovery in the AI era. RELATED RESOURCES Connect with John - https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnvantine/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnvantine/] 2026 Healthcare Marketing Trends: The New Rules Redefining Growth - https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/healthcare-marketing-trends-2026/ [https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/healthcare-marketing-trends-2026/] Optimizing for AI Search: A New Era in Healthcare Marketing - https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/optimizing-for-ai-search-a-new-era-in-healthcare-marketing/ [https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/optimizing-for-ai-search-a-new-era-in-healthcare-marketing/] How a Primary Care Provider Futureproofed Their SEO in an AI-Driven Search World - https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/search-content-strategy-ai-landscape/ [https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/search-content-strategy-ai-landscape/] How to Avoid Keyword Cannibalization Between Paid Search & SEO - https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/avoid-keyword-cannibalization-between-paid-search-seo/ [https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/avoid-keyword-cannibalization-between-paid-search-seo/]

#197 - The Honest Programmatic Conversation Healthcare Marketers Need

If you are treating programmatic like paid search, you are likely measuring it wrong and leaving growth on the table. In this episode, Evan, Cardinal's VP of Paid Media, and Lisa Fisher, Cardinal's Associate Media Director specializing in programmatic, break down what healthcare marketers actually need to understand about programmatic today. They unpack when it works, when it does not, and how to approach it without wasting budget. With deep experience managing multi-channel media strategies for healthcare brands, they share what separates inflated impression reports from real incremental growth. You will learn: • When to use programmatic after search hits saturation • How to measure success beyond last click attribution • What HIPAA, pixels, and BAAs mean for your strategy • How upper funnel investment lowers incremental CPA If you want a smarter, more scalable approach to patient acquisition beyond search, this is the episode to queue up next. RELATED RESOURCES The Search Plateau Problem: Why Healthcare Providers Need Incrementality Testing - https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/healthcare-incrementality-testing/ [https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/healthcare-incrementality-testing/] When & How to Expand Your Healthcare Media Mix - https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/expanding-channel-media-mix-strategy/ [https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/expanding-channel-media-mix-strategy/] Privacy First: Marketing Technologies That Prioritize HIPAA Compliance - https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/hipaa-compliant-martech/ [https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/hipaa-compliant-martech/] How to Reach Niche Audiences with 3P Data - https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/reach-niche-audiences-3p-data/ [https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/reach-niche-audiences-3p-data/]