Transforming healthcare engagement: Key strategies for 2025 and beyond

Transforming healthcare engagement: Key strategies for 2025 and beyond

By Justin Freid

The healthcare marketing landscape is undergoing a profound transformation. The convergence of AI, personalisation and authentic storytelling is reshaping how brands connect with their audiences.

The five key trends, that in my opinion, will define healthcare marketing success in the next 12 months include:

1. AI-powered marketing: The coexistence of AI & creativity

The notion that AI threatens creative quality is being rapidly debunked. The most successful organisations are leveraging AI as a tool that augments human capabilities. The emphasis is now on building teams with deep vertical expertise who are also masters at prompt engineering to capture the right look and feel for their specific audiences.

AI automation is proving invaluable by streamlining traditionally manual processes like media planning and buying. By eliminating repetitive tasks, marketing teams can redirect their energy toward strategic thinking and creative initiatives. For tech-native younger generations who are receptive to AI-generated content, this evolution presents exciting opportunities for content testing and optimisation.

2. The evolution of customer-centricity through personalisation

Today's consumers expect interactions tailored to their individual needs and preferences.

In healthcare marketing, platforms like CMI's Empower are enabling compliant personalisation at scale, which is particularly crucial for campaigns targeting diverse audiences. 

Social media has become a dominant environment where healthcare conversations flourish - both for widespread conditions like obesity and diabetes, and increasingly as knowledge centres for rarer conditions.

Content has emerged as a key differentiator, with creators, audio and video being particularly effective at facilitating personalised marketing. For healthcare brands, personalisation must extend beyond demographics to encompass condition-specific language, cultural relevance and appropriate tone. 

The evolving video landscape, transitioning from mass reach to precision targeting via CTV and OLV, underscores the importance of connecting precise messaging with precision delivery.

3. The convergence of media, content & commerce

The integration of content, social media and commerce strategies into a cohesive marketing ecosystem is one of the most discussed topics at the moment. Breaking down existing silos between these functions is critical for fostering a unified approach from creation to reporting. There is a growing need for content strategies focused on authentic engagement rather than just paid distribution.

In healthcare specifically, the combination of content and commerce allows advertisers to accelerate decision-making. Interactive CTV ads with QR codes can facilitate seamless connections between awareness and action, enabling consumers to opt into CRM programs, access copay support or initiate physician discussions.

4. Data-driven decision making & measurement

Data has become the new currency of marketing. Investments in analytics tools and expertise are growing as organisations seek actionable insights to improve marketing effectiveness.

For healthcare marketers, the deprecation of third-party cookies is driving a shift toward platforms that offer healthcare professionals (HCP) and patient-level engagement insights through CTV, programmatic video and closed-loop measurement. 

The industry is increasingly prioritising partners and measurement tools that support outcome-based video buying, including verified script lift, audience quality indices and cost-per-qualified-action metrics.

5. Take bold risks or become irrelevant

Playing it safe is no longer an option. Too often we ‘over-listen’ - drowning in data, feedback and process - when the biggest breakthroughs come from trusting your gut and moving before the final report lands. Innovation doesn't always require massive budgets; some of the most impactful ideas are scrappy, fast and fearless.

In healthcare marketing, where medical and legal reviews often create hesitation, this message is particularly relevant. The boldest ideas often move the needle most effectively, even in sensitive categories. Being a truthteller - bringing new ideas even when uncomfortable - ultimately leads to better relationships and more relevant content for both HCPs and patients.

In an increasingly complex landscape, the path forward for healthcare advertising involves embracing technology, personalising experiences, integrating functions, leveraging data and having the courage to take calculated risks.

Justin Freid is Chief Media & Innovation Officer at CMI Media Group. For more information visit: cmimediagroup.com