Ignite: Healthcare Marketing Podcast

Your marketing strategy is only as strong as the team executing it. Cardinal's VP of Brand Marketing Ashley Petrochenko sits down on the Ignite Healthcare Marketing Podcast with Kelly Perritt, Chief Marketing and Brand Strategy Officer at Horry Georgetown Technical College and a 20-year healthcare marketing veteran. Kelly shares the leadership principles she's used to build high-performing teams across nonprofit, for-profit, and academic healthcare environments, and why getting this right is the real driver of marketing results. You'll walk away with: A practical framework for aligning team members to roles based on strengths, not job titles Why listening is the most underrated skill in healthcare marketing leadership How to break down silos and create cross-functional alignment through process documentation What to look for when hiring multidimensional marketing talent in an AI-driven world If you want to build a team that can actually keep pace with where healthcare marketing is heading, this episode is essential listening. RELATED RESOURCES Connect with Kelly: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellymperritt/ Marketing + Operations: Why Total Alignment is Vital to Growth - https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/healthcare-marketing-operations-alignment/ Harnessing the Power of AI Marketing for Healthcare - https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/harnessing-ai-marketing-for-healthcare/ Is Your Organization Actually Ready for Marketing? - https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/marketing-readiness/ How to Build a Healthcare Marketing Roadmap That Drives Patient Growth - https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/how-to-build-digital-marketing-roadmap/

Healthcare marketers are stuck chasing the same patients while retail brands are building demand at scale. In the first episode of The Strategists' Corner, a new series on the Ignite Healthcare Marketing Podcast, host Rich Briddock, Cardinal's Chief Strategy Officer, sits down with Ben Dutter, Chief Strategy Officer at Power Digital Marketing. Together, they break down what healthcare can learn from more mature industries like retail, e-commerce, and SaaS. You'll hear how top brands balance demand generation and capture, rethink measurement in a privacy-first world, and use creative to influence real patient decisions. You'll learn: Why overinvesting in bottom funnel limits patient growth How to measure true marketing impact beyond attribution What builds trust in high-stakes healthcare decisions How stronger creative can lift performance and demand If you want to move beyond incremental gains and build a smarter healthcare growth engine, 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/ How to Build a Full-Funnel Healthcare Marketing Strategy - https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/healthcare-full-funnel-marketing-strategy/ When & How to Expand Your Healthcare Media Mix - 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/

If your patient acquisition strategy depends on last-click performance, you're missing the system that actually drives demand. In this episode of Ignite, Lauren Leone, Cardinal's Chief Growth Officer, sits down with Lisa Fisher, Associate Media Director, Paid Social & Programmatic Lead, to break down why programmatic should be treated as always-on infrastructure, not a short-term campaign. They share how healthcare marketers can use programmatic to build demand, improve performance across channels, and drive measurable growth over time. This shift is critical as competition increases and traditional channels hit saturation. You will learn: Why small programmatic budgets fail and what to do instead How programmatic increases branded search and organic performance The right way to measure impact beyond last-click attribution How to build full-funnel patient journeys with video and CTV If you want a more scalable and predictable patient acquisition strategy, this is the episode to queue up next. RELATED RESOURCES Connect with Lauren- https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurenthomasdigital/ Connect with Lisa- https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisaruthfisher/ How to Build a Full-Funnel Healthcare Marketing Strategy - https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/healthcare-full-funnel-marketing-strategy/ The Search Plateau Problem: Why Healthcare Providers Need 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/ 2026 Healthcare Marketing Trends: The New Rules Redefining Growth - https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/healthcare-marketing-trends-2026/

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/ Connect with Rich - 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/ The Search Plateau Problem: Why Healthcare Providers Need 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/ Performance Creative: The Key to Paid Media Success - https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/performance-creative-the-key-to-paid-media-success/

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/ 2026 Healthcare Marketing Trends: The New Rules Redefining Growth - 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/ 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/ How to Avoid Keyword Cannibalization Between Paid Search & SEO - https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/avoid-keyword-cannibalization-between-paid-search-seo/

If your healthcare brand still treats influencer marketing like a one-off promotion, you are missing the real opportunity. In this episode, Ashley Petrochenko Cardinal's VP of Brand Marketing sits down with Ella McMahan, Director of Brand Marketing at Spring Fertility, to unpack what it actually takes to build an influencer program in a highly sensitive, high-consideration healthcare space. With six years leading brand at a leading fertility clinic and a background in women's consumer brands, Ella shares how to turn influencers into trust builders, not short-term conversion plays. In an industry where patients crave authenticity and community, this strategy can reshape how your brand shows up. You will learn: How to evaluate if your marketing mix is ready for influencers Why healthcare influencer ROI requires a long-term mindset How to give creators freedom without losing brand control Ways to activate real-world events that deepen patient trust If you've been curious about influencer marketing but unsure where it fits, this conversation will help. RELATED RESOURCES Connect with Ella - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ellamcmahan/ How to Build a Full-Funnel Healthcare Marketing Strategy - https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/healthcare-full-funnel-marketing-strategy/ What is a Patient Journey? Examples to Grow Your Practice - https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/what-is-a-patient-journey-grow-your-practice/ Performance Creative: The Key to Paid Media Success - https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/performance-creative-the-key-to-paid-media-success/ How Influencer Marketing is Changing Healthcare - https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/podcast/how-influencer-marketing-is-changing-healthcare/

Referrals are no longer enough to secure patient volume, and healthcare marketers who ignore local trust signals are losing patients before the first appointment is ever booked. In this episode, Ashley Petrochenko, Cardinal's VP of Brand Marketing talks with Ashley Pollard, Practice Marketing Manager at United Digestive, a multi location, PE backed gastroenterology platform. With more than a decade inside a referral heavy specialty, Ashley shares how patient behavior has shifted and what growth focused teams must do to stay visible, credible, and chosen. This conversation makes it clear that modern patient acquisition is as much about reputation and access as it is about media. You will learn • Why referred patients still shop and how to win their trust locally • How to balance centralized marketing with hyperlocal credibility • Where AI driven search and reviews now influence patient choice • Which metrics actually connect marketing to kept appointments If you want your patient acquisition strategy to drive real visits and not just clicks, this is the episode to queue up next. RELATED RESOURCES Connect with Ashley- https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashley-pollard-a734825/ Why Capacity-Driven Marketing Is Non-Negotiable - https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/capacity-driven-marketing-media-investment-strategy/ 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 to Build a Full-Funnel Healthcare Marketing Strategy - https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/healthcare-full-funnel-marketing-strategy/ Marketing + Operations: Why Total Alignment is Vital to Growth - https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/healthcare-marketing-operations-alignment/

Healthcare marketing is entering a new phase: one where patient journeys are more complex, measurement expectations are higher, and confidence in growth depends on more than last-click reporting. In this episode of the Ignite Healthcare Marketing Podcast, Cardinal Digital Marketing Founder, Alex Membrillo, and Power Digital CEO, Jeff Mason, unpack how patient acquisition has fundamentally changed, and why last-click attribution, single-channel thinking, and tactic-chasing are putting healthcare growth at risk. They also explain why this moment in the industry made it the right time for Cardinal to join Power Digital as its dedicated healthcare division. As patient journeys become more consumer-driven and CFO scrutiny intensifies, healthcare marketers need more than reports—they need confidence. This conversation breaks down how advanced measurement, faster creative testing, and consumer-grade data infrastructure are becoming essential to scaling patient acquisition responsibly. You'll walk away with: Why last-click attribution fails as patient journeys span TikTok, search, influencers, and AI How Cardinal's healthcare specialization, combined with Power's data and measurement capabilities, unlocks smarter investment decisions What retail and ecomm got right, and how healthcare can adapt without compromising trust or compliance How better measurement enables better patient experiences, not just cleaner dashboards If you're under pressure to prove growth, justify spend, and move beyond what's "worked before," this episode lays out what healthcare marketing needs next, and why this partnership makes that evolution possible.

Scaling healthcare brands shouldn't mean sacrificing local trust, but for many growing systems, that's exactly what happens. On this episode of Ignite, Ashley Petrochenko, Cardinal's VP of Brand Marketing, sits down with Kim Craven, Director of Field Marketing at Ethos Veterinary Health, to unpack how multi-location healthcare organizations can scale sustainably without losing the local relevance patients rely on. Drawing from her work supporting 140+ specialty and emergency hospitals, Kim shares how strong marketing foundations, not shiny tactics, are what actually unlock growth at scale. The conversation breaks down why centralized data and attribution matter, how local storytelling builds confidence in moments of anxiety, and where AI fits once the basics are done right. The stakes are real. As budgets tighten and expectations rise, healthcare marketers need strategies that drive growth while protecting trust and experience. You will learn: How to scale local healthcare brands without diluting credibility Why patient stories outperform generic brand messaging What a frictionless digital front door really looks like How attribution and AI support smarter growth decisions If scaling without breaking trust is on your roadmap, this is the episode to queue up next. RELATED RESOURCES Connect with Kim - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimberly-craven/ Is Your Organization Actually Ready for Marketing? - https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/marketing-readiness/ Marketing + Operations: Why Total Alignment is Vital to Growth - https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/healthcare-marketing-operations-alignment/ Why Capacity-Driven Marketing Is Non-Negotiable - https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/capacity-driven-marketing-media-investment-strategy/ 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/

If growth is stalling, the problem is rarely the media plan. It is friction in the patient experience that marketing cannot fix after the fact. On this episode of Ignite, Cardinals VP of Brand Marketing Ashley Petrochenko sits down with Ben Whitaker, Director of Digital Strategies, Marketing, and Communications at UofL Health, to unpack why sustainable healthcare growth starts long before the appointment and often breaks at the digital front door. Drawing on 25 years of digital and SEO experience across industries, Ben shares how consumer behavior, not new tactics, should shape SEO, AI search, site experience, reviews, and scheduling. This conversation matters now as AI accelerates search behavior and raises the stakes for accuracy, trust, and usability across the entire patient journey. You'll learn: Why SEO still underpins patient acquisition in an AI-driven search world How small experience gaps quietly kill conversion and retention What healthcare marketers can fix without waiting on a full redesign How marketing can lead cross-functional alignment around patient access If improving patient access and driving real growth are priorities for 2026, this is the episode to listen to next. RELATED RESOURCES Connect with Ben - https://www.linkedin.com/in/bentwhitaker/ What is a Patient Journey? Examples to Grow Your Practice - https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/what-is-a-patient-journey-grow-your-practice/ 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 to Build a Full-Funnel Healthcare Marketing Strategy - https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/healthcare-full-funnel-marketing-strategy/ 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/

When patient acquisition feels unpredictable, it is usually an operations problem hiding inside a marketing problem. On this episode of Ignite, Cardinal's VP of Brand Marketing Ashley Petrochenko is joined by Stephen Harrell, Director of Marketing at StrideCare, to break down why real healthcare growth depends on tight alignment between marketing, access teams, and clinical operations. You will hear how one of Texas's largest lower extremity healthcare providers is reshaping its patient journey by connecting marketing metrics to on-the-ground operational performance. This conversation shows what today's marketers must prioritize to drive reliable, scalable growth. You will learn: How marketing and operations partnerships unlock higher converting patient journeys Why call intelligence and CRM data reveal the real blockers to growth Ways to tighten workflows so patient demand actually turns into scheduled visits How to shift your team toward EOS style accountability that supports long term performance If you want marketing that consistently converts instead of guesswork, this is the episode for you. RELATED RESOURCES Connect with Steven - https://www.linkedin.com/in/steven-harrell-tx/ 2026 Healthcare Marketing Trends: The New Rules Redefining Growth - https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/healthcare-marketing-trends-2026/ Marketing + Operations: Why Total Alignment is Vital to Growth - https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/healthcare-marketing-operations-alignment/ What is a Patient Journey? Examples to Grow Your Practice - https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/what-is-a-patient-journey-grow-your-practice/ Why Capacity-Driven Marketing Is Non-Negotiable - https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/capacity-driven-marketing-media-investment-strategy/

In this episode of Ignite, Cardinal CEO Alex Membrillo sits down with Heather Lang, Chief Marketing & Experience Officer at Twin Cities Orthopedics, for a deep dive into how TCO is innovating in patient acquisition, brand differentiation, and digital strategy. You'll gain actionable insights on aligning marketing with business outcomes, leveraging data to secure budget increases, and using consumer research and bold creative to stand out in a crowded market. If you're looking for practical ways to drive new patient growth, improve attribution, and take calculated risks in your campaigns, this conversation is packed with valuable takeaways just for you. RELATED RESOURCES Connect with Heather - https://www.linkedin.com/in/heather-lang-4126517/ How to Build a Full-Funnel Healthcare Marketing Strategy - https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/healthcare-full-funnel-marketing-strategy/ 5-Step Paid Media Strategy to Attract Your Ideal Patients - https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/paid-media-patient-acquisition-guide/ Performance Creative: The Key to Paid Media Success - https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/performance-creative-the-key-to-paid-media-success/ When & How to Expand Your Healthcare Media Mix - https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/expanding-channel-media-mix-strategy/

How do you scale marketing while hitting aggressive growth goals? Matt Stringer, CMO of Action Behavior Centers, joins Cardinal's Chief Strategy Officer, Rich Briddock, to share how ABC quadrupled qualified lead volume by building measurement infrastructure while moving fast—not waiting for perfection before launching. Learn how they expanded into new channels, navigate the quality vs. quantity dance, and communicate strategic risk to executives. From incrementality testing to revenue-proxied metrics, discover the practical framework ABC used to test new channels like Meta, while maintaining guardrails that allow fast failure without burning budget or trust. RELATED RESOURCES 5-Step Paid Media Strategy to Attract Your Ideal Patients - https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/paid-media-patient-acquisition-guide/ When & How to Expand Your Healthcare Media Mix - https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/expanding-channel-media-mix-strategy/ RevRx™: Unlocking the Power of Media Mix Modeling - https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/media-mix-modeling-revrx/ Marketing + Operations: Why Total Alignment is Vital to Growth - https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/healthcare-marketing-operations-alignment/