Ignite: Healthcare Marketing Podcast

Cardinal Digital Marketing
  • 4.7 (23)
  • MARKETING
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Hear the latest performance marketing strategies, industry news, and innovative tactics that will help grow your healthcare organization. Brought to you by Cardinal Digital Marketing, our CEO Alex Membrillo sits down with industry leaders and the nation's top healthcare marketing professionals to uncover practical insights to boost your digital presence and attract more patients.

  1. 1D AGO

    Patient Acquisition Demands Local Trust

    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/

    14 min

  2. FEB 10

    State of AI Search 2026

    AI search is no longer experimental and it is already shaping how patients choose providers. On this episode of Ignite, Lauren Leone Cardinal's CGO is joined by Rob Sauter, Cardinal's SVP of Earned and Owned, to break down what the State of AI Search 2026 really means for healthcare marketers. He explains how platforms like ChatGPT and Google AI are influencing patient research earlier in the journey and why traditional SEO alone is no longer enough to stay visible. For growth-focused teams, this shift can be the difference between being considered or overlooked during patient research. You will learn • How AI search is changing the patient decision journey before they ever click a website • Why healthcare brands must move from keyword pages to connected authority • Where most organizations have content gaps that hurt AI visibility • How to balance SEO fundamentals with AI-focused strategy today If patient acquisition and digital visibility matter to your growth goals this year, this is a must-listen for your 2026 strategy. RELATED RESOURCES Healthcare PPC & Google Ads Marketing Trends in 2026  - https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/healthcare-ppc-google-ads-trends-2026/ 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/

    20 min

  3. FEB 3

    The Next Era of Healthcare Marketing

    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.

    22 min

  4. JAN 27

    Inside the Marketing Machine Powering 500+ Locations

    In this conversation, Rachelle Kuebler-Weber, Chief Marketing Officer at AEG Vision, and Allison Lancaster, Associate Vice President of Marketing at AEG Vision, break down how a 500+ location healthcare organization rebuilt marketing to directly support capacity, profitability, and patient access. They share how AEG Vision moved from fragmented brand marketing to a unified, operationally aligned growth engine. The stakes are clear. Without clean data, call visibility, and ops alignment, even strong media spend fails to deliver meaningful results. You will hear how AEG Vision laid the foundation that allows marketing to scale locally while driving enterprise value, even in a complex, multi brand environment. What you will walk away with: How to align marketing spend with utilization, margins, and available capacity Why call centers and operations are critical to patient acquisition success How better tracking changes budget decisions and executive trust A practical path from foundational data to advanced optimization If you want marketing to drive growth your organization can actually support, this is the episode to queue up next. RELATED RESOURCES Why Capacity-Driven Marketing Is Non-Negotiable - https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/capacity-driven-marketing-media-investment-strategy/ Marketing + Operations: Why Total Alignment is Vital to Growth  - https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/healthcare-marketing-operations-alignment/ Privacy First: Marketing Technologies That Prioritize HIPAA Compliance - https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/hipaa-compliant-martech/ Mastering Performance Max (PMAX) for Healthcare - https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/performance-max-pmax-healthcare-guide/

    41 min

  5. JAN 20

    Scaling Multi-Location Healthcare Marketing the Right Way

    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/

    20 min

  6. JAN 13

    Healthcare Marketing Built on Real Capacity

    Most healthcare marketing breaks down when patient demand outpaces real clinical capacity. On this episode of Ignite, Ashley Petrochenko, Cardinal's VP of Brand Marketing, sits down with Joseph McLean, Director of B2C Marketing at Synergy Health Partners, to explore why patient acquisition only works when it is built around provider availability, operational reality, and access. Joseph shares how aligning marketing spend with physician schedules, clinic capacity, and patient urgency creates more predictable growth and less wasted budget. The conversation unpacks how capacity-driven marketing changes everything from bidding strategy to channel mix, and why close collaboration with operations and scheduling teams is essential for scalable patient acquisition. You will learn: How to align patient acquisition with real provider availability Ways to reduce wasted ad spend when schedules are full Why capacity visibility should guide media strategy and budgets How reviews, access, and outcomes influence booking decisions If patient acquisition feels unpredictable or inefficient, this episode will change how growth is approached. RELATED RESOURCES Connect with Joseph - https://www.linkedin.com/in/josephmaclean/ Why Capacity-Driven Marketing Is Non-Negotiable - https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/capacity-driven-marketing-media-investment-strategy/ 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/ Marketing + Operations: Why Total Alignment is Vital to Growth - https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/healthcare-marketing-operations-alignment/

    25 min

  7. JAN 6

    Patient Experience Is the Growth Strategy

    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/

    24 min

  8. 12/30/2025

    Building Strategic Investment Foundations

    Too many healthcare marketers allocate budgets based on guesswork or last year's spend. Cardinal's approach is different.  On this episode of Ignite, Cardinal's media and analytics team break down how to build smarter investment foundations by understanding what is actually driving growth. The discussion covers how to separate paid impact from organic and other channels, align media investment with operational capacity and business goals, forecast outcomes before spend, and move beyond blended metrics using marginal economics. You'll hear honest conversation about common attribution traps, capacity constraints, and the trade-offs between efficiency and growth, along with practical frameworks for allocating budget across complex, multi-location healthcare organizations. You will learn: Understanding your digital mix before making investment decisions Capacity-driven, goal-aligned planning Forecasting outcomes using historical data and realistic assumptions Marginal economics and why blended metrics can be misleading Allocation frameworks for markets, locations, and service lines RELATED RESOURCES Why Capacity-Driven Marketing Is Non-Negotiable - https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/capacity-driven-marketing-media-investment-strategy/ How to Set Smarter Healthcare Marketing Goals - https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/marketing-goal-planning/ When & How to Expand Your Healthcare Media Mix - https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/expanding-channel-media-mix-strategy/ Marketing + Operations: Why Total Alignment is Vital to Growth - https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/healthcare-marketing-operations-alignment/

    37 min
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4.7
out of 5
23 Ratings

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Hear the latest performance marketing strategies, industry news, and innovative tactics that will help grow your healthcare organization. Brought to you by Cardinal Digital Marketing, our CEO Alex Membrillo sits down with industry leaders and the nation's top healthcare marketing professionals to uncover practical insights to boost your digital presence and attract more patients.

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