Why Power Digital Marketing is Doubling Down on Healthcare with Cardinal Digital Marketing

The acquisition of Cardinal Digital Marketing by Power Digital Marketing was big news. Jeff Mason, CEO at Power Digital, graciously agreed to join me on camera to talk about healthcare and their recent acquisition. He shared why they made the leap into healthcare and how they plan to operate Cardinal moving forward. Core Insight: Healthcare marketing is hitting the exact same data-driven inflection point that retail did a decade ago, moving from fragmented, brand-led efforts to full-funnel performance and strict attribution. The Retail Inflection Point Comes to Healthcare Healthcare isn’t just another vertical to Power Digital. It is a necessity that grows regardless of how the economy performs – unlike other industries. Because healthcare is almost a $5 trillion business, Power Digital saw it as a massive, recession-proof market to move into. In addition, healthcare finally seemed open to new marketing techniques. “We believe healthcare is at the same inflection point that retail was about a decade ago,” shared Mason. “I would say the inflection point is the result of growing patient demand that has increased the need for marketing sophistication.” Pairing Cardinal’s Specialization with Power Digital’s Data Backbone According to Mason, as agencies grow, they tend to become generalized and lose the narrow focus that made them successful in the early days. Power Digital wanted to avoid that generalization trap. “The strategy of what Cardinal is doing is not going to change,” stated Mason. “They’re the best healthcare advertisers on the planet, in my opinion”. Cardinal brings the deep, nuanced expertise in healthcare, particularly with MSOs and provider groups. What Power Digital adds to the mix is the technology backbone for data analytics and full-funnel measurement. By combining forces, they can provide the attribution and measurement layer that is becoming table stakes in healthcare. What Healthcare Marketers Are Asking Are we ready to defend our healthcare marketing spend with retail-level attribution? The grace period for untracked brand spending in healthcare is closing. Executive leadership teams, much like their retail counterparts a decade ago, are now demanding to see patient acquisition costs and demonstrated lifetime value (LTV). Healthcare marketing leaders must evaluate if their current data infrastructure can trace a patient’s journey from an initial online search all the way to the exam room chair. If not, upgrading that data backbone needs to be the next major priority to justify future marketing investments. Does our agency truly understand the nuances of the patient journey? As large agency networks consolidate, many offer generalized digital marketing services that fail to grasp the complexities of the healthcare industry. CMOs should be critically assessing whether their partners have deep, demonstrated expertise in healthcare, or if they are simply applying a generic consumer playbook. Specialization is a requirement to build trust and navigate the complexities around retargeting, patient information, and HIPAA regulations. Learn more about Power Digital at https://powerdigitalmarketing.com/ Learn more Cardinal Digital Marketing at https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/