Healthcare marketers must use data ethically (2025)

The global healthcare advertising market is estimated to grow from $44.6bn in 2025 to $67.9bn in 2033. With the average cost for an organic healthcare lead standing at $320, the need for personalization is more prevalent than ever. And while the future prognosis of budgets might be good, last year marketing budgets hit a five-year low.

Healthcare marketers face ever-evolving challenges – but enormous opportunities as well. By better understanding the key drivers shaping today’s landscape, they can learn what to anticipate and how best to adapt in meeting new demands to help their brand win.

Consumer expectations

With the rise of wearable devices and access to information via patient portals, today’s patients are more involved than ever in their healthcare decisions. Data shows that patients are also spending more on their health and wellness than ever before, indicating their desire to take the driver’s seat in their healthcare journey.

In tandem, the use of digital health tools continues to rise and has a reciprocal effect on improving the consumer experience. Patients – especially those among the younger generations – expect the industry to innovate and provide highly tailored, personalized experiences.

Healthcare brands universally aim to improve patient care delivery and experiences. Highlighting through messaging and marketing how they meet and exceed consumer expectations will be key in demonstrating value with authenticity.

These innovations are making very real impacts today, but also stand to transform care in the near and distant future. It’s up to marketers to tell their brand’s story in a way that clearly articulates its tangible value in today’s market, while also setting the stage for their vision of the future.

The technology that enables these transformations of care is also unlocking new opportunities for marketers, allowing for higher levels of tailored, personalized, and targeted content. Brands can collect, analyze, and use the vast amount of data now available to gain valuable insights on their key buyers and end-users in a way they never could before.

Healthcare marketers face both challenges and opportunities as they seek to effectively engage with their target audience. Staying up to date on the tools at their disposal is critical for ensuring they deliver relevant and impactful content in a way that is authentic for their brand.

Ethical considerations

As the saying goes: “with great power comes great responsibility.” With healthcare marketers leveraging data and information tied to patient care, brands must balance personalization with privacy. Brands must consider factors in addition to compliance and adherence to patient data privacy and protection regulations to practice good ethics.

Trust is key for successful marketing, and as such, ensuring data security is paramount for protecting sensitive information. Brands must be mindful of the inherent biases in newer technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, when using them to strengthen and further personalize their marketing efforts. Failing to do so only stands to deepen disparities in care rather than promote health equity. Lastly, transparency into how data is being leveraged for marketing purposes is essential, as is providing the ability to opt out of data use.

Marketers will continuously encounter these types of ethical dilemmas, and the rules will continue to evolve with the market. The key is to commit to maintaining integrity and transparency and ensure that these guideposts remain core brand values.

Successful evolution

The trends most shaping today’s landscape will remain ever-evolving – as will the ongoing need for brands to adapt to these changes. Building confidence in a brand is a long-term effort that requires adjustments along the way, all the while maintaining a forward-looking vision that aligns with ethical standards and consumer expectations.

By embracing change and adopting strategies that allow for evolution while staying true to a core mission and vision, marketers can meet shifting market and consumer expectations while maintaining integrity, transparency, and confidence.