PulsePoint’s 2025 Health Marketing and Media Trends Report: A Transformative Year Ahead

As the healthcare marketing industry braces for an era of rapid transformation, PulsePoint’s latest 2025 Health Marketing and Media Trends Report offers a deep dive into the key trends, challenges, and opportunities shaping the landscape. Drawing insights from industry leaders, the report highlights evolving marketing priorities, the continued impact of AI, and the pressing need for more seamless customer experiences.

Persistent Challenges in Health Marketing

Despite advancements in data and technology, marketers continue to grapple with an increasingly fragmented and crowded media environment, limitations in creative development, and regulatory hurdles.

Breaking Through the Noise

The healthcare professional (HCP) marketing space remains highly competitive, with numerous brands vying for attention. Sandy Weag, EVP of Engagement Strategy & Communications Planning at CMI Media Group, underscores this challenge:

“The HCP marketing landscape is incredibly cluttered, with brands across pharma, med device, OTC, and increasingly other categories all competing for HCPs’ attention. Breaking through this noise in a distinct and impactful way is a persistent challenge.”

Similarly, Michael Deichmiller, VP of Client Engagement & Planning at Butler/Till, points to the refragmentation of video as a growing concern:

“The sheer volume of video content and the increasing number of delivery mechanisms mean consumers are spending more time with sight, sound, and motion than ever before. As marketers, we must figure out where they are viewing and how to plan, buy, target, and optimize across various video modalities.”

Data, Technology, and Privacy Challenges

While data-driven marketing is more sophisticated than ever, hurdles remain in optimizing its potential. Unconnected stakeholders, outdated targeting models, and privacy regulations pose significant obstacles.

Gozde Dinc, Director of Strategic Partnerships, Media & Innovation at Genentech, highlights the challenge of data fragmentation across the healthcare ecosystem:

“Our healthcare ecosystem is intricate, with interconnected stakeholders: prescribing physicians, practice managers, nurses, pharmacists, patients, caregivers, and payers. A data and technology platform that seamlessly connects these stakeholders is what I would add into our toolkit.”

The decline of cookies in digital advertising is another pressing issue. Molly Farrell, SVP of Programmatic at CMI Media Group, views this shift optimistically:

“Regardless of what happens with Google’s ownership of Chrome, the industry is going to have to prepare for an ecosystem where cookies have less value… Ultimately, I think we’re going to end up with cleaner and safer data to reach our audiences.”

Privacy laws are also tightening, as Lori Goldberg, CEO of Silverlight Digital, explains:

“Platforms are implementing more and more privacy restrictions that have made it difficult for health-related messages to reach the right consumers and limits marketers’ ability to track effectiveness.”

Emerging Marketing Approaches

In response to these challenges, marketers are turning to new channels, advanced data strategies, and AI-driven personalization to stay ahead.

Innovating with Programmatic and Digital Platforms

Marketers are increasingly exploring programmatic EHR (Electronic Health Records), telehealth ad inventory, and retail media networks to reach target audiences more effectively.

Demi Morganstein, Associate Director of Programmatic at dentsu health, highlights the opportunity within EHR environments:

“Programmatic EHR allows us to reach priority NPIs in an extremely relevant environment as decisions are being made about patient treatments in real time.”

Meanwhile, gaming and podcasts are emerging as valuable engagement platforms. Michael Caruso, SVP of Biddable Media at SSCG Media Group, sees gaming as a major opportunity:

“Gaming is a channel I feel will grow tremendously over the next few years across the Pharma and Healthcare industry. Its market share to relevant patient audiences is enormous.”

Leveraging Real-Time Data for Smarter Engagement

AI-driven real-time decisioning is becoming a cornerstone of pharma marketing, allowing brands to optimize campaigns on the fly. Konrad Gerszke, EVP of Growth Platforms and Markets at Internet Brands, explains:

“Real-time decisioning across channels and environments, determining which creative is likely to resonate with their target audiences, all these campaign optimization decisions rely on a high-quality data foundation.”

Similarly, AI is enabling faster omnichannel analytics. Jay de la Cruz, SVP of Media at Underscore, emphasizes:

“We’re using pre-trained AI and machine learning models to identify factors that can increase promotional impact for brands and support longer-term decision-making needs.”

The Future of Pharma Marketing: AI, Privacy, and Personalization

Looking ahead, the changing healthcare landscape, growing regulatory scrutiny, and increasing reliance on AI will shape marketing strategies in 2025.

Stricter Data Privacy Laws

With new state-level regulations emerging, data privacy will be at the forefront of marketing strategy. Francis D’Hondt, SVP of Addressable Health at KINESSO, warns:

“Nearly half of the states in the United States now have some version of a consumer data privacy law… It will be more necessary than ever to understand how partners are collecting and using consumer data.”

Jason Patterson, Chief Analytics Officer at Publicis Health Media, adds:

“Local state legislation on data privacy is going to have a great influence on our ability to connect with patients in meaningful ways and eliminate waste.”

AI-Powered Personalization and Creative Storytelling

AI will not only improve campaign targeting and measurement but also streamline the creative development and regulatory approval process. Nicole Hamlin, Group Director of Integrated Planning at Butler/Till, envisions:

“Using AI-powered tools to simplify compliance workflows will address a long-standing bottleneck in campaign delivery and effectiveness.”

Michael Caruso of SSCG Media Group believes AI will empower creative teams:

“By handling repetitive tasks, optimizing media placement, and facilitating scalable, modular content delivery, AI will empower creative teams to focus on storytelling, strategy, and innovation.”

HCP-DTC Connectivity: Bridging the Gap

One of the most significant shifts in pharma marketing is the growing focus on connecting HCP and direct-to-consumer (DTC) efforts.

Nicole Hamlin notes how advanced TV strategies have created new engagement opportunities:

“We are continuing to think about ways to reach HCPs with consumer messaging, and in consumer moments, to unlock script lift.”

Demi Morganstein of dentsu health highlights an untapped opportunity:

“It would be awesome if we could target HCPs who have a relevant patient visit coming up (in a HIPAA-compliant way, of course).”

Jason Patterson stresses the need for cross-audience measurement:

“We have one doctor, one patient, and only ONE conversion. Not only are we optimizing by channel/publisher/tactic but we are making ongoing budgeting decisions for each audience.”

Conclusion: 2025 Marks a Transformative Year

As the healthcare marketing industry steps into 2025, AI, real-time data, and privacy-first strategies will be critical in shaping new approaches. PulsePoint’s report underscores the need for continuous innovation and adaptability to keep pace with the evolving landscape.

The future of pharma marketing is no longer about merely reaching audiences—it’s about orchestrating seamless, personalized experiences across every touchpoint. Whether through AI-driven insights, programmatic targeting, or cross-channel storytelling, brands must embrace agility and technological advancements to remain competitive in the year ahead.

To view the full report, click here.