On the American Hospital Association’s Society for Health Care Strategy & Market Development (SHSMD) podcast, Jeanette Geer, Sr. Director of Healthcare Partnerships at Spectrum Reach, joined to discuss emerging trends in healthcare marketing and strategies to ensure messaging reaches the right audiences.
You’ll learn:
- Why TV is a strong engagement driver for healthcare marketers.
- How healthcare advertisers can improve the effectiveness of their TV ad campaigns.
- How to reach the right patient audiences in a fragmented media landscape.
A transcript of the episode is provided below.
Shaping Perceptions and Powering the Pipeline
Bill Klaproth (Host): This is a special podcast produced on-site at SHSMD Connections 2025 in Dallas, as we talk with speakers and session leaders direct from the show floor. I'm Bill Klaproth. And this episode is brought to you by Spectrum Reach. Today we're exploring how healthcare advertisers can improve the effectiveness of their television campaigns and get patients to engage using data-driven insights to maximize impact and connect with the audiences that matter most. And joining me is Jeanette Geer, Senior Director of Healthcare Partnerships at Spectrum Reach.
Jeanette, welcome.
Jeanette Geer: Hi Bill. Thanks for having me.
Host: You bet.
Jeanette Geer: And I'm really looking forward to this conversation.
Host: I am too, looking forward to learning from you as well. So, Jeanette, let's start here. Can you just tell me a little bit about yourself and what you hope people come away with out of our podcast today?
Jeanette Geer: Sure. So my name is Jeanette Geer. I am the Senior Director of Healthcare Partnerships at Spectrum Reach, which is the advertising sales division of Charter Communications. Spectrum Reach connects brands with audiences across more than 450 networks and publishers. We do this via premium live and on-demand video programming.
And really what I hope everyone takes away from today's conversation is that healthcare marketing doesn't have to be complicated. Probably feels like it is, and in many cases, I think, health systems and hospitals feel that it is out of reach for them. The reality is there are many powerful stories that need to be told, and video is one of the most effective ways to connect those stories to the communities that they serve.
Host: So powerful, as you say, Jeanette. So in addition to the challenges in attracting, and retaining patients, what other trends are you noticing in healthcare marketing?
Jeanette Geer: It's an excellent question. The things that we're really focused on right now is there's this clear shift that's happening in healthcare marketing, and it really leans towards trust and personal connection.
And throughout the sessions here at the conference, trust continues to come up time and time again. I recently read a Forbes Business Council article that noted 2026 is really the year healthcare brands must move beyond simple awareness and focus on that authentic engagement. The reality is, patients today want individualized experiences that address very specific healthcare needs.
And that's why we're seeing a greater emphasis on data-driven and AI supported marketing tools that help tailor that messaging while also protecting privacy.
Host: So let's talk about healthcare advertising. So how can healthcare advertisers improve the effectiveness of their television ad campaigns and get patients to engage?
Jeanette Geer: So one of the great advantages of working in today's video landscape is that we can measure results more precisely than ever before.
But it's important to note that we do it in a privacy safe way. We recently conducted a large scale analysis of over 800 multi-screen campaigns across 17 industries. So this wasn't just isolated to healthcare. We were using aggregated and de-identified data from our partners Innovid and Block Graph.
And what this study revealed were very clear patterns in what drives people to take action after seeing an ad. Insights that we have now used to help marketers plan smarter, buy smarter. And ultimately get better results. So when campaigns combine both traditional and streaming tv, you're able to extend the reach and increase the efficiency and I think what I got most excited about was really the data tells us not that okay TV works, but how to make it work even harder.
Host: Okay, so let's talk a little bit about that. You said some really great stuff there. Planning smarter, buying smarter, you're able to extend the reach and frequency. So then, I'm just kind of curious, what type of programming are healthcare marketers typically seeing strong engagement on?
Jeanette Geer: So, Bill I don't think it's going to come as a big surprise to anybody listening that sports programming continues to be one of the most powerful environments for engagement. Again, no surprise there. Sports fans are loyal, they're passionate, they're highly attentive, which makes it great. It makes this great setting for meaningful brand messages. And when we start to look at multi-screen attribution data and the campaigns that we were analyzing, those that were running in sports content delivered a 24 percent higher website response rate than average for our healthcare brands. And so that means that when pairing the message with the moments of excitement, those sports moments, the connection can truly translate into real action.
Host: Sports programming. To me, it's one of the last shared experiences that we have as a country.
I mean before all the on-demand stuff, we would come in the next morning and talk about what did you watch on? Did you see ER last night? I'm dating myself, but sports today is the shared experience. Because we're all, because it's live.
Jeanette Geer: It's so true.
Host: And so we're all coming in the next day. Oh my God. Did you see that? So that's such a great point about sports. Absolutely. So I'm curious, what other insights did the study reveal?
Jeanette Geer: There was quite a bit of information that we were able to take away from that. So the one area that I thought really was interesting was how we looked at day parts and which day parts where the television creative was running, received the strongest responses.
And one of the more interesting findings was that early fringe. So early fringe in our world is 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM. Those hours generated twice the response of prime time. So think about a health system and they're working with this reduced budget perhaps year over year, and they're trying to find a way to have this presence on television. And prime time is typically what they would be looking at. But if you can find efficiencies in an area like early fringe, that's great. Prime access window that follows right before Prime delivered one and a half times the response of Prime. And for hospital marketers, this tells us that timing can be just as important as the message, meeting audiences when they're most open and receptive often during that late afternoon viewing period can make campaigns more effective without necessarily having to increase the spend.
Host: So if you're looking for eyeballs, don't overlook early fringe. If you do it right, you can really get a good buy in that timeframe, that four to seven timeframe.
Jeanette Geer: That's right.
Host: I love it. So, Jeanette healthcare advertisers they always want to know how much exposure to a commercial is enough. Right. The magic question. So what is the magic number for message delivery?
Jeanette Geer: I think that depends on what the goals are that you're ultimately seeking. What our attribution data shows is that marketers that have broad goals, for instance, brand awareness, should aim for at least one exposure a week.
But when frequency increases to two or more exposures per week, response rates jump dramatically up to six times higher. So while reach is critical, we know that consistently in what truly drives recall and engagement is just as important. This steady cadence of exposure. That's going to build trust over time, which is kind of where we started the conversation.
You know, this whole trust factor, and it's a theme throughout the conference. And this is especially true in healthcare, where that decision that a consumer is making can oftentimes be longer but more emotional, if you think about it.
Host: Yeah. That's interesting. So I'm also wondering, in this fragmented landscape of programming options, there's so much choice out there.
Of course, we have fickle viewers and multiple buying platforms. It would seem difficult to find and deliver that right patient audience that you're looking for. How can advertisers combat that?
Jeanette Geer: The good news is clients, advertisers, marketers actually have more control than ever before. It may not feel that way because again, it's very fragmented and you're trying to find the population.
Today an advertiser can buy what they want, when they want, and how they want it, and this is really key when starting to look across the landscape and partnerships and finding an organization that offers that to a client. Finding a partner that can help navigate all of those options but do it seamlessly.
So whether you're looking for a partner that provides flexibility, one who can execute across traditional or linear TV, as we like to say, streaming, addressable TV is really just an incredible way to hit the bullseye on a specific audience. And you also, I think, need that flexibility to be able to do that nationally or as hyperlocal as you need to be.
Host: Yeah, that makes sense. So then how does Spectrum Reach ensure these messages are reaching the right audience?
Jeanette Geer: So I would answer that in a couple of ways. First and foremost, television today is smarter than ever. This isn't about a Nielsen rating and this is the direction we're going to go. There's no denying that TV delivers that unmatched sight, sound, and motion.
But now that it's being powered by data and you have all of these very precision targeting options down to the household and you can do that across linear and streaming platforms; it becomes a very powerful vehicle to accomplish goals. So taking, compiling all of that data from qualified privacy compliant sources, including consumer demographics, lifestyle characteristics, and even modeled healthcare attributes, like insurance status. Oh, you're trying to reach a household with commercial insurance, we have the ability to help our partners our clients achieve just that.
Host: Really good stuff Jeanette. I want to thank you so much for stopping by our podcast booth today at SHSMD Connections 2025.
Before we wrap up, is there anything you want to add? Anything we left out? Any final thoughts you'd like to leave us with?
Jeanette Geer: Sure. I have a few, we haven't talked a lot about brand safety, but if there is one thing we know, that is non-negotiable in healthcare, and that's one of the areas where I think we really shine.
The fact that we are TAG platinum certified, matters. And Oracle Moat Verified, which means our advertisers can trust that the message that they are delivering to people are coming through in trusted environments. These aren't bots or fraudulent inventory, and we're also really proud to be the first media sales organization to achieve that TAG Platinum status.
And also the first publisher in streaming TV platform to earn the certified for transparency seal. At the end of the day, Bill, we want healthcare marketers to have confidence that their message is being seen in a brand safe, trustworthy, and transparent environment.
Host: Absolutely. Really good stuff, Jeanette. Thank you. Once again, if someone wants to learn more about you and Spectrum Reach, where can they go?
Jeanette Geer: So I would say step one would be to visit spectrumreach.com.
Host: Okay.
Jeanette Geer: And when you get there, it's organized in such a way, depending on the industry that you are representing or wanting to know more about, you can get there via that path.
Host: That sounds great. Thank you once again. I appreciate it.
Jeanette Geer: Thank you.
Host: And once again that is Jeanette Geer from Spectrum Reach. For more information about Spectrum Reach, as Jeanette just said, you can visit them at spectrumreach.com.
And if you found this podcast helpful, please share it on your social channels, and please subscribe so you get every episode, chockfull of great healthcare strategists, marketers, topics and solutions.
And to access our full podcast library, visit shsmd.org/podcasts. This has been a production of Doctor Podcasting. I'm Bill Klaproth. See ya.
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