Takeaways from BPD’s Joe Public Retreat 2024
The Joe Public Retreat isn’t your average conference. It’s not about buzzwords or tired panel discussions. It’s an intimate, closed-door conversation with health system CMOs about the most pressing issues in healthcare marketing. And this year, it was a wake-up call for those tired of playing it safe while Rome burns. The 2024 retreat delivered a no-holds-barred exploration of marketing’s challenges and opportunities—with a roster of thought leaders who didn’t mince words.
Let’s cut to the chase: It’s a time for bold action, not business as usual. This year’s takeaways offer a roadmap for navigating the flames—and emerging stronger than ever.
Here are the four critical lessons you need to know from BPD’s Joe Public Retreat.
- Is Rome Burning? How Healthcare CMOs Can Lead Through the Flames
The phrase “Rome is burning” feels uncomfortably relevant to healthcare marketing leaders right now. If you’re a CMO, you’re in the hot seat. Labor shortages, budget cuts and AI disruption are all bearing down. In the retreat’s opening fireside chat about healthcare economics, policy analyst Paul Keckley underscored the urgency: Healthcare spending is set to hit $4.8 trillion, or 19.7% of GDP, in the near future. But size isn’t strength; much of that spending is wasted on inefficiencies. And yes, payors aren’t only to blame. Hospitals are inefficient, too.If that’s not fiery enough, what feels even more like a five alarm fire is Keckley’s prediction that the next four years will likely bring major policy-driven budget cuts to health systems—as well as changes to what hospitals are accountable for. “We’re paid to get butts in beds,” Keckley said, “but our job should be to manage health and lives.”In an economic reality like this, CMOs have to reimagine their role and focus on what truly drives growth.To lead through the coming reckoning of healthcare, CMOs must:
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- Reimagine marketing strategies to focus on driving long-term patient loyalty rather than short-term service line volume alone.
- Reimagine marketing’s role as a growth engine, not just a support function
Takeaway: Crises are opportunities in disguise. CMOs who step up as visionaries can turn today’s challenges into tomorrow’s competitive advantages.
- From Chief Marketing Officer to Chief Market Officer: The New Mandate for CMOs
It’s time to drop the old job description. Healthcare CMOs are no longer just stewards of campaigns and messaging. The new mandate? Become the organization’s Chief Market Officer—the person who brings the outside world in and ensures the business aligns with market realities and opportunities.Some of this may not feel like it’s in a marketer’s traditional purview. But as Paul Keckley described, owning the ‘market’ in your title, means going far beyond consumer insights. It means bringing insights from big picture market trends, economic shifts, industry and policy changes, and population data to understand the real-world dynamics facing your system.And it means being the voice of truth to your CEO and board of directors. CMOs can help the C-Suite and board shape the business through a market lens, thereby positioning marketing as far more than ads and assets, but a true “voice of the market.”Is that easy? No, but it’s a major opportunity for CMOs. Author, professor, and cultural translator Dr. Marcus Collins put it bluntly: “Marketers are more attuned to the outside market than any other department. Are you willing to take the political risk to be the true voice of the market?”With that mindset, don’t forget about the cultural forces that drive market, industry, and policy shifts. As Dr. Collins explained, “Culture is the operating system of humanity. It’s our cultural lens that defines who we are and drives behavior.”It’s your job to synthesize these facets into a cohesive strategy that redefines marketing—and your organization. Done well, you create a brand with real staying power.Key actions for CMOs:
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- Employ a proactive approach to trend analysis and cross-functional collaboration to embed market realities into strategic decision-making.
- Move beyond demographics to truly understand the culture of the communities you serve—not geographical communities, but cultural communities.
- Be a connector: build bridges across the C-suite to amplify marketing’s strategic role, internally. You aren’t just a Chief Market Officer externally; your role is to be the voice of the external market and internal audiences.
Takeaway: To lead effectively, CMOs must own the “market” in their title, becoming the strategic connector between external insights and internal action.
- Why Experience Is the Next Battleground for Healthcare MarketingLet’s talk about the elephant in the room: Who actually owns the patient experience? If your answer is “everyone and no one,” you’re not alone. But if you currently see fragmented ownership across marketing, HR, IT, and patient experience teams in your organization, that can actually be your opportunity.The discussion in Charleston among leading CMOs about patient experience was… fiery, to say the least. Should Marketing own Experience? If so, what pieces?During our webinar highlighting takeaways from the retreat, Sarah Sanders, CMO at UCSF didn’t mince words on where marketers’ focus should lie: As health system CMOs, “we must focus on where we can make the biggest impact—like the seeking-care phase.” This includes everything from the digital front door to appointment scheduling to follow-up care.AI will reshape this area of the patient experience, which gives CMO a unique ‘in’ if done right. Paul Roetzer, CEO and Founder of the Marketing AI Institute, highlighted how AI is already reshaping experiences: “AI enables personalization at scale, allowing healthcare systems to deliver the right message, at the right time, to the right audience—no matter where they are in their journey,” he said. Isn’t that ultimately what CMOs are trained to do? Can you extend that thinking into the Patient Experience?Here’s where CMOs can lead:
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- Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good. How can you further improve the digital front door? Where can rally the organization around delivering on the brand promise? Can you enable your clinicians and staff to embody the brand in their day-to-day roles at the frontlines of the patient experience? Those are all meaningful ways to get started.
- Invest in AI tools that enable personalization at scale—not just for advertising, but for patient engagement purposes.
- Use data-driven insights to identify and address friction points in the patient journey, and then find new ways, big and small, to address those.
Takeaway: A key opportunity for CMOs in 2025 is to explore the consumer experience puzzle. Identify if it makes sense to influence it within your healthcare organization, and if so, how and where.
- AI Is Not a Threat—It’s the CMO’s Greatest Secret WeaponLet’s debunk the fearmongering: AI isn’t here to replace marketers—it’s here to amplify our strengths. But only if we’re willing to embrace it.Paul Roetzer’s advice was sharp and to-the-point: “Marketers who use AI will replace those who don’t.” In other words, get on board or get left behind. From automating repetitive tasks to delivering hyper-personalized campaigns, AI offers CMOs a toolkit to get more done. Isn’t that what we all dream about?Some standout AI use cases:
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- Content creation: Tools like ChatGPT, Jasper and Descript streamline everything from writing to podcast production to video editing. All that web copy your team is constantly updating? Get them an AI assistant that knows your brand voice, STAT.
- Consumer insights: AI-powered analytics reveal patterns and opportunities humans might miss.
- Workflow efficiency: Automation reduces time spent on mundane tasks, freeing up marketers for strategic initiatives.
Dr. Marcus Collins provided a provocative lens, urging marketers to focus on AI’s ability to drive creativity and redefine possibilities: “You don’t convince people with statistics. Humanity lives in the qualitative, not the quantitative.” He emphasized that AI’s role is not just to replicate human effort but to open entirely new creative doors.
Paul Roetzer echoed this, highlighting the rise of autonomous AI agents and reasoning models, saying, “We now have the most powerful reasoning engine humanity’s ever created—besides the human brain.”
Okay… mic drop. 🎤
In our recap webinar, Christine Kotler, CMO at Baptist Heath got as fired up about AI in marketing as we are, noting that “In 2025, AI education for my team will be a top priority.”
Takeaway: AI is a force multiplier for marketers who embrace it, but it’s up to CMOs to lead its integration with strategy and ethics in mind.
What’s Next for Healthcare CMOs?
The Joe Public Retreat wasn’t just a conversation—it was a call to action. After the retreat, we were ready to run through a brick wall. Whether it’s leading through crises, elevating the role of marketing, or leveraging AI and cultural insights, the future of healthcare marketing demands bold leadership and visionary thinking. For CMOs, that means stepping up, speaking out, and reshaping the industry for the better.
Instead of running from the flames, healthcare marketers can become the architects of what rises from the ashes. As Vic Reiss from UNC Health aptly put it, “Some fires are intentional and controlled to clear space for things to grow anew.”
What fires will you light?
