June 6, 2025
While an ever-changing media landscape is standard for healthcare communicators, the last six months have felt particularly transformational. As consumption habits continue to shift and new voices and influences emerge, GCI Health’s media experts came together for the latest Inspired Exchanges session to discuss the platforms and players and offer their playbook to help clients stay ahead and thrive.
GCI Health’s Inspired Exchange: Harnessing the Evolving Media Landscape to Drive Impact, was moderated by Kristin Cahill, Global CEO, and featured panelists Becky Lauer, Executive Vice President, Global Head of Media; Eve Zibel, Executive Vice President, U.S. Media Lead; Joe Malunda, Executive Vice President, U.S. Co-Head of Digital, Operations and Jess Vanner, Group Senior Vice President, Paid Media.
An Evolved Approach
Cahill led the session by affirming that the days of the traditional PESO media model (Paid, Earned, Social, Owned) are over, saying, “We all need to be embracing a much more integrated view of media moving forward.”
To that end, each of GCI Health’s panelists was critical in shaping GCI Health’s new, holistic media approach, called “Media Impact,” which centers around 3 C’s—consumption, credibility and catalyst. This framework encourages an analysis of evolving consumption habits, identification of credible sources of information, and, most importantly, a focus on creating real behavior change, versus simply chasing impressions.
The panelists echoed the importance of moving beyond impressions to instead focus on being a catalyst for change. They agreed that when creating content, it’s critical to ask how content inspires action, whether that’s visiting a website, sharing information or adopting a new behavior. “I’m on a mission to eliminate impressions,” says Cahill. “We know they don’t equal impact, so we are focused on how the stories we tell through media can create behavior change.”
Earned Media: New Voices, New Choices
In reflecting on the state of earned media, Becky Lauer pointed to the deterioration of trust in traditional sources, which has led to the rise of local media. As a result, traditional “top tier” media may not always be the best option for maximizing the impact of client news. “Everything needs to be done on an individual basis, and planning and flexibility is key,” she notes.
While CEOs might be reading the Wall Street Journal every day, their audiences may not be. This means asking the tough questions: Where does the audience get their information? What sources do they trust? Eve Zibel underscored this point, stating, “We need to move with them, and we need to move them.” Lauer also shared that younger reporters today are more focused on “bringing the human side into the story. They’re telling stories differently, and often visually, through the patient’s eyes.”
When developing media strategy, the team emphasized the importance of aligning media choices with target audience consumption habits that include a mix of earned, paid and social media.
The “Algorithm Economy” and Emerging Platforms
As GCI Health’s co-head of digital, Joe Malunda emphasized that digital media has become even more critical in today’s landscape. “Digital is really at the forefront. It’s the tip of the spear in everything that’s happening right now with the emerging media landscape.”
Malunda highlighted the concept of “echo chambers” created by algorithms. He noted that everyone is affected by these echo chambers, where they consume information that reinforces existing viewpoints. This has sparked an emerging trend, “Dark Digital,” for breaking through, where a news story, an executive blog or even a social post is shared by the reader. “The sharing feature epitomizes the peak of what impact could be, of what credibility could be,” he said. “The way to really maximize the efficacy of dark digital is to precisely know the needs of the audience you’re trying to reach so you can break down the barriers and compel them to actually convert and respond to your call to action.”
Malunda also highlighted platforms gaining popularity, like Reddit, Blue Sky and Threads, and how they reflect “the now” of how people are digesting information. He cited a study showing that 81% of users felt less alone on their health journey because of Reddit. When entering these spaces, he advises that companies show up authentically and in a very controlled manner.
Optimizing for AI and Search
Jess Vanner addressed the impact of AI summaries on search behavior and the need to optimize beyond traditional keywords. As more people are becoming reliant on AI summaries, it’s impacting SEO and paid strategies. In addition, the modes of search are changing to also include visuals and voice.
“Brands need to be considering how they’re optimizing beyond traditional keywords to capture the attention of their users who are searching in all of these new ways,” she said. Noting that 75% of Google links are coming from the top 12 results, she counsels clients to make sure they are providing the most information possible to all sites they are on and advises that search needs to be part of a comprehensive media strategy. “AI is only going to be as good as the data that it is fed,” she said.
She notes that GCI Health’s audience-first approach and ability to layer criteria for precise targeting, is meeting this moment head on. “It’s really hard to look at it as this perfect formula because at the end of the day, it’s messy,” said Jess Vanner. “That’s where we thrive because we understand that not every user journey is going be exactly the same and that not everybody is going to go to the exact same website or social media site.”
The panel also discussed the emergence of “newsfluencers”—reporters, creators or commentators who are using their personal platforms to build a brand. The team noted that many newsfluencers are drawn to Substack but are typically not as fluent in healthcare. Newsfluencers who are focused on healthcare tend to be tried and true journalists.
Key Takeaways for Healthcare Communicators:
- Embrace “Media Impact”: Move beyond siloed strategies to integrate earned, digital and paid media.
- Focus on the 3 C’s — consumption, credibility, and catalyst: This framework is about creating real behavior change, versus simply chasing impressions.
- The “Algorithm Economy”: Break through echo chambers with “dark digital” strategies.
- Optimize for AI: Adapt to the evolving search landscape and feed AI summaries.
- Explore Emerging Platforms: Consider Reddit, Blue Sky and Threads to reach new audiences.
- Prioritize Precise Targeting: Use data to reach the right people with the right message.
GCI Health’s Inspired Exchanges is an ongoing series that illuminates the insights of internal thought leaders across a range of topics relevant to today’s healthcare communicators. To learn more, click the #InspiredExchanges tag above.