The definition of “attention” and “performance” is expanding rapidly for healthcare advertisers, said Clifton Covey, senior vice president and group director of digital activation at WPP’s CMI Media Group. Speaking with Beet.TV Editorial Director Lisa Granatstein, Covey said there’s no “one size fits all” model for optimization and measurement in the industry.
“The gold standard has long been audience quality,” he said. “It’s powerful because it shows the likelihood of reaching your audience in a given placement, but it doesn’t offer real-time optimization.”
To enhance performance, marketers need to layer in new data points including everything from relapse risk to prescription timing. This information helps to reveal when patients or healthcare professionals are most receptive to engagement.
“Understanding where you’re reaching your audience and coupling that with business outcome data can be incredibly powerful,” Covey said.
Privacy is paramount
As healthcare marketing becomes more data-driven, Covey said data privacy must come first.
“It’s a lot easier to lose trust than to earn it,” he warned.
With different state-level regulations and the absence of federal legislation, CMI Media Group and its partners are focusing on compliance, consent, and diversification of data sources.
“We work closely with partners to ensure the data is appropriate and consented,” Covey said. “And where it’s not, we diversify our data and targeting strategies so we can still engage patients responsibly.”
He added that the industry must prioritize getting privacy right, or face serious ramifications as restrictions tighten in the coming years.
Keeping condition-based targeting ethical and effective
Condition-based targeting remains the “gold standard” in healthcare marketing, Covey said, citing its strong performance and audience quality. But its continued success depends on diligence and ethics.
“It’s about putting a critical lens on the data,” he said. “We need to ensure consent, compliance, and internal processes are all in place, and that we’re ready to pull back ads in regions where legislation limits what’s permissible.”
For CMI Media Group, this means not only trusting partners’ safeguards but also implementing their own internal checks to protect clients and patients alike.
Life after cookies: A more deterministic future
Covey, who previously led CMI’s cookie deprecation efforts, said the transition away from third-party cookies has been challenging but ultimately positive.
“Third-party cookies aren’t the most trustworthy or deterministic identifiers,” he said. “Now we’re seeing a shift toward IDs like RAMP ID, UID 2.0 and ID5, which give us more confidence in who we’re reaching.”
With cookies already unavailable in many browsers, Covey said the industry must evolve.
“If you’re still relying solely on third-party cookies, you’re missing half the picture,” he said.
Redefining TV engagement
Finally, Covey pointed to TV innovation as one of the most exciting frontiers in digital activation. Linear TV, long valued for mass reach, is becoming smarter through audience-based planning, integrating third-party and condition-based data for sharper targeting.
On the digital side, new formats like pause ads and interactive ad units are creating fresh opportunities to connect with viewers.
“The TV screen is no longer just about the commercial break,” Covey said. “From the OEM home screen to FAST channels and apps, we can now design experiences across the entire viewing journey.”
For healthcare brands, he said, the future of advertising lies in balancing precision, privacy, and creativity to deliver meaningful impact for patients and providers.
