The first comprehensive framework for scaling patient acquisition in digital health
Built from 20+ in-depth conversations with leaders including:
Joanna Strober, Founder & CEO, Midi Health
Ankit Gupta, Founder & CEO, Bicycle Health
April Dunford, positioning expert and author of Obviously Awesome
Chapin Herman, CEO, Herman-Scheer
Digital leaders at Northwestern Medicine and MUSC Health
Operators behind brands like Plunge and Hyperice
This book breaks digital health marketing into 22 essential components spanning brand, performance marketing, compliance, infrastructure, AI, and leadership.
Why This Book Exists
Most marketing books assume ecommerce.
Digital health is different.
You operate inside:
- Fragmented payer and employer ecosystems
- Multi-touch, emotionally complex patient journeys
- Rising CAC and tightening ad platform policies
- AI-driven disruption across search and media
There has never been a complete, system-level playbook for navigating all of it.
Until now.
The 22-Component Framework
Marketing Digital Health breaks patient acquisition into five integrated domains:
Informed by the Leaders Building the Category
This book synthesizes insight from:
Founders scaling national telehealth platforms
Growth strategists operating inside venture-backed digital health
Health system innovation leaders at Northwestern Medicine and MUSC
Operators behind consumer brands like Plunge and Hyperice
Brand and positioning experts shaping healthcare categories
It bridges startup velocity and institutional complexity.
Foundations
Brand positioning, storytelling, and trust architecture.
Go-to-Market Execution
Content, paid media, creative testing, lifecycle marketing, and B2B2C activation.
Risk and Regulation
Privacy-first infrastructure, compliance strategy, and legal-marketing collaboration.
Innovation and Technical Shifts
AI, attribution resilience, consent-based systems, and evolving search behavior.
Each chapter examines:
• The cost of inaction
• Real-world case studies
• Tactical insight from domain experts
• How the component fits into the larger system
Because marketing in digital health is not modular.
It is interconnected.
Leadership and Category Building
Founder decisions, hiring for rigor, marketing org design, scaling with discipline.
Each chapter examines:
• The cost of inaction
• Real-world case studies
• Tactical insight from domain experts
• How the component fits into the larger system
Because marketing in digital health is not modular. It is interconnected.
Who This Is For
- Venture-backed digital health founders
- CMOs and Heads of Growth
- Marketing leaders operating in regulated environments
- Investors evaluating scalable patient acquisition
This book assumes you already understand marketing basics. It focuses on what makes digital health uniquely complex.
The Outcome
When you understand digital health marketing as a system:
The companies that win in digital health will not be the loudest.
They will be the most disciplined.
You scale without compromising trust
You improve CAC efficiency
You increase lifetime value
You reduce structural risk
You improve CAC efficiency
You increase lifetime value
You scale without compromising trust
You reduce structural risk
Organizations
Featured Contributors
Leadership and Category Building
Founder decisions, hiring for rigor, marketing org design, scaling with discipline.
Joanna Strober,
Midi Health
Ankit Gupta,
Bicycle Health
April Dunford,
Author: Obviously Awesome, Sales Pitch,
Adam Putterman,
Ours Privacy
Andy Crestodina,
Orbit Media
Chapin Herman,
Herman-Scheer
Kali Arduini Ihde,
Northwestern Medicine
Nathan Purpura,
Credo Health
Chris Turitzin,
Single Aim
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Chris Madden is the co-founder of Matchnode, a performance marketing agency focused on healthcare and digital health. He works with venture-backed companies, providers, and health systems to drive patient acquisition, build trusted brands, and scale growth in complex, regulated environments.
Over the past decade, Chris has partnered with teams across mental health, chronic care, women’s health, and emerging health tech categories. His work sits at the intersection of growth, storytelling, and compliance, helping companies reach patients in ways that are both effective and responsible.
Marketing Digital Health brings together lessons from founders, operators, and marketers building in this space today. The book focuses on what actually works, from brand and positioning to paid acquisition, lifecycle marketing, and navigating regulatory constraints.
CHRIS MADDEN
Co-Founder, Matchnode
Connect
For book inquiries
chris@matchnode.com