In today’s saturated health care environment, marketing alone doesn’t cut through the noise. That’s why strategic health care public relations are essential to engage B2B audiences. Because reaching plan sponsors and brokers through organic, earned media generates stronger impact—and deeper engagement—than traditional paid campaigns.

Activate Health successfully employed this approach for the joint venture health plan, Banner|Aetna, owned by Banner Health and Aetna, a CVS Health company. Leveraging our deep understanding of the health care media landscape, combined with our research-first approach, we curated highly targeted press outreach that resulted in legitimate coverage.

We executed a comprehensive B2B health care public relations strategy which included securing executive visibility across speaking roles at industry conferences, podcasts, media interviews, and authored articles, as well as prominent industry awards.

To further demonstrate the value of Banner|Aetna to brokers and plan sponsors, we developed impactful client testimonials, managing the full process from customer interviews and case study creation to multi-channel distribution. To maximize reach and awareness, we amplified content through social media, blogs, as well as in more than a dozen trade and local media articles. Complementary tactics included encouraging internal teams to engage with these placements via employee emails to ensure broad awareness across the organization.

 

In 2024, our research-driven health care public relations efforts generated measurable value for Banner|Aetna, securing 114 earned media assets—including articles, interviews, and speaking engagements—with an overall publicity value of $4 million.

A single, targeted customer testimonial campaign drove $64K+ in publicity value and produced enduring sales assets still used in prospecting and advertising today. We also significantly boosted executive visibility, positioning the CEO and CMO as industry thought leaders through more than 150 media mentions, reaching an audience of over 81M. This resulted in a combined $1M in publicity value, driving a 7,500% (CEO) and 8,000% (CMO) increase in visibility.

Finally, our award strategy culminated in 30+ wins for the health plan and its executives, amplifying brand credibility across organic channels and enhancing authority in the market.