In recent years, I have had increasing conversations with prospects in the medical services, pharmaceutical, and medtech sectors. Whether discussing a vaccine, a screening package, a weight management drug, or a new minimally invasive surgical device, the core marketing challenge is the same:
How can you promote your product or service to the right audience while staying compliant with healthcare marketing regulations?
Start with the Patient Journey
The first principle is simple but often overlooked: focus on the patient’s needs before your product.
To achieve this, map the patient journey:
- Condition onset – The patient develops a medical condition, which could range from minor and embarrassing (for example, haemorrhoids) to serious (for example, heart disease) or manageable (for example, varicose veins).
- Research and information gathering – They look up symptoms, possible causes, and available treatments.
- Consideration and decision – They weigh options, including your product or service.
- Treatment and follow-up – They undergo the procedure, take the medication, or adopt the technology, with the potential need for ongoing engagement.
When you understand this journey, you can position your product as the most relevant and trusted choice at the right moments.
Elective vs. Condition-Required Products
One way to plan your marketing approach is to categorise your offering along a spectrum:
- Fully elective treatments – For example, aesthetic procedures, wellness supplements, or preventive screenings. These can be marketed to broad audiences.
- Semi-elective or condition-related products – Treatments like Ozempic for weight reduction, which require some medical qualification (such as an obesity diagnosis) but can appeal to wider segments.
- Strictly condition-required treatments – Solutions such as certain vascular treatments, which are only relevant to patients with a confirmed diagnosis.
The narrower your potential user base, the more focused and targeted your marketing should be.
Estimating Your Total Addressable Market
Once you know where your product sits on that spectrum, you can estimate the size of your total addressable market (TAM).
- Large TAM: Health screenings, vaccinations, and low-cost preventive services can be marketed widely, across both traditional and digital channels.
- Small TAM: Highly specialised treatments require intent-based marketing that targets people actively seeking information about their condition.
Singapore report shows that, as of January 2025, there were 5.16 million active social media user identities, which is equivalent to 88.2% of the total population. On top of that, 92% of internet users and 91.8 per cent of adults aged 18+ were active on social media. Your channel mix should reflect this.
Choosing the Right Media Channels
Broad-Audience Products
If your target market is broad and the product is affordable, focus on reach and awareness. Use a mix of:
- Traditional channels – Out-of-home (OOH) advertising, print, radio, and TV for older demographics.
- Digital channels – Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and programmatic ads for high reach and precise targeting.
Example: A hospital promoting an affordable heart health screening package could run a combined OOH and Facebook campaign to reach all age groups.
Niche or Condition-Specific Products
If your audience is small and specific, intent-based channels are more cost-efficient:
- Search marketing – Google Search and YouTube for people actively looking up symptoms, conditions, or treatment options.
- Content marketing – Articles, videos, and patient stories optimised for SEO to capture organic search traffic.
- Emerging platforms – Large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity are becoming discovery tools, making “LLM SEO” an emerging field for healthcare brands.
Seven in ten internet users say they search online for health-related information before visiting a doctor. This makes search optimisation essential.
Regulatory and Ethical Considerations
In Singapore, healthcare marketing is subject to strict regulations from the Ministry of Health (MOH) and sector-specific guidelines such as the Private Hospitals and Medical Clinics (PHMC) Regulations. Key points include:
- No false or misleading claims – Avoid exaggerating outcomes or minimising risks.
- No patient inducements – Offering gifts or incentives to attract patients is prohibited.
- Respect for privacy – Compliance with the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA) is essential when collecting or using patient data.
Marketing should also meet general ethical standards, avoiding content that could be seen as in poor taste or exploitative.
Why Work with a Specialist Healthcare Marketing Agency
Healthcare requires campaigns that balance clinical accuracy, patient empathy, and regulatory compliance while delivering measurable marketing ROI.
At IMPACT, we have worked with hospitals, clinics, pharmaceutical brands, and medtech companies across Asia-Pacific. We understand:
- How to segment and size your patient audience
- Which channels deliver the highest ROI for different healthcare offerings
- How to craft compliant, persuasive messaging that patients trust
To promote your healthcare product or service effectively and ethically, partnering with an agency that understands the industry is the most efficient route to achieving results.
About the Author
Donald Chan is the Founder of IMPACT! Brand Communications, a digital and content marketing agency headquartered in Singapore. With over 12 years of agency leadership and 20 years of marketing experience, he helps brands in B2B, technology, and emerging industries achieve real marketing impact.