Despite years of progress in healthcare innovation, too many patients in North America still face barriers to care that stem not from biology, but from geography, income, and systemic inequities. Across North America, millions of people live in “care deserts” with limited or no access to hospitals, pharmacies, or primary care providers. These individuals, many of whom belong to minority or rural communities, often fall outside the reach of traditional healthcare marketing efforts. As a result, they miss critical information about treatments, support programs, or cost-saving opportunities.
The Health Equity Marketplace, a new initiative launched by Havas Media Network in partnership with DeepIntent, seeks to change that.
Moving from Awareness to Action
Over the past several years, there’s been a growing emphasis across the healthcare industry on advancing health equity. But while many organizations have committed to addressing systemic barriers, executing on those goals has remained a challenge.
The Health Equity Marketplace is designed to help bridge that gap. It provides healthcare and wellness brands with a privacy-safe, programmatic solution for reaching underserved patients and providers in the places where they’re most often missed. By curating inventory and leveraging real-world data—clinical, consumer, and geographic—the platform enables targeted outreach to communities that may be far from healthcare infrastructure, underinsured, or overlooked by mainstream campaigns.
“We developed the Health Equity Marketplace because healthcare brands told us they wanted to do more than just talk about health equity—they wanted measurable ways to act on it,” said Holly Dunn, Managing Partner, Performance at Havas Media Network North America. “This marketplace transforms good intentions into strategic action, giving brands the tools to reach patients who have been overlooked while delivering the performance metrics that matter for business success.”
Measurable, Meaningful Engagement
Beyond targeting, the Health Equity Marketplace also brings accountability to the forefront. With built-in measurement capabilities, brands can evaluate the impact of their campaigns not just in terms of business performance, but through the lens of social outcomes: who was reached, how effectively, and with what results.
“The pharmaceutical industry has a responsibility to ensure that all patients, regardless of geography, income, or background, have equal access to information about treatments that could improve their lives,” said Lisa Kopp Johnson, Chief Revenue Officer at DeepIntent. “The Health Equity Marketplace represents a fundamental shift from hoping diverse patients see our messages to intentionally prioritizing them.”
A More Inclusive Future for Healthcare Marketing
Ultimately, this initiative is about ensuring that the benefits of modern healthcare marketing are shared more equitably. As healthcare marketers, we now have the capability to ensure that people in underserved areas access information that can improve their health and quality of life.
As DeepIntent CEO Chris Paquette noted, “We always put the patient, consumer, and provider first. Everything we do…it’s all about trying to build really genuine moments of engagement and education for our audiences.”
Through efforts like the Health Equity Marketplace, the industry is taking a big step toward outreach that is more intentional, inclusive, and rooted in impact.