Featuring Michael Cole, Chief Strategic Development Officer, Relevate Health
In Episode Six of HealthLink Signals, Michael Cole, Chief Strategic Development Officer at Relevate Health, makes the case that context now matters more than channel. As marketers chase a truly omnichannel approach to physicians, Cole argues the real work is understanding what the doctor is trying to do in a given moment, and meeting them there.
Cole organizes the world into two mindsets: the point of learning, where doctors absorb long-form education from people and sources they trust, and the point of clinical decision, where they are in front of a patient and need short, timely support. Layering intent signals onto that framing, he explains, is what turns accurate targeting into engagement doctors actually find useful.
As life science data volume keeps climbing, the old divide between slow strategic data and fast media data is disappearing, and Cole is candid about being wrong on that call for years.
In this conversation, Cole discusses:
Why context matters more than the channel when reaching physicians
The difference between the point of learning and the point of clinical decision
How layered intent signals turn targeting into genuinely useful engagement
Why the wall between slow strategic data and fast media data is coming down
Why bigger, higher-frequency bets outperform a portfolio of small pilots
He also reflects on the belief about risk and data he has had to rethink most over his career, and offers a sharp test for whether you can really trust a partner: would you be willing to buy their company?