Portfolio Case Study: Food Rx – New Media Campaign Plan

Role: Marketing Strategist (Graduate Capstone Project)
Focus: Digital health innovation, omnichannel marketing, behavior change, ROI modeling

Project Overview

This project presents a data-driven new media campaign designed to scale a Food is Medicine platform by integrating healthcare, grocery retail, and pharmacy ecosystems into a unified digital experience.

The Problem:

Diet-related chronic disease remains a leading driver of healthcare costs and poor health outcomes in the United States, highlighting the need for scalable, preventive interventions. Metabolic syndrome now affects approximately one in three U.S. adults, increasing risk for cardiovascular disease, stroke, and diabetes.

Market Opportunity + Supporting Data

  • Diet-related chronic disease drives 85% of U.S. healthcare spending

  • Only 6.8% of U.S. adults meet optimal cardiometabolic health criteria

  • Food is Medicine programs could generate $24 billion in annual healthcare savings

  • 60% of Americans are willing to pay for Food is Medicine (FIM) programs

  • 84% believe these programs improve health outcomes

  • 79% report improved food choices with medically tailored meals

Despite this demand and evidence, existing solutions remain fragmented, lack scalability, and fail to connect clinical outcomes with consumer behavior and marketing performance.

What is Food RX?

A Connected EHR, Grocery, & Pharmacy Platform

The Solution:

The new media campaign for Food Rx, an integrated Food is Medicine (FIM) platform that connects healthcare providers, grocery retail, and pharmacy services through a unified digital application ecosystem.

The campaign leverages data-driven new media digital marketing strategies to promote adoption, engagement, and sustained participation in medically tailored nutrition programs.

Aligning marketing performance with measurable clinical and behavioral outcomes, this initiative demonstrates how digital innovation can support both positive population health outcomes and long-term business value creation.

Target Audience

The primary target audience for the Food Rx campaign includes adults aged 30–70 diagnosed with metabolic syndrome or cardiometabolic risk factors. Secondary audiences include healthcare providers and consumers seeking preventive health interventions.

Digital Behavior Insights:

  • 57% of U.S. adults access electronic health record (EHRs) online

  • 91% smartphone penetration

  • 90%+ omnichannel grocery shopping behavior

  • 81% pharmacy customers engage digitally

Strategic Positioning

The Food Rx service app will be positioned within the digital marketplace as a direct to consumer (DTC) fee-for-service scalable, data-driven, outcomes-verified nutrition intervention.

Differentiation:

  • First scalable EHR-integrated Food Rx model

  • Real-time clinical + behavioral tracking

  • Closed-loop ROI (marketing → behavior → health outcomes)

Marketing Strategy

Core Strategy

  • Integrate healthcare + retail + pharmacy + digital media

  • Use first-party data + AI personalization

  • Drive behavior change through omnichannel engagement

Key Channels

  • EHR patient portals (physician-driven acquisition)

  • Search (SEO/SEM + AI optimization)

  • Social media (education + storytelling)

  • Retail media networks (point-of-purchase influence)

  • Mobile app (engagement + retention)

Execution

The Food Rx campaign employs a multi-layered messaging strategy designed to build trust, drive engagement, and reinforce identity-based behavior change.

Three Pillars:

  1. Clinical Authority“Prescribed by your doctor”

  2. Empowerment“Take control of your health through food”

  3. Identity Transformation“Become the healthiest version of yourself”

Creative Concept

Campaign Theme:

“Food Is Medicine: Food Is Your First Prescription”

This approach reframes everyday food choices as a clinically guided, personalized health intervention delivered through an integrated omnichannel ecosystem.

Campaign Funnel

Top Funnel (Awareness)

  • AI search + social media + video content

  • Builds authority and demand

Mid Funnel (Conversion)

  • EHR integration → app download → prescription activation

Bottom Funnel (Retention & Outcomes)

  • App engagement

  • Push notifications

  • Loyalty + adherence tracking

KPIs & Success Metrics

Marketing KPIs

  • Customer acquisition rate

  • CTR, engagement rate

  • App downloads + retention

Behavioral Metrics

  • First prescription fills

  • Grocery adherence

  • Repeat purchases

Clinical Outcomes

  • HbA1c reduction

  • Blood pressure reduction

  • Weight loss

  • Reduced hospitalizations

By linking digital marketing performance indicators with grocery purchasing behavior and clinical health outcomes, the campaign provides a comprehensive framework for evaluating both marketing effectiveness and long-term value.

ROI Framework

Three-Dimensional ROI Model:

  • Financial ROI

    • Revenue from prescriptions + grocery purchases

    • ROAS / ROMI

  • Healthcare ROI

    • Reduced hospitalizations

    • Lower cost of care

  • Market Equity

    • Brand awareness

    • Share of search

    • Customer lifetime value

    Results & Impact

    • Scalable national Food is Medicine model

    • Measurable link between marketing → behavior → health outcomes

    • Supports value-based healthcare transformation

    • Creates long-term business + public health value

The Food Rx campaign presents an innovative, data-driven approach to addressing one of the most pressing challenges in healthcare—the rising burden of diet-related chronic disease.