Episode Details

VP of Marketing at a nonprofit that didn't believe in marketing — here's what he built.

Christopher Lloyd is the Vice President of Marketing and Communications at Aspire Indiana Health, one of Indiana's largest nonprofit health systems serving 40,000+ patients annually across behavioral health, primary care, addiction recovery, housing, and crisis services.

But when Christopher joined in 2019, the organization had never marketed itself — and they wouldn't even let him use the word "marketing" in his job title.

In this episode of Hart & Hustle, Christopher breaks down what it really takes to build a marketing function from scratch inside a mission-driven organization, how to earn trust with clinician-led leadership, and why every nonprofit needs a marketing voice at the highest level of decision-making.

In this episode:

• Why almost every modern marketing tool was built for wealthy consumers — not the people nonprofits actually serve
• How Aspire grew from 10,000 to 40,000 patients served by investing in brand and communications
• The connected TV experiment that worked — and why Christopher walked away from it anyway
• What Medicaid funding cuts actually mean for safety net health organizations
• The servant leader management model that's reducing turnover in one of healthcare's hardest environments
• Why marketing communications belongs at your executive leadership table

"We serve with compassion. We serve with humility." — Christopher Lloyd

🔗 Connect with Aspire Indiana Health

Website: aspireindiana.org 

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/aspire-indiana-health 

Facebook: facebook.com/AspireIndianaHealth 

Instagram: @aspireindianahealth 

Services: Behavioral Health · Primary Care · Addiction Recovery · Crisis Services · Housing & Job Assistance · Pharmacy