Awards & Press

Star Tribune Names Ovative Group a Top Workplace for the Eighth Year 

MINNEAPOLIS, MINN. June 15, 2023  

Ovative Group was ranked 17th within the mid-sized company category of Star Tribune’s Top 200 Workplaces list for 2023. This is Ovative’s eighth consecutive time on the Minnesota list. Additionally, Ovative earned National Top Workplaces accolades for Compensation & Benefits, Innovation, Leadership, and Purpose & Values. 

Over the past several years, Ovative has largely focused on building an inclusive environment that welcomes and attracts top, diverse talent from across the nation. Through programs such as Champions of Change and ELEVATE, Ovative maintains a large focus on cultural inclusion and professional development at all levels of the organization.  

Ovative published its 2022 DEIB Annual Report earlier this year, highlighting its DEIB actions taken over the past year and demonstrating its accountability to being Champions of Change within and beyond Ovative’s walls. Ovative’s team takes action through four pillars: Cultural Agility Education, Equitable Operating Practices, Charitable Giving, and Skills-Based Partnerships. 

In March of this year, Ovative opened its third office in Chicago, joining the Minneapolis headquarters and New York City offices. Since opening its New York City office in 2021, Ovative has continued to experience explosive growth. The company expanded its team from 200 to 506 employees in just over two years, a 153% increase in headcount and revenues. The Chicago team will deploy Ovative’s key offerings to raise the bar for its clients across the nation. 

Ovative continues to serve its clients in meaningful and impactful ways across all areas of digital marketing and measurement. New brands, including home and holiday superstore, At Home, and leading private online health insurance marketplace, eHealth, joined Ovative’s roster this past year to move the needle in media strategy and measurement. 

“Because this recognition is directly a result of employee feedback, it means a lot to be ranked in the Top 200 Workplaces in Minnesota for the eighth year in a row. Fostering a diverse and inclusive environment is an ongoing commitment, and it’s one we take very seriously at Ovative and continue to keep at the heart of all we do,” says Erin Aberg, Vice President of Talent Services at Ovative.  

Top Workplaces recognizes the most progressive companies in Minnesota based on employee opinions measuring engagement, organizational health, and satisfaction. The analysis included responses from over 79,000 employees at public, private and nonprofit organizations in Minnesota. See the full list of companies here. 

ABOUT OVATIVE GROUP 

Ovative Group is an independent media and measurement firm that helps clients drive and deliver measurable marketing performance. Founded in 2009 by Dale Nitschke, Ovative brings media, measurement, and consulting together under one roof to measure the holistic impact of marketing on clients’ total business using its proprietary metric, Enterprise Marketing Return (EMR). Ovative’s team of marketing experts serves as a trusted partner for its national world-class client base of marketing leaders across many industries. Ovative is recognized as an industry leader and has received awards including Adweek Fastest Growing Agencies, Star Tribune’s Top Workplaces, Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal’s Fast 50, and Inc. 5000. For more information about Ovative, visit ovative.com or follow Ovative on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter.   

For media inquiries, please contact [email protected] 


Lillian Smith

Senior Analyst, Paid Social

About the Author

Lillian is a Senior Analyst on the Paid Social team at Ovative.

Dale Nitschke

Dale Nitschke

CEO & Founder

About the Author

Dale is the Founder and CEO of Ovative. After years of operating a large omni-channel business and leading a customer data initiative, Dale knew there was an opportunity to create a marketing firm that helped clients become more customer centric and drove better performance outcomes. A gap existed between business consultancies and advertising agencies that modern marketing approaches demand. He also believed that a strong, healthy culture could attract and develop smart, talented team members. In 2009, he formed Ovative to bring media, measurement, and consulting together under one roof to enable an enterprise approach that drives more revenue and grows clients’ customer base.

Prior to founding Ovative in 2009, Dale spent 23 years at Target Corporation where he served as President of Target.com and grew the ecommerce business from start-up stage to a $1 billion+ business and established the foundation of Target’s Guest database capabilities. Previously he served as SVP Merchandising at the Department Store Division of Dayton Hudson. Dale has advised retailers and brands globally on business, growth, marketing, and measurement transformation strategies.

Outside of Ovative, Dale is a leader on topics including business strategy, change management, and team leadership. He serves on the board of Allergy Amulet and on the Dean’s Advisory Board of the Wisconsin School of Business at UW-Madison.  He enjoys spending time with his family, up north in northern Wisconsin, playing golf, and cheering on Wisconsin sport teams.

Seth Brand

Senior Manager, Consulting

About the Author

Seth is a Senior Manager on the Consulting team at Ovative.

Amanda McCann

Senior Manager, Consulting

About the Author

Amanda is a Senior Manager on the Consulting team at Ovative, specializing in Retail Media Networks.

Jenny Reinke

Senior Analyst, Measurement Solutions

About the Author

Jenny is a Senior Analyst on the Measurement Solutions team at Ovative.

Annie Zipfel

Executive Vice President, Media

About the Author

Annie is the Executive Vice President of Media at Ovative. She oversees delivery and growth across paid and owned media (digital, traditional, and retail media) and creative services.

Annie has more than 30 years of experience in media, brand management, insights/analytics, marketing, and product. She has also developed large, high-performing teams and built new measurement capabilities. Annie led the marketing team at Andersen Windows & Doors, leading the digital, social, content, customer insights, and creative functions. Prior to that, Annie served in multiple marketing leadership roles at Starbucks, REI, Target, and General Mills, with a keen focus on brand, media, insights, analytics, and measurement.

Annie is an industry leader in brand management, customer insights, e-commerce, social media, and analytics. She enjoys hiking, traveling, cooking, fishing, and spending time with her sweet dog and two sons.

Bonnie Gross

Executive Vice President, Talent Services

About the Author

Bonnie is the Executive Vice President of Talent Services at Ovative. She is responsible for attracting and retaining top talent and creating a culture in which our team thrives personally and professionally. Under Bonnie’s leadership, Ovative has defined an industry leading leadership and development program and transformed our approach to talent recruitment with a focus on diversity, equality and inclusion. Prior to her current role, Bonnie led Ovative’s Client and Business Development team overseeing client satisfaction and new growth opportunities.

Before joining Ovative in 2014, Bonnie spent 13 years at Target Corporate as the VP of digital and Digital Marketing where she led the launch of Cartwheel, an industry-leading social shopping application. Bonnie was the VP of Marketing for Fingerhut for 15 years prior to joining Target.

Leander Cohen

Analyst, Consulting

About the Author

Leander Cohen is an Analyst on the Consulting team at Ovative.

Will Silva

Analyst, Measurement Solutions

About the Author

Will is an Analyst on the Measurement Solutions team at Ovative.

Sarah Chang

Sarah Chang

Analyst, Consulting

About the Author

Sarah Chang is an Analyst on the Consulting team at Ovative.

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