Awards & Press

eHealth Named Ovative Group as Media Agency of Record

MINNEAPOLIS, MINN. March 29, 2023 – eHealth, a leading private online health insurance marketplace, selected Ovative Group as its new full-service media agency. Ovative is an independent media and measurement firm based in Minneapolis, MN. Ovative will oversee eHealth’s omnichannel strategy and execution, including organic search (SEO) and digital experience optimization (DXO), to accelerate eHealth’s growth.

Ovative’s deep knowledge of the healthcare industry paired with its customer-centric approach that leads with planning against audience insights made the agency a perfect fit for eHealth’s needs. By integrating offline data points into digital strategy and execution, Ovative will help eHealth transform its full-funnel media programming by continuously making smarter optimizations to campaigns based on collected measurements and customer insights, strengthening its audience-first approach. Beyond paid media, Ovative will help think through the end-to-end customer experience from outreach through site visits, advisor chats, or calls to increase conversions.

“eHealth aims to be the market leader in helping customers find the best health insurance coverage plans that fit their needs and budget. We want our customers to have an exceptional experience at every touchpoint and believe that Ovative has the expertise to help us achieve this mission. Partnering with Ovative will support our omnichannel goal of reaching customers where, when, and how they want to connect with us by driving insights on how we approach key audiences, tailor and optimize our media strategy, and deliver best-in-class solutions for our customers,” – Michelle Barbeau, Chief Marketing Officer at eHealth

“We’re very excited to welcome eHealth to the Ovative Group family! We know our customer-centric integrated approach to media planning and execution will allow us to reach their core audience segments. We understand their audience’s needs, wants, and where they consume media and will design agile strategies to breakthrough to them.” – Annie Zipfel, Executive VP Media, Ovative Group

eHealth joins a deep roster of brands coming to Ovative seeking a marketing and measurement partner to help transform their business including Coach, Kate Spade, General Mills, Duluth Trading Company, Sleep Number, and more.

ABOUT EHEALTH

For over 25 years, eHealth, Inc. (Nasdaq: EHTH) has expertly guided American consumers with innovative technology and licensed advisor support to help them find health insurance and related options. Through its proprietary health insurance marketplace at eHealth.com, eHealth has connected more than eight million members with quality, affordable coverage. eHealth offers Medicare Advantage, Medicare Supplement, Medicare Part D, individual, family, small business, and ancillary plans from approximately 200 health insurance companies nationwide. For more information about eHealth, please visit us at eHealth.com, or follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

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 FacebookInstagramLinkedIn, and Twitter.


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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