Awards & Press

Ovative Group Named #26 on Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal’s Fast 50 List

Minneapolis, MN October 29, 2021— For the 5th time, Ovative Group has been named to the Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal’s Fast 50 list of the Twin Cities fastest growing private companies, this year ranking #26 on the list.

Explosive Growth Hasn’t Stopped. Since its founding in 2009, Ovative has grown by at least 20% each year. In 2021 alone, the team grew from 200 to 293 and projects a 40% increase in revenue. Using Enterprise Marketing Return (EMR), Ovative’s proprietary metric that measures the impact of marketing on the total business, the company is transforming the measure of marketing success and is consistently retaining and acquiring clients across industries.

Dale Nitschke, CEO, said, “Our transformative approach to marketing drives measurable results for our clients, sustaining the consistent growth Ovative has experienced since 2009. We also continue to accelerate our ELEVATE program, which helps our team develop in leadership, decision-making, problem-solving, and subject matter expertise.”

Relentless Commitment to Team and Culture.  As Ovative continues to grow in team size and revenue, its foundational values of being genuine, engaged, driven, and accountable continue to be central to company culture. As such, Ovative is focused on creating an inclusive environment that welcomes and attracts diverse talent and believes these efforts are a core part of who the company is and is a key driver of results. We acknowledge there is more work to be done and have reorientated the Talent Services team to best activate on the elevation of inclusivity in all efforts by creating two new teams: Diversity & Acquisition (to acquire top talent) and Inclusion & Development (to retain and develop).

Creating an inclusive environment that attracts and retains diverse talent is another priority that we believe in throughout the organization and through listening to the team and their desire to take action, we have established an initiative that provides multiple avenues to act – Champions of Change.

About the Awards.  A complete list of those selected is available at www.bizjournals.com/twincities/fast-50, and read Ovative’s feature at www.bizjournals.com/twincities/news/2021/10/28/2021-fast-50-ovative-group-number-26.html. The annual Fast 50 list is a ranking of privately held companies based on percentage of growth in annual revenue for the past three fiscal years. To be in the running for this sought-after honor, the company’s gross annual revenue must be $1 million or more. Companies are grouped into categories based on annual reported gross revenues which are verified by an independent accounting firm.

Ovative is a digital-first media and measurement firm seeking to transform the measure of marketing success. At Ovative, we help brands move the needle.Connect with usto learn more! 


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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