Awards & Press

Press Release: Ovative Group Announces Opening of New York Office

NEW YORK November 4, 2021 Ovative Group, a media and measurement firm that helps change makers drive measurable marketing performance, announced today that it has opened an office location in New York City. Founded in 2009 and headquartered in Minneapolis, Ovative is expanding to New York to best serve its clients and to continue to recruit the best marketing talent.

Ovative has grown at least 20% each year since being founded in 2009, expanded its team from 200 to 293 employees in 2021, and is projected to increase revenues 40% compared to 2020. Founder and CEO Dale Nitschke attributes this to the company’s redefinition of marketing success, and the growing opportunity to help clients invest and harness digital. “Using a new proprietary metric that measures the holistic impact of marketing on our clients’ total business, called Enterprise Marketing Return (EMR), we have been able to retain and acquire new clients, even throughout the pandemic,” said Nitschke. While achieving high growth, Ovative has continued to invest in its employees’ training and development, and has been recognized as Ovative Group in Minnesota for the past six years.

This fall, Ovative’s New York team members have begun working out of the new office at 254 Canal Street. The top-floor, corner unit office space is just under 5,500 square feet, features conference rooms and phonebooth spaces equipped with world-class video technology to accommodate Ovative’s hybrid work model, and fits 48 workstations – allowing the team room to grow as they continue to hire for open roles. The office building is an early example of cast iron architecture, is part of the National Register of Historic Places, and is designated as a New York City Landmark. “We continue to believe that providing an environment for our team and clients to brainstorm, solve hard problems, collaborate, and socialize is core to our brand, culture, and values,” said Nitschke. In addition to their New York office opening, Ovative also announced the expansion of their Minneapolis headquarters earlier this year to house its growing team.

Ovative’s New York team, comprised of existing employees and new hires, will primarily serve the company’s East Coast clients – which account for over a third of Ovative’s total business. In addition to moving the needle for their clients, the team is looking forward to making an impact for their local community. As part of Ovative’s Champions of Change Services Program, which empowers employees to use their unique marketing skills to amplify the message of social benefit organizations, the Ovative New York team will be working on a pro-bono digital marketing project for a New York-based nonprofit organization. Charlotte Ryan, an Ovative Account Director, will serve as the New York Office Lead to create synergies between office locations and our national presence. “I am excited for our New York team to begin working in our new space, to continue being the best part of our clients’ days, and to help drive change in our local community,” said Ryan.

About Ovative Group

Ovative Group is a digital-first 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 Star Tribune’s Top Workplaces (national recognition in DE&I, Remote Work, and Professional Development), 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, and Twitter.

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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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