Awards & Press

Ovative Named Campus Forward Award Winner 

Minneapolis, MN January 11, 2023 – Ovative Group has been named a Ripplematch Campus Forward Award Winner in the Mid-Size Early Career Program category. This award recognizes Ovative’s excellence in early career hiring.  

Ovative’s foundational values of being Genuine, Engaged, Driven, and Accountable are central to company culture. Creating an inclusive environment that welcomes, attracts, and retains diverse talent is a key driver of results. We believe that fostering a diverse and inclusive culture is not a one-time commitment. It is a commitment Ovative, and all our team members, make each day to act. 

Bonnie Gross, EVP of Talent Services, shared, “Developing diverse, early career talent is critical for Ovative’s continued growth and success. Through access to our best-in-class onboarding boot camps, professional training programs, technology, and experts, we deliver an accelerated development path. Early career talent are Ovative’s future leaders!”  

More than 16% of current managers previously started their careers at Ovative. To retain talent, Ovative has invested in building best-in-class programs. ELEVATE, Ovative’s professional development and training program, offers a mix of formal and on-the-job learning opportunities for all team members. Ovative’s Champions of Change program enables a culture committed to social impact and inclusivity through four pillars: Cultural Agility Education, Skills-Based Partnerships, Equitable Operating Practices, and Charitable Giving. Integrating these pillars into daily work and living Ovative’s values are central to retaining underrepresented talent.  

At Ovative, talent is our greatest differentiator. We live by our values of being Genuine, Engaged, Driven, and Accountable and are building a workplace where people want to be. We are dedicated to helping talent grow and succeed. Ovative is growing! Join the team today. 

About Ripplematch Campus Forward Awards 

RippleMatch is a recruitment automation platform changing how Gen Z finds work. It is utilized by companies across the nation to build diverse, high-performing teams and by Gen Z job seekers to launch and grow their careers. Their Campus Forward Awards recognize excellence in early career hiring, celebrating the teams that embrace innovative recruiting strategies, care deeply about the candidate experience, are making significant investments in Diversity and Inclusion, and are supporting the next generation of talent through impactful internships and entry-level programs. See the full list of winners 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 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. 


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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