How Optimized OEP Campaigns Fueled Medicare Advantage Growth

Katie Barone
Aug 20
2 min read

Originally published by Engagys

At a Glance

Business Problem: Improve member engagement, reduce churn, and generate high-quality leads during OEP.
Solution: Behavioral segmentation, A/B testing, multi-channel outreach, and content optimization.
Results: Over 25% of Medicare Advantage growth influenced by campaigns, nearly 30% more leads YoY, and more than 900% increase in QR code scans.

Business Opportunity

A large regional Blues plan serving millions of members across commercial, Medicare, and Medicaid lines of business faced challenges during the Medicare Open Enrollment Period (OEP). Despite a strong brand presence and historically steady enrollment, the plan sought to improve member engagement, reduce defection, and generate higher-quality leads - particularly from underserved and acquisition-ready populations.

Client Profile

Regional, nonprofit Blues plan serving millions of members, delivering healthcare coverage to individuals and families across multiple government and commercial health plans.

Engagys Solution

Engagys developed a comprehensive go-to-market (GTM) strategy to improve engagement, lead quality, and campaign efficiency during the Open Enrollment Period (OEP). The approach combined behavioral economics, precision segmentation and audience selection, and creative optimization to ensure messaging resonated across diverse member segments.

Key Components Included:

Strategic Planning and Execution: Built a detailed GTM plan aligned with the client’s overarching campaign goals. This included defining audience selection strategies, aligning channels to audience types, crafting behavioral science messaging frameworks, designing A/B testing experiments, and developing a media calendar for coordinated outreach via email and direct mail.
Data-Driven Segmentation: Identified several primary segments with equal focus on retention and acquisition based on external research and internal stakeholder insights. These segments enabled more relevant, personalized communication and established a foundation for deeper future sub-segmentation.
Behavioral Messaging and Content Creation: Created dozens of unique OEP multi-channel member communications informed by behavioral science principles such as urgency, personalization, and emotional resonance. Messaging variants included nostalgic vs. neutral language, benefit framing, and brand-centric positioning paired with enrollment qualification prompts.
Creative Design and Testing: Developed visual mockups that reduced cognitive load through smart use of whitespace, iconography, and aligned imagery. Four targeted experiments were designed to test communication tactics across key populations, such as postcard vs. letter performance, envelope effectiveness, and headline phrasing for Medicare Supplemental leads.
Quick Wins and Optimization: Recommended enhancements on landing pages to increase conversions, optimized inbound call center messaging with deadline urgency, and introduced tracking strategies to establish performance baselines and inform ongoing improvements.