CASE STUDY

Simplifying

healthcare

complexity

WORK

ilumed

PROJECT

ACO Reach — A New Medicare Model

SERVICES
PROVIDED

B2B Marketing

B2C Marketing

Strategy

Branding

SEO

Web Development

Thought Leadership

Media

The need

When ilumed had the ambitious task of introducing a new Medicare model, we crafted a joint B2B/B2C marketing strategy designed to simplify complexity and connect on the human level. We leveraged functional and emotional audience insights to make the model accessible and showcase ilumed’s value proposition to providers and patients alike, proving the power of balancing empathy with clarity. 

What we did

The new model warranted a new website and content strategy. Our digital and creative teams focused on building a best-in-class website experience that simultaneously educated and engaged B2B and B2C audiences  
 
SEO played a key role in the new website copy and content strategy, helping to drive organic search results and position ilumed as a top-tier ACO REACH thought leader. We capitalized on ilumed’s combined 300 years of healthcare experience to create ghostwritten articles on every aspect of ACO REACH, from care delivery to financial stability, healthcare operations to health equity. We used content as a lead magnet for providers weighing which Medicare model to enroll in. 

The Results

Providers fuel ilumed’s path to profitability. Having more contracted ilumed providers means serving more beneficiaries. At the same time, providers must clear a high bar to participate in the ACO REACH model. So we doubled down on attracting qualified provider leads to the site and saw a 37% increase in users and a 27% form-fill conversion rate, which led to almost one and a half times more year-over-year beneficiary growth. 

27%

form-fill conversion rate

146%

year-over-year beneficiary growth

WHY THE CLIENT SMILED

“The Heinrich team killed it and I’m excited to see
how we moved the needle this year.”

— Anthony Layfield, AVP at Humana

THE FULL

story

A new welcome mat

Healthcare providers and patients face the same challenge: a broken healthcare system. For providers, that means working harder for less money and worse outcomes. For patients, it’s worse experiences and outcomes for higher costs. ilumed heals healthcare from the inside out by creating more sustainable revenue streams, improving healthcare delivery, addressing health equity and reducing costs.  

We saw that a new website would give us the chance to tell a new, simplified story, laying out a warm welcome mat for providers and patients by showing ilumed’s unique approach to healthcare delivery.  

We developed a clear, accessible voice, speaking to providers’ and patients’ biggest pain points and how ilumed solves them. We brought ilumed’s commitment to empathy and data to life with succinct, yet compelling, copy that feels personal. 

 We designed the site to showcase ilumed’s expertise and commitment to patients. Animations and interactive elements deliver the story on ACO REACH and ilumed in bite-sized moments. Illustrations and iconography give the site a hand-drawn feel, subtly showing ilumed’s commitment to care in action. 

Shifting provider’s minds and practices

Getting providers to pay attention is no easy feat—they’re so busy working in their practices they have almost no time to work on their practices. So we decided to harness the information that’s only in the ilumed team’s head when it comes to improving provider operations, finances and care delivery. As a result, ilumed has become a go-to destination for high-value, original content providers want and need to sustain their practices and improve patient outcomes. 

We make it happen by interviewing ilumed’s internal subject-matter experts and drafting thought-leadership articles on their behalf. We take on the heavy lifting developing and executing the content marketing strategy so the ilumed team can focus on what they do best—supporting providers and patients. Meanwhile, ilumed’s leaders gain credibility and recognition in the sector as trusted experts in the ACO REACH model. 

Powering ilumed’s position

Heinrich enhanced ilumed’s brand positioning with thoughtful, human-centered design, messaging and thought-leadership content. We used strategic audience insights, along with SEO, not just to move the needle on ilumed’s profitability but to supercharge it.  

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CASE STUDY

One campaign.

One jingle.

52 million impressions.

WORK

WYDOT Governor’s Council on Impaired Driving

PROJECT

What’s Riding On It Campaign

SERVICES
PROVIDED

Strategy

Creative

Video

Media

The need

Colorado’s northern neighbor has a problem, and they want to fix it. As the state with the nation’s highest rate of drunk driving deaths per 100,000 people (according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration), it’s clear something in Wyoming needs to change. Unfortunately, many Wyomingites reportedly think they’re okay to drive after drinking 1–2 beers but given the average BAC (at time of DUI arrest) is double the legal limit, people are clearly underestimating their level of intoxication. The silver lining? Even though this culture of DUI tolerance exists, 85% of residents see this as a serious issue within their community. Which is why the Wyoming Department of Transportation Governor’s Council on Impaired Driving enlisted Heinrich to create a campaign that would increase awareness of impaired driving to hopefully decrease incidences of crashes, injuries, and fatalities caused by alcohol impairment.

What we did

Getting people to change a culturally accepted behavior is a challenging task. Before we could even begin our creative concepting, we had to figure what—if anything—would motivate our audience to stop driving under the influence. So, we asked them. Through our six statewide listening sessions, we learned directly from Wyoming residents which factors would make them think twice before getting behind the wheel after consuming alcohol. When it came down to it, family, career, freedom, and duty topped the list. We also learned that 50% of fatalities in WY involve non-residents, and we need to target our campaign at tourists, as well as people who are just passing through, such as commercial truck drivers. Armed with these insights we created a campaign (and a damn-catchy tune) that included video, radio, digital, and OOH aimed at changing social norms while encouraging people to ask themselves, “What’s riding on your sober driving?”  

The Results

Using a media buy focused on reaching audiences 21+ statewide, with an emphasis on counties with the highest incidences of impaired driving, our non-threatening-yet gets-you-thinking campaign made quite an impression. 52 million of them to be exact. And the cherry on top? Our client even made our jingle his ringtone, (which we’re sure his coworker’s loved).

52M

total impressions 

WHY THE CLIENT SMILED

“This is one of my favorite Heinrich campaigns. Right on point and a catchy song, I can’t wait to share these! I’m still humming it to myself…”

Work

ilumed ACO Reach

Work

Wyoming Department of Transportation

Work

Humana Ascend

Work

Elevon

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How to Use Digital to Beat Your DM Control Package

Work

Humana Recruitment

Thoughts & News

Making a Name for Yourself: How to Name Your Brand in Four Steps

GET STARTED

CASE STUDY

Taking sales

education to

new heights

WORK

Humana

PROJECT

Ascend Virtual Conference

SERVICES
PROVIDED

B2B Marketing

Strategy

Virtual Event Creation

Educational Content

Email Marketing

Print Production

The need

Humana and the agents that sell its plans have a uniquely symbiotic relationship. On the one hand, agents drive the lion’s share of Humana’s sales. On the other hand, agents want more enterprise support in cultivating leads and closing sales. Yet one thing stays true: agent-driven leads and sales are stickier. So, we created the two-day Ascend Virtual Conference to empower agents at the grassroots level. 

What we did

Agents care most about two things: creating more leads and closing more sales. We centered our event strategy on this insight and collaborated with top-performing field agents and market leaders to discover practical and proven strategies. We then married this discovery with Humana enterprise business priorities to highlight the multiple levers agents can pull in expanding their lead efforts and closing more sales. Our conference presentations gave agents clear paths to more leads and sales in a motivating and engaging virtual experience. 

We also brought in a keynote speaker, Amelia Rose Earhart, and incentivized agents to engage during the conference with an agent challenge. Amelia, the second youngest woman to pilot a single-engine plane around the globe after completing the attempted route of her namesake, spoke about the power of building relationships. Agents who won each day’s live challenge were mailed a Humana-branded kit of marketing materials like give-away items. 

The Results

An outside keynote speaker with an inspirational message proved to be a big draw for agents and helped differentiate the conference from past virtual events. Agents clamored for information, especially on maximizing grassroots marketing through referrals and simplifying healthcare for Medicare-eligible veterans. The agent challenge proved to be a more cost-effective approach and spurred friendly competition among agents during the live virtual event. 

Boasted the highest number of total registrants of any Humana virtual event.

97%

of agents felt more prepared to create relationships in their local community after the event

68%

increase in attendance over past Humana virtual events

WHY THE CLIENT SMILED

“Best field support I’ve seen from a healthcare company.”

—Conference attendee and licensed Humana sales agent

THE FULL

story

Inspired insights led to a simple yet sophisticated strategy

Humana and the agents that sell Humana plans want the same thing: to increase leads and sales. Humana depends on agents for the majority of its sales, and agents depend on Humana to give them the resources and tools they need to maximize their year-round sales efforts.  

When we dug into the research, we noticed something profound. Agents believe Medicare carriers should provide them with more leads and sales opportunities. Research also showed that one-on-one relationships between agents and members drove the highest qualified leads and sales with the strongest member retention. We knew we needed to change agents’ hearts and minds to empower them to see that they have something special—which is also their secret sauce—deep, personal connections in their local community. We created the Ascend Virtual Conference to encourage agents to see relationships as the key to their sales success.  

Curation, creation and competition in one conference

We took a three-pronged approach to developing Ascend: 1. curate motivational speakers and information from top-selling agents and leaders in the field; 2. create presentations rooted in practical, actionable advice agents can immediately put to work; and 3. incentivize live-day attendance with an agent challenge.  

We found Amelia Rose Earhart, an accomplished speaker, pilot, artist and nonprofit leader with an impressive personal story to bring an outside perspective and motivate agents to understand the transformative power of relationships.  

We interviewed many top-performing Humana agents and leaders to get their field-tested strategies for increasing leads and maximizing sales through community connections. We focused our presentations on sharing peer-to-peer advice agents would resonate with and know how to use the minute they left the conference.  

Because we know salespeople love a good incentive, we added on an agent challenge to encourage agents to interact live in the virtual event with a two-day competition. Winners received Humana-branded marketing assets to use at grassroots events. 

Training that scales—and transforms

The Ascend Virtual Conference created a template for nation-wide education with local-market empowerment. Agents got to learn from and interact with their peers while getting a healthy dose of inspiration. We helped Humana move the needle on agent advocacy, affinity and preference and be recognized as a best-in-class carrier who gives agents the tools and resources they need to succeed. 

Work

ilumed ACO Reach

Work

Wyoming Department of Transportation

Work

Humana Ascend

Work

Elevon

Thoughts & News

How to Use Digital to Beat Your DM Control Package

Work

Humana Recruitment

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HOLLER AT US

CASE STUDY

Setting a

foundation

to last

WORK

Trammell Crow Company

PROJECT

Elevon: Commercial real estate branding

SERVICES
PROVIDED

Research + Strategy

Brand Positioning + Messaging

Naming

Collateral

Social Media

The need

The Central Park neighborhood was once home to Denver’s international airport, and when that moved out of town, the area became known as a quiet place to raise a family. But with a new light rail stop, budding brewery scene, and robust restaurant and cafe options, this neighborhood is now brimming with opportunity and connectivity to town and country, providing more opportunities to a wider variety of people. Trammell Crow Company knew that and came to Heinrich for help with everything that would get that new story to the masses, including brand strategy, naming, verbal and visual identities, website development and channel executions. Seemingly straightforward (and fun), Heinrich jumped at the chance. The added challenge? Changing perceptions and showing Denverites that Central Park neighborhood wasn’t just for families anymore. 

What we did

To get people excited about this locale, this brand had to inspire them away from Denver’s saturated, downtown apartment scene. With soaring competition, we focused on what matters to the people who prefer living in buzzing parts of town—a sense of spontaneity. We conveyed a bold statement to renters who worry that practical decisions could lead to a stagnant life, that these apartments hit the sweet spot of living a life in motion. Sculpting a brand strategy through research, competitive analysis and audience insights, we carved out intricate personas, positioning and territories. Using this information, we named this elegant, yet approachable community Elevon as a creative nod to the neighborhood’s historic connection to aeronautics. While always asking ourselves what would enchant culturally vivacious residents to flock to this side of town, the brand the visual and verbal identities took flight, and became enlivened with the tones, hues, and confidence necessary to create a story worth telling Community collateral and signage was an opportunity to understand the neighborhood even better, as we had to ensure that every detail suited the apartments’ surroundings. And with beauty and precision, we landed on brand guidelines that are worthy of a window seat. 

The Results

More important than winning Bronze in the Denver One Club Awards (which is pretty darn important), our client fell in love with the Elevon brand and how we’ve given the apartments wings to fly above the competition. Elevon has since been an inspiration for Trammell Crow Company as pre-leasing of the property is underway and is exceeding expectations.  

Like any successful partnership, the process was equally rewarding creatively, revealing more about the spirit of the brand than we had anticipatedthe surrounding community was an irreplicable source of inspiration.The up-front research and collaboration were particularly paramount to the brand development process, and the success of Elevon hinged on experience-laden tactics and laid the foundation for this brand to set itself apart in a category with ambitious competition.  

WHY THE CLIENT SMILED

“Thinking of working with Heinrich? Do it! If you are looking for an agency to provide tight strategy, beautiful creative and to make your life easier I recommend Heinrich for the job.”

— MICHELLE VIOLANO REGIONAL MARKETING MANAGER, GREYSTAR

THE FULL

story

A deeper look at Elevon’s branding

With steep competition, we set out to showcase Elevon as a place to enjoy spontaneity at your doorstep while fueling wonder for what’s around the corner—a concept we hadn’t seen from other luxury apartments. Experience in real estate has taught us that location context is everything on these branding projects and the surrounding community of the Central Park neighborhood was an irreplicable beacon, guiding us along the way. Union Station and DIA are easy to get to thanks to the light rail stop and there’s an abundance of bars, cafés, breweries, shops, and hiking and biking trails. These opportunities and conveniences meant the world to our audience, and living a life in motion was paramount to their happiness and sense of self. So, we captured that essence, with style.  

Strategy that puts life in motion

A sound strategic brand foundation is always a must, but especially so for real estate. Longevity is everything. Heinrich was searching for a balance between honoring the neighborhood’s legacy with its blossoming future. We started by analyzing the market, poking holes in what’s obvious and peering into what other real estate brands had been too timid to explore. We got to know the market and target audience like a neighbor, and a distinctive opportunity revealed itself: Heinrich needed to push this notion of living a life in motion even deeper. For our audience, a life in motion is lived in both a physical sense like access to activities (big in Colorado), and then, in an emotional sense when it comes to feeling a sense of fulfillment and optimism. We positioned Elevon as an incubator of a life in motion, whatever that sense of motion might look like for each resident. The name, voice, and story that followed reflected the sentiment that these homes can be both destination and departure points of for residents’ lives. 

A name worth writing in stone

Originally a term for aircraft surfaces that combine the functions of two instruments for pitch and roll control, Elevon fosters a sense of cohesion to help residents keep their footing with work and all that Denver life has to offer. But how did we get to a name that encompasses all that?  

Naming real estate takes a very nuanced, special creative skill set. And when a name must be written in stone, literally in the case of real estate, it must be as timeless and strong as the brand and building which bear that name. And we understood how much Trammell Crow Company was entrusting with us on this project. Heinrich researched and brainstormed thoughtfully to tactfully come up with a name.  For real estate, a name must encompass culture, context, history, and sense of place. We might not have anthropologists on staff, but we have plenty of creatives that can research just as well to create a name that lasts. 

A visual and verbal identity as inviting as a neighbor

We captured a very special sentiment with this brand: Elevating the fulfillment that comes with sophisticated adventure—Elevon is where you launch into a way of life you cherish and the future you desire. So, how does that come alive through tone, imagery, and style? 

Inspired by the take-off of an aircraft, the hero logo uses a font that has an upward motion typeface. With earthy, elegant brand colors and an intelligent but friendly tone of voice, residents know that they have a place to love, kick up their heels and reset for their next adventure. Going deeper, Elevon’s brand colors were selected to create a weighted balance between classic and new—honoring the duality between legacy and future for the neighborhood and residents. Additionally, we leaned into the history of the neighborhood and aircraft inspiration throughout our language choices: typography and visuals, using control panel elements like classic symbols of mapmaking contrast, and language that continually pushes the forward moving, life-in-motion strategic narrative. 

Work

ilumed ACO Reach

Work

Wyoming Department of Transportation

Work

Humana Ascend

Work

Elevon

Thoughts & News

How to Use Digital to Beat Your DM Control Package

Work

Humana Recruitment

Thoughts & News

Making a Name for Yourself: How to Name Your Brand in Four Steps

START THE CONVO

CASE STUDY

Inspiring

AGENTS TO

level up.

WORK

Humana

PROJECT

Ready for Everything campaign

SERVICES
PROVIDED

B2B Marketing

Strategy

Video

Email marketing

Paid media

Educational content

The need

To increase sales, Humana needed a better agent support system that would attract and retain a stronger sales workforce. So, we created a pivotal B2B marketing strategy to move potential agent partners to join the Humana team. But how do you help agents feel informed enough to sell your plan over someone else’s? You tap into real, human insights to discover what’s holding them back and what will inspire them to make the switch, and then create what they need to help them get there.

What we did

To excel in such a highly nuanced and regulated industry, we have to stay close to our partners—real close. Together, we built and captained the integrated, lead-generation digital, “Ready for Everything” campaign. The list of deliverables was robust, it included: a comprehensive strategy with conversion-focused web experiences, educational content, video, email marketing, and a targeted paid media campaign (If you can say all that with peanut butter in your mouth, we’ll hire you as voice over talent).

The Results

With a little boldness and a lot of creative collaboration we increased new sales agent recruitment 5x, translating to 4,300 new agents—trust us, that’s a lot. There was a 161% increase in on-site conversions for actions demonstrating engagement, while optimization efforts also decreased the cost per conversion by 26% YOY.

500%

INCREASE IN 
SALES AGENT RECRUITMENT

4,300

NEW AGENTS RECRUITED

WHY THE CLIENT SMILED

“The Heinrich team killed it, and I’m excited to see
how we moved the needle this year.”

— Anthony Layfield, AVP at Humana

THE FULL

story

A deeper look at the Ready for Everything campaign

To inspire prospective agents to make the jump and join Humana, we had to get to know them even better than we already did. And in doing so, we discovered what motivates agents, and even what scares them a bit too. We also learned that many prospective agents felt that tinge of doubt and fear when it comes to contracting with a new carrier. Humana has a remarkable track record, but for some of these prospective agents, it’s still a big scary change. Our lightbulbs went off once we learned that fear was a key emotional barrier to behavioral change. From there, we focused on sculpting an inspiration-centered campaign that identifies and addresses those fears with the trust and transparency that are the pillars of the Humana brand. And thus, the “Ready for Anything” campaign was born.

Flexing those fully integrated agency muscles

It’s one thing to just connect the dots between paid media, content and email marketing, and it’s another thing to create impactful results with all that dot connecting. Because we’re an agency that offers fully integrated services, we can more readily go after impact (not just those dots, because dots aren’t profitable). What does all this mean in real terms, you ask? Well, we leveraged email lists for 1:1 matching to serve ads programmatically to top prospects. And we built lookalike audiences and implemented retargeting efforts. Our email campaign included heavy audience segmentation to deliver tailored messages to each audience and guide prospects from consideration to certification and then on to onboarding.

Retention and onboarding with a purpose

Getting leads in the door is great but when they are convinced to stay for a while, it’s even better. Retention was our goal, and educational content was how we got there. Why? Because newly onboarded agents needed a sturdy foundation to thrive in the wilds of the health insurance sales world. What’s more, the educational content was thoughtfully curated and meaningfully manicured to meet agents where they’re at, all while directing them to where they want to go in their careers.

The Heinrich effect

Using conversion-focused web experiences, educational content, video, email marketing, and targeted paid media campaigns, we wove the various pieces of this campaign together to create a beautiful tapestry. But more importantly, this work did more than just create something pleasing to look at, it gave Humana opportunities to grow in novel ways knowing that their agents have the support they need.

Work

ilumed ACO Reach

Work

Wyoming Department of Transportation

Work

Humana Ascend

Work

Elevon

Thoughts & News

How to Use Digital to Beat Your DM Control Package

Work

Humana Recruitment

Thoughts & News

Making a Name for Yourself: How to Name Your Brand in Four Steps

START THE CONVO