A regional integrated health system operating a Medicare Advantage plan in the Washington, DC and Baltimore markets was facing a familiar but difficult problem: flat or eroding enrollment [FLAG: Franklin to confirm — direction and magnitude of pre-2020 enrollment trend], steep competition, and campaigns that weren't moving the needle. The national plan's advertising set a generic baseline, and the region's own attempts at differentiation produced messaging that read as more of the same — what the team called a "sea of sameness" — especially during the Annual Enrollment Period, when Medicare-eligible prospects are bombarded with near-identical offers from every direction.
The enrollment challenge was compounded by a structural barrier unique to this market: to join the plan, prospects had to leave behind their current physician — in many cases, a relationship built over decades. Generic product messaging and competitive rate comparisons were not sufficient to overcome that deeply personal inertia. A fundamentally different approach was required.
The core strategic insight was that the same Jungian archetype methodology proven across the health system's broader brand and service line campaigns would work equally well on the Medicare-eligible population. The assumption that seniors respond primarily to functional and financial appeals — plan benefits, premiums, copays — was challenged by the data: the 60+ audience in the Mid-Atlantic market had a recognizable and targetable archetypal makeup, and their emotional motivations for choosing a health care provider were as distinct and as actionable as any other audience segment.
Five archetypes were identified in the Medicare-eligible market: Sage, Lover, Explorer, Caregiver, and Innocent. Critically, archetype weights shifted meaningfully by age band — Sage and Innocent weighted up among Older Boomers (67–74), while Caregiver and Innocent weighted differently among Younger Boomers (60–66) — meaning messaging emphasis and proof-point prioritization were calibrated by age segment, not applied uniformly. The plan's multi-year 5-star CMS quality rating became a foundational proof point for the dominant Sage segment, given their evidence-driven approach to healthcare decisions, and was elevated as a key visual element across all creative.
The 2020 reframe was a top-down "whole of business" alignment: product teams developed a feature-rich Medicare Advantage offering with genuine clinical and benefit depth—the "steak" beneath the "sizzle"—while underwriting ensured a competitive rate position. Marketing and creative then built the campaign architecture around the archetypal value propositions, with plan attributes, brand messaging, and care delivery proof points mapped to each archetype's psychological needs and decision drivers.
Despite the 65+ demographic, the campaign was digital-first—research confirmed this audience was digitally savvy, with the vast majority owning high-end smartphones. A digital-heavy media strategy was supplemented by linear TV and OTT, where testimonials provided archetype-relevant social proof. To cut through the Annual Enrollment Period clutter, creative was color-coded by archetype —giving each segment a visually distinct experience that stood apart in the mail pile and on digital screens. As in other applications of the BrandCore™ methodology, archetype-targeted ads resolved to landing pages built around the matching archetypal value proposition, ensuring a coherent emotional journey from first impression through plan selection.
What stands out about this campaign is that to join this Medicare plan, prospects had to switch from a physician they may have had a decades-long relationship with. Messaging that addressed their emotional motivations captured attention and desire—then the product and price sealed the deal. This is a whole-of-business approach, with marketing, creative, and content leading the way.