For 2021 AEP Marketing, Timing and Channel of Campaign Are Crucial

by Lauren Flynn Kelly

A presidential election is a known disruptor to Medicare marketing campaigns, which for the 2021 Annual Election Period (AEP) began on Oct. 1, and insurers and their broker partners this election cycle face the dual challenge of also marketing during a pandemic. Marketing experts advise carefully timing the various components of your campaign between now and the Dec. 7 end of the AEP to get the biggest bang for your buck.

"[W]e advise clients to have a fully integrated campaign across all media channels from September to December 7 and optimize based on key metrics — cost per lead and cost per enrollment," says Renee Mezzanotte, executive vice president of client engagement with DMW Direct.

Sponsors that engaged in "preheat" marketing activities in September may have a leg up. All of DMW's clients were engaging with consumers in early September, which provides an opportunity to "encourage enrollment quickly" after the Oct. 15 start date of open enrollment.

As far as specific channels are concerned, DMW expects paid social media to be "as strong as ever," she says. For Google searches, DMW has a "careful keyword strategy" that weeds out searches that are not relevant, like "Medicare for All," she explains.

In the recent white paper co-compiled by marketing agency Anderson, "A Guide to Navigating Medicare's AEP during the 2020 Election Year," Deft Research says historical trends suggest that most Medicare marketers are likely to maintain and/or increase spend and volume related to direct mail and email this AEP, "with volumes peaking in mid-to-late October."

Deft and Anderson point out that in the previous presidential election cycle, 80% to 90% of those attending seminars after the election were switching. But with such events likely to take place virtually because of the COVID-19 pandemic, "marketers will instead be emphasizing more than one pathway to get personal help," suggests Rich Hamer, chief strategy officer with Deft, in an email to AIS Health.

As a result, Deft and Anderson advise plans to conduct more early-phase AEP outreach and increase spend, consider reducing or suspending marketing via TV and direct mail in the two weeks leading up to the election, increase the "heat" right after Election Day, and plan marketing "events" around the election period.

From RADAR on Medicare Advantage