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If you spend any time in health insurance marketing right now, it feels like artificial intelligence (AI) is mentioned everywhere, from conference decks and websites to blog headlines (this post notwithstanding).

For marketers operating within the health insurance industry, however, the conversation around AI tends to feel more complicated. Despite their desire to benefit from AI platforms, doing so would involve strict compliance requirements, lengthy vetting processes, and/or very real concerns about risk.

And so, the challenge in our industry is determining how to use AI without introducing unnecessary risk to the organization.

The true value of AI

Advertising agencies often position AI’s main selling point as a means to move faster or automate more of their own operations. Although it does, this is only one piece of the puzzle. The true value of AI is having experienced marketers who know when to use it, how to interpret it, and even when to ignore it.

At DMW, we focus on helping health plans make better decisions about where to spend, when to pull back, how to message, and how to protect performance inside a highly regulated industry. AI works best when it strengthens the fundamentals of what we already know performs well: the channels, messaging, and journeys prospective members are already on before they enroll. When used correctly, AI can help us make smarter and more efficient decisions for our clients without changing our underlying strategy.

Harnessing AI to drive performance

We use AI-based technologies to solve real business objectives like increasing prospects or member volume, lowering cost per acquisition (CPA), increasing conversion rate (CVR%), and improving member retention rate (RR%). By associating marketing efforts with revenue-related metrics, we improve the effectiveness of our clients’ marketing investments.

Using guardrails to reduce risk

One of the biggest misconceptions about AI in health insurance marketing is that it requires risky experimentation. This isn’t always true.

We build strategies using proven ad platforms. Our strategies rely heavily on first-party data (data we collect and manage for our clients) paired with approved messaging and an actual human at the center of it all.

AI should never run independently or without our direct oversight. As a result, it can’t make decisions that could cause compliance concerns because it doesn’t make decisions. We do.

AI is useful in optimizing how approved assets are deployed based on available data. It tells us if our strategic or creative direction is appropriate, validates our recommendations, and generates actionable learnings. When implemented correctly, this approach reduces risk and helps protect our clients’ campaign dollars.

Why health plans choose DMW

AI platforms are NOT the product our clients are buying from us. They’re investing in experienced marketers who strategically use AI to drive results, which is an important distinction given the compliance realities health plans face.

We bring decades of experience partnering with dozens of insurers and access to deep performance data gathered across many enrollment cycles. The results we generate demonstrate the value of our experience and judgement — we know how to apply AI to strengthen performance without compromising compliance. At DMW, AI isn’t the headliner, our people are.