Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment

The problem

BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina needed a cohesive design system for its Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment campaign — one that could stretch across billboards, newspaper ads, flyers, and custom mailers while meeting the requirements of print vendors throughout the state. Creative had to be adapted for many specifications and media placements, all under tight production deadlines leading up to the enrollment period.

The business goals were to increase awareness, drive enrollment, keep the brand consistent across every channel, and extend the campaign’s reach statewide on a tight timeline.

My role

As art director and designer, I led the campaign and developed a cohesive suite of marketing materials to reach seniors across South Carolina: billboards, newspaper ads and advertorials, flyers, postcards, a custom direct mailer, and digital ads.

The approach

Personas. We identified key audience segments representing typical Medicare-eligible South Carolinians — a retired schoolteacher who reads the newspaper daily and pays close attention to her mail, a semi-retired small business owner in a rural area who relies on billboards and community-center flyers, and a recently retired administrative assistant who moves easily between print and digital and helps friends understand their options. These personas kept the materials clear, approachable, and relevant.

Customer journey. The journey begins with awareness from statewide media, continues with targeted mailers and flyers, moves into comparing plan options, and ends with a call, a website visit, or enrollment through a trusted representative. Every touchpoint needed consistent messaging and easy-to-understand information.

Imagery. I worked closely with the client to select photos that reflected South Carolina’s communities and the BlueCross BlueShield brand, then edited and color balanced each one so the campaign held together across print and digital.

Billboards were tailored for different regions of the state and adapted for digital signage, with multiple size variations.

Flyers covered informative and letter-style advertising, seminar promotion, and agent training — giving sales teams the tools to talk with customers across the state.

Digital ads followed the enrollment timeline: pre-enrollment ads built anticipation, in-campaign ads reinforced key benefits, and final-days ads created urgency.

Newspaper ads ran in multiple sizes and formats statewide, alongside advertorials that explained the plans in a trusted editorial style.

Postcards combined statewide awareness pieces with versions customized for specific counties, so each region saw something that felt local.

The result

Early indicators show the creative is performing exceptionally well — generating 10,500+ more applications to date and running well ahead of last year’s pace. The strong response to the preheat materials confirms the messaging is resonating: recipients held onto their mailers and called as soon as the enrollment period opened.