Sarah Hamann
Burnsville,Minnesota
Summary
Strategic planner with a talent for creating integrated communications that resonate effectively. Utilizing leadership skills to boost team performance and operational success. Proven track record of achieving impactful outcomes through innovative problem-solving and clear communication strategies.
Overview
14
14
years of professional experience
Work History
Director – Corporate Communications
Ameriprise Financial Services Inc.
01.2023 - Current
- Develop communications for the President of Advice and Wealth Management Products and Service Delivery, the President of Insurance and Annuities, and their global leadership teams, including:
- Annual visibility planning aligned to company priorities.
- Monthly team update messages and videos.
- Organization announcements.
- Diversity, Equity and Inclusion planning, training and updates resulted in 115% increase in participation in DEI events.
- Create executive messaging and presentations for internal conferences and meetings.
- Lead end-to-end project communications plans and execute on tactics for internal corporate and financial advisor audiences.
- Consulted with our publishing and editorial teams, as well as my business partners to incorporate new tactics, channels or best practices within communications to help drive engagement. This strategic planning has resulted in 15% growth year-over-year in communication readership in 2023 and 2024.
- Work closely with our client communications and public relations teams to ensure our messaging and branding is consistent across all audiences.
- Provide strategic oversight for product and service delivery communications.
- Help create effective messaging for the various audiences (advisor, field leadership, executive leadership, employees)
- Develop communication timelines that are appropriate related to other projects and company initiatives.
- Review communications to ensure they align with broader company priorities.
- Work closely with subject matter experts, legal and compliance partners, public relations and other impacted groups to create strategic communications plans and messaging for risk and crisis events, regulatory changes and other sensitive or confidential projects, including:
- SECURE Act product and service messaging
- Department of Labor change impacts
- LIBOR rate change communication strategies
- Ongoing monitoring of market volatility and governmental changes that could affect our products or service models
Senior Manager – Corporate Communications
Ameriprise Financial Services Inc.
12.2018 - 12.2022
- Partnered across our products and service delivery teams to provide strategic messaging, timing and tactics for investment products, protection solutions and service & operations.
- Achieved 110% of goal for average readership on our product and service content in 2022.
- Product sales for investments and retirement exceeded goal (102% and 105%) in 2022.
- Provided editorial thought leadership to ensure topics aligned with broader company priorities and timing for communications was appropriate.
- Responded to urgent product change and risk event notifications quickly and effectively.
- Worked closely with product and marketing business partners to plan quarterly sales strategies and meetings as well as large, long-term product launch initiatives.
Manager – Product Marketing and Communications
Ameriprise Financial Services Inc.
03.2016 - 12.2018
- Managed end to end strategic marketing and communications for a variety of products, including:
- Structured products, resulting in 35% Year Over Year (YOY) growth in 2018.
- Investment Research Group (IRG) – the Ameriprise market and economic research team.
- Alternative investments and syndicates, resulting in 4% YOY growth in 2018.
- Third-party insurance and annuities, resulting in 21% and 20% YOY growth in 2018.
- Spearheaded the messaging and visual refresh as well as the redesign of the thought leadership hub on the Ameriprise intranet. Worked across the organization to launch and/or grow new channels to for thought research, including monthly thought leadership panel conference calls, social media, videos, Brainsharks and podcasts.
- Worked closely with the Capital Markets sales team to consolidate and enhance our structured products communications, including:
- Consolidating four brochures into one, easier to use brochure.
- Developing and launching enhanced email templates for our monthly offering and custom deal notifications.
- Assessing open and click rates for our emails to determine a more appropriate timing and message for each of our targeted communications.
- Developed and executed communications for large-scale, cross-organization initiatives for insurance and annuities, including the Risk Management Tiered Compensation updates and the advisor appointment change project.
- Project required managing the communication plan and working across multiple teams and business areas, including RiverSource, Compensation, Recruiting, Compliance Supervision Unit and Corporate Communications.
Senior Communications Strategist
Prime Therapeutics
09.2012 - 03.2016
- Developed and implemented a strategic member engagement strategy for Prime’s 90-day supply products: home delivery pharmacy service – PrimeMail and extended supply retail networks.
- Conceptualized and researched the most ideal member experience from which to build the engagement strategy.
- Managed the rebranding of marketing materials for PrimeMail. Worked cross-functionally with the internal Creative Services, legal and compliance teams to ensure new materials fit in branding, messaging and regulatory guidelines.
- Provided selling points for our client-facing liaison.
- Supervised a specialist in charge of customization and deployment of materials.
- Acted as a subject matter expert for all member-facing questions and issues, including content changes, requests for proposal and other ad hoc communications.
- Led the overall marketing strategy work for the individual market and health care exchange, including:
- Ideated, designed and built new content and collateral targeting shoppers on the exchange.
- Collaborated with our Blue Cross clients to create an integrated shopper and member marketing communications plan.
- Conducted ongoing meetings with internal business partners and Blue Cross clients to help ensure all parties were prepared to execute communications.
- Led the ideation of new marketing ideas for the Private Exchange market.
- Worked closely with our legal and compliance teams to ensure all new marketing channels and relationships with the retail pharmacies fit within company and industry regulations.
Senior Marketing Manager
OptumHealth
03.2011 - 07.2012
- Directed overall marketing and communications for Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), COBRA insurance, and Stop Loss insurance. Marketing efforts contributed to a 14.2% increase in HSA accounts from 2011 to 2012, and a 6.2% increase in account balance totals year over year. Duties include working closely with the product manager and sales teams to:
- Create marketing and communication plans.
- Produce and maintain marketing collateral.
- Communicate product changes to sales.
- Supported business growth by creating, implementing and managing the marketing and communications for “Open your HSA”, “Fund your HSA”, and various other employee engagement campaigns. Email campaigns saw an above average open rate of 31.4% and an average click through rate of 2.2%.
- Developed marketing plan, positioning and collateral to introduce the new Health Savings Checkup calculator tool. In the first six months, succeeded in creating awareness and trial of the tool among the sales team and began rolling out marketing directly to consumers. Marketing lead to a 392% lift in tool usage and a decrease in abandonment rate from 77% to 58% over the course of two months.
- Awarded a “Sharkie” award from Brainshark for “Best Agency-Created Video” for Health Savings Checkup.
- Health Savings Checkup also received a bronze WebHealth award for “Best Web-based Resource or Tool”.
- Facilitated the research, re-branding and design of the master sales PowerPoint presentation collateral. Process included initial research and strategy creation to combine the new guidelines with a new sales model, creative development, and training the sales team.
Education
Master of Business Administration - Marketing and Brand Management
University of Minnesota – Carlson School of Management
Minneapolis, Minnesota12.2009
Bachelor of Science - Business - Marketing
University of Minnesota – Carlson School of Management
Minneapolis, Minnesota05.2003
Skills
- Tailored messaging for stakeholders and executives
- Skilled in both formal and informal leadership
- Effective decision-making in strategic contexts
- Delivering results in dynamic environments
- Verbal and written internal and external communication and marketing
- Proficient change management
- Regulatory compliance expertise
- Crisis management and risk mitigation strategies
Timeline
Director – Corporate Communications
Ameriprise Financial Services Inc.
01.2023 - Current
Senior Manager – Corporate Communications
Ameriprise Financial Services Inc.
12.2018 - 12.2022
Manager – Product Marketing and Communications
Ameriprise Financial Services Inc.
03.2016 - 12.2018
Senior Communications Strategist
Prime Therapeutics
09.2012 - 03.2016
Senior Marketing Manager
OptumHealth
03.2011 - 07.2012
Bachelor of Science - Business - Marketing
University of Minnesota – Carlson School of Management
Master of Business Administration - Marketing and Brand Management
University of Minnesota – Carlson School of Management
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