Media

AMA, PRSA & Ad Fed present: Candace Matthews, AMWAY CMO: Leading in Times of Change

WM AMA, in partnership with the local chapters of the Public Relations Society of America and Ad Fed (formerly Ad Club), will welcome Amway Chief Marketing Officer Candace Matthews as a program speaker.

Her career has included leadership roles on the elite corporate teams that have built mega-brands Coca-Cola and Loreal. She is a graduate of Stanford University Graduate School of Business and Carnegie-Mellon University. And now, she’s in Grand Rapids, Mich. implementing a brand new vision for Amway. and its global family of brands.

Candace Matthews with Ad Fed, AMA & PRSA presidents

Hot on the Outsourcing Trail
An excerpt from the article:
Monday, February 2, 2009 – MiBiz

Barcheski founded Axios in 1988 with the idea to provide executive outsourcing services to West Michigan companies, but the concept was a hard sell and the demand wasn’t very high. The trend has been occurring on the East and West Coasts for two decades, but this region was slow to adapt, he said.

“It’s a good idea,” Barcheski told MiBiz. “A lot of times, a company will bring a person in because they don’t have resources internally. It helps them focus on things they need to focus on and it frees up resources for purposes that may be more important.”

Local marketing and communications professional Kim Bode, principal of 834 Design, has experienced that trend. Bode recently set out on her own and in a short time has developed a diverse client roster, who’ve brought her on board for high-level marketing services without the cost of an in-house department or a big agency. She’s worked with companies ranging from small medical companies and manufacturers to construction companies.

“Our niche is that 834 Design functions as the entire marketing department for small-, medium-, or even large-sized businesses,” Bode told Mibiz.

The concept of executive outsourcing taps into the great deal of available talent in the marketplace and helps keep that talent in West Michigan — not to mention that it helps companies save costs by effectively sharing an executive with other companies and only paying for the amount of services they need.

Grand Rapids young professional moves from marketing life sciences to
launching PR, design firm

By: Deborah Johnson Wood
December 11, 2008, Rapid Growth Media

After six years of working as the West Michigan Science and Technology Initiative’s marketing director, Kim Bode, a high-energy 29-year-old, decided it was time to build the business she started as a side job in 2005. True to form, Bode didn’t waste any time once she decided to launch 834 Design & Marketing as a full-time business: She left WMSTI on November 19 and dove into the new job the same day.

“I launched right into it,” Bode says. “I took a deep breath and kept going.”

Bode decided to go full-time with the business after she got so busy working it part-time she had to turn clients away.

The company offers marketing strategy, advertising, public relations, graphic design, event planning and sales training through custom training programs. Bode brought on her former communications professor, Ann Byars, as the firm’s writer.

Although Bode’s degree is in communications and public relations, seven years ago she learned graphic design and used the talent for WMSTI. Now she says that the ability to offer that service in-house saves her clients money because it’s less expensive than outsourcing.

“A lot of companies I work with haven’t done marketing before, so I help them understand that it’s a return on investment and can drive sales and lure potential customers,” she notes. “We’re very virtual. We go to where the client is. We really do become part of their team and help them realize their goals.”

Bode, who says she’s been working with clients 40-plus hours a week since day one, plans to establish an office space in the next 18 months and add a marketing assistant within eight months.

“I’m really loving everything I’m doing right now,” she says. “It’s been so busy and there’s so much going on.”

Source: Kim Bode, 834 Design & Marketing

Attracting the Millennial generation to West Michigan businessesBusiness Review

September 18, 2008

As millions of baby boomers approach retirement, employers know they need to fill the gap with boomer kids, often called simply “Millennials.” The question now is how Michigan accomplishes that.

“The challenge with this generation is they’re more mobile than the rest of society,” said Carol Coletta, president of CEOs for Cities. “Those with college degrees are even more mobile.”

(From left) Justin Fales, Leigh Callander, Kara Wood, Kim Bode, George Bosnjak, Kelly Quintanilla, and Amanda Harnish.

Coletta planned to speak on this challenge at the opening lunch of the West Michigan Regional Policy Conference Sept. 18.

Her speech, “Attracting & Retaining the Millennial Generation,” aimed to focus on what businesses and cities can do to bring in the best talent of this generation.

The problem is that every area of the country is competing for this work force. According to Coletta, only 16 of the top 50 metro areas gained 25- to 35-year-olds between 1990 and 2000.

“So we had 16 winners and 34 losers, which is not good,” she said.

To be competitive, Coletta said cities must do three things: develop their own work force by providing education opportunities for young people, attract new workers and work to keep their fair share of those workers.

Young professionals in Grand Rapids and West Michigan agree that the area is doing much to follow Coletta’s advice.

“The city is growing up so quickly,” said Kelly Quintanilla, marketing director for CUSO Development Co. in Ada. “It’s like a start-up company: They don’t have everything figured out yet, but they’re growing so quickly. It’s very exciting.”

The improvements in the region’s downtown areas are particularly enticing to young professionals. According to Coletta, the Millennial generation is 30 percent more likely than past generations to live within a three-mile radius of the central business district.

Kara Wood, economic development director for Grand Rapids, knows the effect a good supply of cool so-called “third places” can have on a city.

“They’re very important to young professionals because they need a separate place from work and home,” she said.

Kim Bode, marketing director for West Michigan Science & Technology Initiative, suggests cities form advisory boards of young professionals to ask what they needed when they were starting their careers and what do to keep students in the community after graduation.

“But it also falls in young professionals’ laps to get out there and get a voice,” she added.

Alum helps life science industry

Summer 2007

As she looks out the window from her office in the Cook-DeVos Center for Health Sciences, Kim Bode can see the explosion of health care-related construction in the surrounding area — an area that has come to be known as the “Medical Mile.”

Bode, the marketing director for the West Michigan Science and Technology Initiative, finds it thrilling to be in the middle of all that development.

“It’s exciting for me to be involved in this,” Bode said. “This isn’t just a job to me. It’s a passion.”

Grand Rapids’ reputation as a center of life sciences continues to grow. It’s an industry that could reshape the economy of West Michigan, and WMSTI is one of the leading forces behind that growth by helping turn life science industry innovations into commercial products. It’s Bode’s job to help get the word out about WMSTI’s work. She is responsible for planning special events, including the annual Life Sciences Business Showcase. She oversees publications and other communications and does fundraising for WMSTI.

Bode is a Grand Valley alum, graduating in 2002 with a bachelor’s degree in communications. All through college, she worked in Facilities Planning, and she got a job there full-time after graduation. She later moved over to WMSTI after being encouraged to apply for the position.

“Grand Valley saw this vision a long time ago,” Bode said. “The university did an amazing job of placing itself right in the middle of where all the action is in the life science industry.”

Housed in the Cook-DeVos Center for Health Sciences, WMSTI’s goal is to grow and diversify the community economy by creating an environment that inspires innovation and supports the commercialization of science and technology, while placing students and faculty in the research and commercialization process.

WMSTI’s fast-paced environment keeps Bode busy. “I just absolutely love to work. All of my friends know this, and they either accept it or they don’t see me,” she said. “I think I’m addicted to it.”

In addition to her work at Grand Valley, Bode is active in the community. She serves on the boards of the American Marketing Association, West Michigan Public Relations Society of America, glimaWest, Maverick and the Michigan Street Business Assocation. In recognition for her work, Bode was named one of the Grand Rapids Business Journal’s “40 Under 40″ in October.

In her spare time – which she acknowledges is rare – Bode cares for her two dogs and enjoys reading.

YouTube – West Michigan Science & Technology Initiative