MOVERS & SHAKERS BOLD MOVES
Kim Koditek
managers and sprinkles in some of her own flair to help her team thrive .
“ I started in this industry so young , and now I ' m eight years in . I ’ m not the youngest in the room anymore , but now I have a totally different way of looking at things ,” Kim reminisces . “ When I first started at the entry level , it was really rewarding for me to take everything in from the managers I worked for . If I can instill that same kind of mentality into my team , then I feel like I ’ m doing my part and helping shape the future of boating .”
The unsustainable dependency on paid marketing tactics ( such as SEM and paid social ) is a challenge for many up-and-coming brands as they quickly try to accelerate their growth . After joining Boatsetter , Kim was tasked with helping the company move away from its historical marketing executions and finding new ways to drive organic growth and increase overall brand awareness , and ultimately , helping to boost direct traffic .
Utilizing proven content marketing strategies that she had implemented at Boats Group and Discover Boating , Kim was able to successfully scale the publishing of high quality content across various areas of the Boatsetter platform . In her first year with the company , Boatsetter ’ s Boating Resources articles doubled in new visitor growth , contributing significantly to bringing both new boat owners and renters into the community .
“ Paid search and SEO were originally part of Boatsetter ’ s marketing arsenal , but what we ’ ve done in the past two years since I ’ ve joined is focus more on brand marketing ,” explains Kim . “ As part of that , one of the things I oversaw was public relations ( PR ) and the role that it can actually play .”
PR has been extremely impactful for Boatsetter , getting stories with Buzzfeed and Pop Sugar and even Fox and Friends . “ It enables us to get a really wide reach , which I don ’ t think you always get with performance marketing like SEM and SEO ,” Kim says .
Just this past year , Kim ’ s team added a new social media manager , who has helped completely change the way they approach influencer marketing . “ That ’ s also been a real game changer for us too ,” she says . “ If you ’ re relying on an external source who has their own unique audience and followers who trust them to tell them what products and services they love , it can greatly help to expand your reach .”
Not only has Kim been instrumental in boosting the marketing at Boatsetter , but she also helped to launch Boatsetter Academy in 2023 . This free beginner ' s boating course is designed to teach new boaters the fundamentals of operating a boat , thereby expanding on-water experiences and making boating more accessible to a broader audience .
“ I really love the boating space and would love to stay in it forever , with more of a focus on the consumer side ,” notes Kim . “ The direct-to-consumer side is starting to become increasingly more important in the boating space , with brands like Freedom Boat Club helping to grow the participation category and helping people have their first touch with boating . I think that ’ s going to get increasingly more important , especially as my generation and younger generations get older .”
BUILDING A WINNING CULTURE IN BOATING
FJ FRAZIER Chief Operating Officer , Gage Marine
The joy of recreational boating is how most people end up in the marine industry , and the same can be said for FJ Frazier . “ I love lake-life and boating , so what better industry is there to work in than where you can look at the lake every day from your office ,” he says .
Frazier ’ s love for boating also stems from his father , who was one of the first employees at Gage
FJ Frazier
Marine in 1958 . Today , Frazier is the COO at the company , growing up alongside Bill Gage , the current owner and CEO .
“ I sold my business at 50 and was not ready to retire ,” Frazier notes . “ Bill asked me if I would come to help him run the day-to-day business of Gage Marine Corporation . When I joined the company , we had a boat marine business , a pier business , an excursion tour boat business , a restaurant business and a retail store operation . I felt it had great potential for growth if we could put the right team together .”
Since first arriving at the company , Frazier has continued to be a crucial driving force behind the growth of Gage Marine . Some of his accomplishments include completing a company audit which brought to light the improvements he could make including creating a stronger , more consistent brand , realigning employee structure and roles , establishing a company tagline and core values and getting more buy-in on the company culture .
“ We built a winning culture across each business unit . We are ‘ In it to Win it !” Frazier says about his plans to help the company . “ This inspired change and motivated employees to believe in themselves and their senior leadership team . They embraced the changes implemented to help each business unit grow to its potential and then some . We meet weekly as a senior management team and review financial dashboards to ensure we stay on track to achieve the results we set out at the beginning of each year .”
Frazier not only restructured the company ’ s external-facing tone , but he also refreshed and
22 october 2024 www . boatingindustry . com