The new firm’s partners — Trabue, his wife, Kim, and the Roaches — plan to launch the social-media marketing and SEO firm Tuesday at the Columbia Chamber of Commerce’s annual Business Showcase.
Social media and SEO have interested Trabue for some time, he said. In discussions with other companies, he realized many of them want those services but aren’t sure where to go for them. He immediately saw the potential for a business centered on relationship-building in the online world, he said.
“That’s what’s driven my business for 15 years … good, strong relationship-building,” Trabue said.
J. Michael Roach, creative director at Caledon, said his company’s clients have increasingly asked for services such as SEO and social-network marketing. But Caledon is set up to execute specific projects such as building brands and marketing campaigns, he said. Roach compared the difference in models to an advertising agency that excels in creative services but has clients that want it to buy media for them — the structure isn’t right for it.
“One of the things at Caledon Virtual that we have a lot of requests for is SEO, for a lot of years,” Roach said. “And SEO has become increasingly dependent on an effective social media presence as well as active social networking.”
As he and his wife, Nelly, explored how to build a company that could provide the services some of their clients wanted, Trabue approached him about getting involved in a social-media marketing firm. “It was a no-brainer to just flip that switch and say, ‘Great idea,’ ” Roach said.
KimberMedia, Roach said, will be able to provide the ongoing evaluation, planning and execution required to boost search-engine rankings and communicate with customers via sites such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
It initially will employ “a handful” of people, he said, and clients already are lining up via word-of-mouth.
So far, Trabue has been “integral” in the planning and development of the business, Roach said.
And as for getting a handle on the social media and SEO culture: “He’s soaking it up like a 20-something,” Roach said.
PROJECT INDIGO
Columbia is in the final four — the final four cities, that is, that are being considered as a location for an animal health company.
Regional Economic Development Inc., always busy trying to woo another employer to the city, divulged at its monthly meeting Wednesday that an “animal health company” had narrowed its list of prospective locations to four, and Columbia stayed in the running.
Within a week, the company is expected to further narrow its list to two cities and make final site visits before deciding where it wants to go, REDI President Mike Brooks said.
That’s about all Street Talk knows. The economic development game is open to only a few insiders, and reporters are explicitly shunned. Companies don’t want their competitors knowing what they’re planning, so as economic development types and government officials work to craft incentive packages and schmooze the interested company, they keep a pretty tight lid on the proceedings. Doing otherwise could scuttle a deal.
Occasionally, though, they give us a taste of what has been happening.
REDI Chairman Dave Griggs said at the meeting he spent a full day with officials from the prospective company during a February visit, which included a presentation from University of Missouri officials.
“It had an amazing impression on them,” Griggs said of the university’s presentation.
Brooks agreed the university presentation was “very strong” and said he is still waiting on feedback as to whether “we made the cut or not.”
“They have some very specific requirements,” Brooks said. “The question is whether they believe they can meet those requirements here or not.”
The Columbia team showed the prospect “multiple properties,” said Steve Wyatt, the university’s vice provost for economic development. He described the project as “multi-phased” and “multifaceted” after the meeting. “Of course, there would be opportunities for collaboration with the university because of research,” Wyatt said.
The effort is dubbed “Project Indigo.” Street Talk has no idea how REDI picks its project names.
QUICKIE
Texas Roadhouse plans to open a Columbia location at 2005 W. Worley St. on property owned by Raul Walters Cos. City building permit documents show the chain is preparing to renovate the building formerly occupied by Great Wall Chinese Restaurant at the edge of the parking lot near Best Buy. Plans show the building will be about 7,000 square feet. The national restaurant chain has nine locations in Missouri, its website said.
Jacob Barker is the Tribune’s business reporter. Reach him at (573) 815-1722 or jbarker@columbiatribune.com.
Source http://www.columbiatribune.com/
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