BowerComm

08/06/2024

Chelsey and Lori are having a great day at Symphony in the Flint Hills! And while Lori has MANY talents, apparently playing the cello isn’t one. “I made it sound like a dying cow.” 🐮 🎶 🤣

We’re grateful for all of our clients and especially this opportunity today. If you’ve never been to this “only in Kansas” event before, you definitely need to check it out!

01/05/2024

Safety first! 👷‍♀️

We've had video shoots in some interesting locations, including this construction site! Kylie found a way to make headphones work with a hard hat. 🎥

12/04/2024

Boss+baby 👶

We’re thrilled to have Bailey back from maternity leave this week, with her newest addition in tow. Lori is hard at work implementing her award-winning communication strategy to engage the audience and persuade them to action. Funny faces for the win!

28/02/2024

Woohoo! BowerComm was named to Inc. Regionals' Midwest list, ranking at #135.

Here's the press release:

Hutchinson, Kan. (Feb. 27, 2024) - BowerComm, a strategic marketing consultancy based in Hutchinson, Kan., has been recognized for exceptional growth by Inc. Magazine, claiming spot number 135 on the Inc. Regionals Midwest list for 2024. This accolade celebrates the company's significant revenue growth, marking BowerComm as one of the seven Kansas-based companies to be honored—and notably, the only honoree headquartered outside a major Kansas metropolitan area.

Established in 2010, BowerComm helps organizations avoid random acts of marketing, so they can make life better for people, communities, and the world. Their signature "Journey to Yes" strategic marketing communications planning program galvanizes action through compelling brands and data-centric campaigns. The consultancy has carved its niche by collaborating with community foundations, nonprofits, education and community economic develop initiatives, as well as businesses in industrial, agriculture, professional services, and healthcare sectors.

Companies on the 2024 Inc. Regionals are ranked according to percentage revenue growth from 2020 to 2022. They are U.S.-based, privately held, for-profit, and independent, with at least $1 million in revenue for 2022. All honorees pass a stringent Inc. editorial review.

"People are often surprised that a ‘small town shop’ has ‘big city’ caliber marketing expertise,” said Lori Bower, President of BowerComm. “We’re growing because our clients see results. Recognition by Inc. Magazine is a testament to the hard work, expertise, and dedication of our incredible team.“

BowerComm serves organizations across the U.S. through "done-with-you" coaching cohorts and comprehensive full-service marketing agency partnerships. They plan to expand their coaching business with new offerings for additional market sectors.

To see the full list of Inc. Regionals honorees, visit https://www.inc.com/regionals.

06/02/2024

Happy 5th birthday, Good Day Kansas! Lillian, Alex, and Kylie enjoyed celebrating with you (and your non-human guests).

18/01/2024

Please help us welcome our newest BowerComm bundle, Charley! Bailey Ramsey delivered a project she's been working on for 9 months--and she's perfect! In the words of her mom, "Go change the world, Charley girl!" 👶🥳🥰

27/12/2023

Greetings from Heidi at the BowerComm satellite office in Paradise Bay, Antarctica.

26/12/2023

Wishing you a happy and flavorful holiday season!

16/12/2023

For our BowerComm holiday party, we enjoyed two of our favorite things: “Aldi Snacky Lunch” and wickedly crass word games.

29/10/2023

Alex, Jo and Lori enjoyed another great McPherson Healthcare Foundation, Inc. gala benefiting McPherson Center for Health! We’re thrilled they surpassed their funding goal to remodel the ER waiting room. Kudos to Amy Bower and the gala committee on creating a fun and successful night.

26/10/2023

Our resident half-tailed squirrel (lovingly named Dead Tail) inspired our latest merch, which arrived today! We're officially a collection of nuts who are ready for fall.

18/10/2023

We were honored to host a couple of local high school students as part of Beyond Barriers Disability Mentoring Day! They’re interested in photography and graphic design, so we showed them the ropes on what goes into creating a campaign from start to finish, and of course the gear! The students said there’s a lot more involved than they realized, but that it made them even more interested in the field.

“BowerComm seems like a really fun and interesting place to work.”

We would have to agree! 😊

24/09/2023

Congrats to our beautiful Kylie and Brady on their marriage this weekend! We loved sharing your special day.

22/09/2023

That’s a wrap! Team “Bower Power” (Amy Bower from McPherson Healthcare Foundation and Lori) presented a session on Strategic Social Media at Association for Healthcare Philanthropy’s conference in Orlando today. Great questions and conversation with the audience!

18/09/2023

That’s a wrap on Kansas State Fair 2023! We’ve had a great week capturing photos and videos, troubleshooting, coordinating, promoting and even planning ahead for next year! And of course we took some time to enjoy the festivities with our Fairified friends and family—and ate our share of delicious fair foods! See you next year at the fair!

09/09/2023

Happy Kansas State Fair to all who celebrate! Our team is on site capturing all of the action. 🎡 🌻

25/08/2023

24/08/2023

"Yay!"

This moment from our open house captured what BowerComm is all about--doing great work for our clients and being really excited about it!

Thank you to our friends and family, clients and community for showing up to celebrate our expansion and renovations. And thank you to the Hutch Chamber for making it official with a ribbon cutting ceremony. ✂️ 🥳

(Special thanks to Jake Ramsey for his enthusiasm! Even toddlers know our clients are something to celebrate.)

23/08/2023

Putting on the finishing touches for our open house! Come by today (Wednesday, 8/23) between 4-5:30.

17/08/2023

Come to our party! We're cutting a ribbon on our newly reimagined office Wednesday, August 23rd from 4-5:30PM, with remarks at 4:20PM. Rumor has it, there will be treats.

Address: 210 E. 30th Ave., Hutchinson

10/08/2023

We have a talented team! Congratulations to our own Lillian and Alex on being part of this musical experience!

18/06/2023

Today we toast the BowerComm dads, who…

Encourage us to take risks
Nurture our crass humor
Remind us it’s ok to go shirtless
Renovate our office and houses
Send us flowers
Fix our cars
Wonder what we really do all day
Love us to pieces

We love you, dads! ❤️

13/06/2023

When the Early Education Center - Reno County needed to develop a new brand that better represented the caliber of resource they are for the community, they turned to BowerComm.

"We wanted everything about the new branding to demonstrate that together, our team of experts surrounds your child and empowers you with knowledge and tools to help your child be as physically, socially, and emotionally healthy as possible."

Learn more about the process and the positive impact it's had: https://www.bowercomm.com/post/owl-on-board-for-change

20/04/2023

Hot off the press! Lori's guest article for the National School PR Association newsletter just came out, and it's great advice for schools, nonprofits, and businesses alike.
__________________________

***Don't Go It Alone: How Outsourcing Can Be a Smart Choice for School Communications***

By: Lori Bower, president, BowerComm and Betsy Overkamp-Smith, Chief Executive Officer, BetsyOS PR

As a school PR professional, you know that effective communication is crucial to building strong relationships with students, families, staff and the wider community. But in the age of 24-hour news cycles, social media that amplifies every issue and inboxes that never empty, many of us can struggle to keep up with the wants and needs of our school districts.

While you may wear “DIY” as a badge of honor, doing everything yourself might not always be feasible or the best approach.

Give yourself permission to seek outside help from communications consultants and agencies when needed. By partnering with other experts in the field, you can tap into their expertise, experience and resources to develop effective and efficient strategies. This approach can save you time while delivering a higher ROI on your communication efforts.

Read on for six ways you can benefit when you invest in outside brains and hands.

1. Expertise: In school PR, we’re asked to wear multiple hats and have all the skills and expertise for planning, PR, digital media, crisis communications, video production, graphic design and more. Consultants and agencies have specialized knowledge and a vast network of gurus that can be very valuable, and you can learn something new in the process, too.

2. Time and Resources: By outsourcing initiatives and projects, you can free up time to focus on critical priorities that only you can do. This is especially true in times of crisis. And importantly, it’s easier to hold an outside partner to a timeline and budget because of the nature of the relationship.

3. Access to Tools and Technology: Communication consultants and agencies typically have access to the latest tools and technology to create compelling content and effectively reach your audiences. This can save time and money that would have been spent on research, training and acquiring the necessary resources.

4. Objectivity: Outsiders can bring a fresh perspective to your communication strategies. A third-party view lets you get unbiased and objective advice, which can help identify and address opportunities in your approach and ex*****on. Given that consultants and agencies work with several districts at a time, you benefit from the experiences of others and have access to an almost instant assessment of what works and what falls flat.

5. Return on Investment: Outsourcing can be less expensive than hiring full-time staff, resulting in effective, higher-quality communications at a lower cost. For example, you may only need a high-level strategist a few times a year, and you may only need a graphic designer for 10 hours a month. Consultants and agencies allow you to invest in what you need when you need it.

6. Support: School PR can be lonely if you’re a one-person department. A trusted outside partner can be your confidant and strategic partner when the going gets tough—or when you need to vent.

Let's be honest: Just because you can do everything yourself doesn't mean it’s always the best approach. So, give yourself permission to outsource. You can save time and resources and achieve your goals by tapping into consultant and agency expertise, tools and technology, fresh perspectives and more. And remember, you’re not relinquishing control when you bring in outside help—you’re working smarter to reach your and your district’s true potential.

31/03/2023

While many people have enjoyed attending a state fair, there are very few people who understand the logistics of pulling one off successfully.

“The Kansas State Fair only happens 10 days in one year, but we think about it 24/7/365. We work on planning all year long and must keep top of mind awareness throughout the year."

See why the Kansas State Fair is glad to have found a marketing partner like BowerComm!

https://www.bowercomm.com/post/year-round-support-for-largest-yearly-gathering-of-kansans

11/03/2023

We’re looking for 5 organizations to pilot our newest training and implementation program: the Strategic Plan Navigator.

It's a process we've been doing custom, and we're now launching it as a "done with you" coaching offering.

This program is perfect for nonprofit/association leaders with these symptoms:
✅ You're frustrated with your organization's pace of progress or (lack of) impact
✅ Your board seems disengaged or overly critical
✅ "Mission creep" is getting in the way
✅ Staff spends too much time on unimportant things
✅ You're bogged down in old systems, processes or technology
✅ The idea of "strategic planning" brings sweat to your brow 😅

Through the Strategic Plan Navigator program, we help refocus your work. It’s a "done with you" 11-step process to take you...
...from being stuck in the muck of unclear priorities...
...to having a clear and inspirational path for impact.

Get the deets here:
https://www.bowercomm.com/strategic-plan-navigator

11-step strategic planning process for foundations and nonprofits.

02/03/2023

Yesterday we were honored to host high school students from several surrounding communities, like this group from Little River Junior Senior High School to learn more about what it's like to work at a marketing agency!

24/02/2023

What a wonderful turnout today for our Refugee Project kick-off! We’re leading a workforce development grant from City of Hutchinson - Government to bring 10 refugee families to Reno County within a year. If you’d like to be part of a team to help a family get on its feet, let us know.

09/02/2023

We'd like to invite any Hutchinson area people to our official kick-off meeting for the newly formed refugee program, Thursday, Feb. 23 at 11:00 a.m. at The Clayworks. We're working to sponsor and relocate 10 families to our community this year, and we need all kinds of community involvement. Please spread the word!

Here's the press release:
# # #

Hutchinson Kicks Off Refugee Relocation Program,​ Community Participation Encouraged​

Hutchinson, Kan., February 9, 2023 – In an effort to grow Hutchinson’s workforce and provide a welcoming and inviting place for refugees looking to start their life in the United States, the Hutchinson Refugee Project is hosting a kick-off meeting. Community members from all sectors are encouraged to participate.​

The kick-off meeting is scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 23rd at 11:00 a.m. at The Clayworks, 1125 N. Main, in Hutchinson. At this informational session, interested parties will learn more about how they can engage with the project and support refugee families looking to resettle in Hutchinson. Speakers from the International Rescue Committee in Wichita will be onsite to talk about their new Community Sponsorship Program.​

​The initiative is funded through a Community Workforce Development Grant given by the City of Hutchinson to BowerComm and their nonprofit partner, the Hutch Rec Foundation. The grant will fund the relocation fees for ten families and will provide funds to set up a pilot program that can be replicated and continued in the future if more funding is secured.​

​“The support these families will need will vary based on each unique situation,” said Bailey Ramsey, Account Director for BowerComm. “Think of everything you’d need to start your life over in a different country – that’s what these families will be experiencing. We want to make sure they’re set up for success in Hutchinson and know where to go when they need help.”​

​All interested parties are welcome, but partners from the following sectors are strongly encouraged to attend the kick-off meeting:​

-Employers with available jobs​
-Housing partners​
-Education partners​
-Nonprofit groups​
-Churches​
-Healthcare organizations​

​For more information, contact Bailey Ramsey, [email protected], 620-474-4921.