Virtues of loyalty: Marketer rewarded with big growth

St. Petersburg-based Kobie Marketing has seen its growth skyrocket since 1990, when it was founded as a family-owned direct marketing company.

The success didn’t come overnight, however. It required a change of direction and big investments in technology, specifically data analytics. In 2006, the company built a new proprietary software platform called Alchemy, in addition to increasing its advisory and consulting capabilities. That completed the pivot, begun in 1995, from direct marketing to customer loyalty and strategy. 

Kobie CEO Bram Hechtkopf, 38, represents the second generation to helm the company. He took over in 2006 from his mother, Bonnie, who remains with the firm as chairwoman. His father, Jared, died in 2000 of cancer. More recently, Kobie has added several top executives, who now run the company with Bram Hechtkopf.