Seasoned Marketing & Communication Professional
M.S. in Marketing Research (Michigan State University)
Bobbie Rathjens has 15 years of industry experience in marketing and communications. Rathjens most recently worked as the director of marketing at Boyne Highlands Resort (a nationally recognized golf and ski resort).
At the resort she created a popular and incredibly successful new direct-to-lift product, The Happiness Card, which was conceived from market research insights and data. Prior to working in hospitality, she worked as the corporate social media strategist for McLaren Health Care. In this role she was instrumental in planning and executing the first Twitter surgery event in McLaren’s history, featuring a TAVR (transcatheter aortic valve replacement). The video documentary of the surgery event still lives on YouTube and has obtained over 82 thousand views and counting. In addition, Rathjens authored and executed a social media based fundraising strategy for a school in Salt Lake City that generated over $75k for autistic students.
Rathjens received her Master of Science in Marketing Research from Michigan State University and is working towards obtaining her Ph.D. in Communication. Her research interests intersect in the hospitality, marketing and communications realm, with a specific focus on computer-mediated communication, social media (specifically the need for validation theory), marketing performance, and the effects of advertising.