Marjoni Marketing expands services

A small-but-growing Spokane Valley advertising agency has added its own recording studio.

The expansion gives Marjoni Marketing the ability to quickly produce radio commercials without having to outsource production work, and pushes the 18-month-old company into the role of full-service advertising agency.

“We truly want to help people make money,” said Mary Thompson, the firm’s co-owner. “We want to see them succeed.”

Thompson said the firm is able to design effective ad campaigns to fit any need or budget. It specializes in everything from logos, billboards and Web sites to radio, print and direct mail advertisements.

The in-house recording studio is headed by the firm’s newest addition, musician Jimi Finn, a veteran Spokane Valley-based songwriter. Finn joined the staff in December.

Marjoni Marketing was founded in June 2005 by Thompson and John Guarisco. A third founder, Nick Theisen, no longer is a partner in the firm. The company’s name is a combination of the three founders.

Thompson and Guarisco are sales and marketing veterans from the Inland Northwest. Both lost their jobs about the same time and decided to start their own company where they could specialize in personal service rather than return to corporate America. They started with three telephones and three desks, but by the end of their first year had more than 60 names on their client list.

As Spokane Valley natives, company founders knew this was the best place to realize their creative potential.

“Mary and I are from the Valley, so this is our backyard and our terra for as many years as we’ve been alive,” Guarisco said. “Mary’s 53, and I’m 42. It’s kind of like there’s no place like home.”