Trailblaze Marketing may exist to "support businesses with their marketing efforts to achieve their goals," but it has much more going on than just that.
The Lincoln-based firm's president, Chris Parisi, has made it his mission to support businesses in their marketing endeavors, sure. But he, both a millennial and Rhode Islander, believes that Trailblaze Marketing can both serve and inspire young entrepreneurs, especially those based in the Ocean State.
"We don’t take the path that every marketing agency has taken."
"We want to grow based out of Rhode Island because ... we want to see [the state] grow," Parisi continues. "Our goal is literally to help businesses grow; it's direct in its impact. We're not just selling a product."
This "human-to-human" attitude has inspired the company since it broke off its parent organization, local business technology and IT services company INNOVEX, in February 2018. Trailblaze is the result of 10-15 years of acquisitions that made it the standalone marketing firm it is today.
Since then, the company has worked with local clients who essentially outsource their marketing to the Trailblaze team, which then does everything from overhauling the customer's website, generating leads online or conducting social media marketing campaigns. Ultimately, Trailblaze is there to help do anything the client may need in the digital marketing space, by way of its "unique combo of creative and analytics," Parisi said.
"We don’t take the path that every marketing agency has taken," he continued. "When we market for your business, we’re going to try different things, explore new mediums and make a dent in the marketplace."
Since its recent inception, Parisi said Trailblaze has enjoyed an organic, steady growth, working with companies like the Bank of Rhode Island and Fagan Door. While the firm declined to disclose revenue figures, it team of 10 works with about 40-50 clients, around a third of which are fully managed.
Its typical customer is a B2B organization that's large enough to afford a specialist like Trailblaze, but not large enough that it has its own marketing department. Parisi added that the firm is industry agnostic.
"We’re not limited because of the marketplace that we have," he said.
As the company continues to grow, Parisi said he will make sure to #ChooseRI.
"If I can grow this company – which I will and which our team will — I promise to always headquarter our agency in Providence, in Rhode Island."
In the meantime, Parisi and Trailblaze will continue to take on local college students as interns as a way to encourage that pro-Rhode Island business spirit in them and illustrate that entrepreneurs — especially young ones — can flourish in the Ocean State.
