Bottom Line Marketing changes ownership

Marquette-based advertising firm Bottom Line Marketing has changed hands from past owners Chris and Annette Brooks to Iron River native and Champion resident Tammy Benda, Marquette natives Jackie Brooks and Kendall Brooks Kennedy, and Ohio native Chad Kennedy.

Bottom Line opened its doors in 2002, added Tammy Benda in 2003 and served mostly Upper Peninsula clients until 2011 when Kendall Kennedy opened up new territory in Florida and Jackie Brooks joined in 2012 and opened up the jewelry division from Ohio, eventually moving the operation to Denver.

“We opened BLM when local jeweler Jeff Richardson encouraged me to leave my job in local media and open an advertising agency. Jeff and Hilltop RV owner Steve Swanson have been our informal board of directors since our inception. We never would have got off the ground without them,” Chris Brooks said.

Bottom Line Marketing now has offices in Marquette, Escanaba; West Palm Beach, Florida; and Denver, Colorado. The company specializes in serving retail and wholesale companies with clients from Marquette to Manhattan, West Palm Beach to Phoenix.

“Everything changed when Jackie and Kendall joined us. We truly became a national company. It was uncomfortable at first, but then Chad Kennedy joined us and everything fell into place financially,” said Brooks.

“Over half of our staff are Yoopers. We’re proud of that," Benda said. "We have some hard working, passionate people in our company, and we have great clients that we enjoy working for. We have a rule that says we won’t take on a customer we would not invite to our house for dinner. It has served us well.”

Chris and Annette Brooks continue to work for Bottom Line and will for several years until they are ready to retire. You can visit the Bottom Line website at

.