Achieve Your Ambition
Meet Your
Marketing Team
We take a "Marketing Now" approach to our work. In industry terms this is also referred to as "agile" which means we move quickly to identify what needs to be done and get to work. We don't leave you with a To Do List, we leave with a 'Done' list.
We are a high value vs. high volume company. This means we work with a limited number of clients to ensure the proper focus for each project. Learn more about how we work and what we do.
Mari Peterson
Marketing Strategist and Founder, Marketing Outpost
Mari is a marketing trailblazer. Mari was born in Seoul, Korea, adopted by American family at 3 and raised in the southern United States (southern twang included). She has lived in 7 states and 2 countries. Today, she splits her time between Charleston, SC and Asheville, NC where she has mostly lived for the past 25 years.
Prior to marketing, Mari was a corporate administrator for the 2nd largest law firm and also 2nd largest accounting firm in the Asheville area. Experience in human resources, accounting, management and operations provide the backbone of her marketing expertise. She has been an independent marketing consultant for more than 15 years. She rebranded 5 years ago as Marketing Outpost with a brick and mortar office located in north Asheville.
As a strategist, Mari quickly synthesizes project scopes to achieve long-term marketing goals and has access to a network of vetted marketing pros she has developed over the years. She describes Marketing Outpost as, “small, but mighty” and takes a boutique, hands on approach to each client and project. “We make our clients feel like we don’t have any other clients.”
Mari is essentially a native of the WNC region. She has lived in and around the Asheville area for more than 25 years. She attended Rabun Gap Nacoochee School, Rabun Gap, GA, attended Gordon College in Wenham, MA and eventually obtained a Business Administration degree from Montreat College in Montreat, NC. She loves to travel with her husband, surf fishing on the Carolina shores and one day envisions herself as the “ultimate cat lady”.
Board Member, American Red Cross, Greater
Jenn Gordon
Marketing Generalist and Project Manager
Born and raised in Orlando, Jenn has lived in the region for more than 25 years. Her career is one that’s had several twists and turns – from working as a licensed vet tech and baker to creating and managing a local reference website, Asheville Date Night Guide. It’s these diverse experiences that have contributed to her success as a creative marketing professional who gets results.
Jenn understands the heart and mind of the small business entrepreneur. She’s able to quickly grasp the workings of an industry and thrives on learning new things. She’s proficient in helping clients to find their target audience because she knows the right questions to ask from the get-go.
Whether building diverse social media audiences, creating new marketing strategies or helping clients get creative with revenue resources, Jenn is dedicated to implementing customized marketing campaigns, leading to positive change and business growth. She enjoys knowing that she had some part in making that happen.
Her immense curiosity about social trends and patterns gives her a professional edge when it comes to understanding customer behaviors and profiles. She openly communicates her knowledge and encourages others to do the same. She believes life is a series of learning experiences that are meant to be built on and shared.
As a creative, Jenn sees all things beautiful and makes it her mission to know what is new and what is coming. She aligns herself with marketing strategies through producing creative content, storytelling, photography and connecting with an audience. She continues to strive for success, fluidity and a conscious business relationship with all clients.
She has a BA in Sociology from Appalachian State University and enjoys hiking, snowboarding, the beach, baking, and spending time with her dogs. Jenn loves to travel, but also loves returning to Asheville – every time. She treasures the personal and professional relationships that she’s built here over the years and wouldn’t trade them for anything.
Jess Menezes
Marketing Creative and Social Media Maven
Jess grew up on her family’s farm in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. She spent time in Philadelphia, but quickly tired of the big city life and moved to Asheville about 10 years ago. She developed a personal interest in nutrition and quickly realized how good nutrition can affect one’s health. This was the springboard that led to her current career as a professional videographer and storyteller.
Jess created a series of nutritional videos and worked on building her brand. Her digital success led others to seek her assistance in doing the same for them. As a result, she helped several local businesses with marketing videos and social media before joining Marketing Outpost. She loves helping others bring their businesses and brands to life.
Now, Jess offers audiences an authentic look inside the workings of the small businesses she represents. Her heightened ability to listen to people allows her to get to know the client, their style and marketing needs before diving into their social media by creating videos and reels that fully showcase the people and stories behind a business. When she combines her videography and editing skills, she helps them to achieve their social and digital media goals – and to reach as many potentially-interested people as possible.
She says that inspiring people through professional video and attractive photography is a true passion. She enjoys creating connections that will motivate people to take action. She’s the ultimate creator and a self-described “workaholic.” When she does find free time, she enjoys spending it with her husband and dotes on her pet bunnies, Holly and Hazel. Jess also loves a good puzzle and can often be found trying to figure her way out of one of Asheville’s escape rooms.
Liisa Andreassen
Content writer
Liisa is a content writer and editor who works to create custom content that clearly communicates a business’ message. If you have a story to tell, she can help you tell it because she knows how to listen and can quickly grasp the workings of a concept and/or industry niche. She’s done a good deal of copywriting for well-known brands such as Publix, Einstein Bagels, Char-Broil and many more. She enjoys multi-tasking and often juggles several projects at once. In addition to writing and editing, she’s managed teams of writers and also done market research and PR for new business and publication launches. When she’s not communicating via the written word, she can be found giving cooking lessons alongside her husband in their co-business – Cottage Cooking. It’s this moonlight pursuit that allows the couple to pursue their mutual passion for travel – and of course, food.
She received her Master's Degree in Media Studies from the New School for Social Research in New York City and has experience working with many industry sectors including: legal, architecture and engineering, educational, healthcare, technology transfer, hospitality, not-for-profit clients and more. She was a member of the Junior League of Asheville where she was Vice President of Communications; and also, a former Board member (Vice President) for the Public Relations Association of Western North Carolina. She’s called Asheville home for nearly 20 years and loves its eclectic culture and easy access to the great outdoors.
Emily Owens
Social Media Content Creator
Emily grew up in a small town in Kansas and was homeschooled. This allowed her the freedom and flexibility to travel with her family and learn about different cultures firsthand. It was these experiences that would shape who she is today.
After high school she moved to Asheville to attend AB-Tech’s Baking and Pastry Arts program. She competed in the field and was quickly recruited to work for a high-end country club in Maryland. While she loved it, personal circumstances led her back to Asheville where she helped her now husband to run his business. She also assisted her brother with his business needs, but after about a year, she decided it was time to branch out on her own.
Emily’s confidence and ability to multi-task allows her to jump into any situation and quickly figure out what needs to be done. She’s a self-proclaimed “fixer.” When she discovered Marketing Outpost, she knew she had met her match. The diversity of projects and industry niches excites her and continues to every day. Whether creating content for social media posts, or updating websites and marketing collateral, Emily loves learning about each client’s business product/service and getting to know what makes them tick. She quickly lends an empathetic ear and finds out what their end goals are – from growing a business to awareness, fundraising and more. Emily works to execute the plan by staying on the cutting edge of marketing trends and styles.
She lives in Asheville with her husband and two small dogs and enjoys the multi-cultural vibe that’s ever present in this mountain town.
