Trueline: Maine Marketing Done Right
What Is Trueline?
Trueline is a full-service Maine marketing firm headquartered in Portland. Started by Haj Carr in 2007, Trueline provides content, design and strategy to people and companies throughout the world—from corporations to small businesses and nonprofits.
Trueline is best known for its publishing division, Trueline Publishing—a suite of trade magazines covering executives in technology (Toggle), construction (Blueprint), law (Vanguard) and executive leadership (Vision). Organizations the company has profiled include Intel, Honeywell, GM, P.F. Chang’s and Raytheon, among many others. To date, the company’s online journals have received more than 1 million pageviews.
Trueline also touts a dynamic digital marketing business, which serves companies and organizations of all sizes: local nonprofits, large membership organizations, business professionals and more. The company’s services include everything from search-engine optimization and content to graphic design, business-development strategy and media relations.
Trueline is known for its creative, collaborative approach to working with clients; just about every project involves staff from every department.
What Makes Trueline The Best Maine Marketing Firm?
When CEO Haj Carr founded Trueline in 2007, the Great Recession had only just begun. What’s more, the company’s first trade journal—U.S. Builders Review—was focused on a sector particularly hard hit by the economic downturn.
Carr’s was able to convince these executives that, to survive the downturn, they had to stand out from the crowd. Content was key to that equation. The publication quickly took off, and other publications soon followed.
Today, Trueline has become one of the best Maine marketing firms, most successful creative agencies. The company’s content has been read and shared throughout the world, while its marketing division now includes dozens of clients.
In 2019, Trueline relocated to 561 Congress Street, former home of the SALT Institute for Documentary Studies. The company has since hosted numerous First Friday art galleries, featuring pieces from some of the area’s most prominent and prolific artists.
Every summer, Trueline employees participate in a weekend rafting excursion along the Kennebec River. The company also puts on an annual Holiday gathering at the Mariner’s Church in downtown Portland.
Trueline has been named one of the “Best Places to Work in Maine” for four straight years (2016-19). Office perks include ping-pong; on-site parking; occasional office happy hours; and incentives for surpassing sales goals.
