At iPROMOTEu, we love our Affiliates and are committed to helping them achieve their goals. We also believe in sharing their stories — how they got into the promotional products business, what led them to join our organization, how we’ve supported their success, and what they enjoy most about working with us. Check back often for more Affiliate success stories, and be sure to sign up for our newsletter to be notified when new spotlights are available.
Intention Advertising is an iPROMOTEu Affiliate based in Pleasant Hill, California, founded in 2011 and owned by Mara Villa. As a promotional products distributor, Intention Advertising helps its clients improve traffic at trade shows, motivate staff, thank customers, and even increase safety awareness — just to name a few. Experience with a variety of different clients across various industries such as education, hospitality, medical, and law gives Intention Advertising the flexibility and knowledge to be able to satisfy its clients’ business needs.
With more than 23 years of experience, Mara was first introduced to the industry during her time spent working as a salesperson for a promotional products distributorship in her hometown. But after the company owners made the decision to go their separate ways, Mara decided that it was time to start her own company. There was only one problem — she was in need of the proper back-office support in order to do so.
Searching for a Solution
Prior to branching out on her own, Mara was introduced to iPROMOTEu when one of the owners from her former company did some research on potential opportunities. “He had looked into iPROMOTEu in addition to other similar companies and said it was kind of a no-brainer,” Mara said.
When Mara was ready to take the leap and start her own business, she looked to iPROMOTEu for help. “I spoke to iPROMOTEu at an event in Las Vegas the year that I was ready to make my move. It really seemed like a perfect opportunity at that point, and so I thought to myself, could it really be this easy, and it really was that easy.”
She quickly signed up, and iPROMOTEu walked her through the Affiliate process, how it worked, and the benefits that she would soon receive such as back-office support, order financing, and additional help whenever she needed it.
Mara cites iPROMOTEu’s accessibility and availability as a big reason for her happiness as an iPROMOTEu Affiliate.
“iPROMOTEu does what I need them to do. They provide the ordering platform and back-office support, they give me tracking information and let me know if a promotional product supplier is still waiting for proof approval from me, and then they do all the invoicing,” Mara said, “iPROMOTEu also takes care of paying all the suppliers and invoicing the clients, a huge time saver”.
Forming Deeper Connections
The value iPROMOTEu provides for Intention Advertising extends well beyond services alone. Intention Advertising also takes advantage of attending events with iPROMOTEu. As an Affiliate, they’re able to attend these shows for free. During these events, there are Affiliate-only sessions that allow Affiliates to learn from one another, as well as from experts in the industry so that they are on top of marketing trends and sales tips.
“I can’t tell you how much I look forward to our big trade show in Las Vegas every year — not only seeing all of the iPROMOTEu people that I love but the other Affiliates as well. I’m in a text chain with five other iPROMOTEu Affiliates that have become very good friends of mine, that I would not have met had they not also been affiliates of iPROMOTEu. You attend PPAI, and it’s like seeing your family again, it’s very fun and exciting.”
In addition to making connections and nurturing her relationships within the industry, Mara also appreciates the showcase events because it gives her an opportunity to meet with various vendors one-on-one.
“At a recent iPROMOTEu showcase, 25 preferred vendors and 25 Affiliates were brought together and shared one-on-one time. We were able to talk about our clients and their specific needs,” Mara said. “This time is very valuable, and the fact that they do that and are looking for ways to help us grow our business is a beautiful thing. If iPROMOTEu didn’t care about our success, they wouldn’t try to put this event together for us.”
It Was Well Worth It
With the help of iPROMOTEu, Mara was able to successfully get her business up and running. Even years later as she’s well established, she still finds that her iPROMOTEu affiliation is beneficial for her business and that it was well worth it. Since affiliating with iPROMOTEu, Mara’s business has grown over 4X. In terms of the greatest benefit iPROMOTEu provides Mara and her business, she says it’s in the day-to-day processes.
“The ease of day-in and day-out processes that they handle, such as taking care of billing clients, paying the manufacturers, handling both accounts payable and receivable, as well as the follow-up and tracking of the orders placed are huge. If I had to do these things on my own, I would have to hire a full-time assistant who would also perform bookkeeping tasks.” Affiliating with iPROMOTEu allows her to not have to hire any additional staff.
As a sole business owner, Mara also appreciates certain perks that iPROMOTEu offers.
“When you reach a certain level, they offer some vacation coverage so that you can enjoy your time without concern that your business is not being taken care of. If you’re a sole owner without an assistant like I am, this is a really nice perk to have. I love the staff that I deal with at iPROMOTEu, too. Everyone across the various departments has been great to work with.”
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