La Jolla’s Apia Marketing Solutions helps businesses create ‘brand love’

Business Spotlight:

While much has changed about how businesses operate in response to the coronavirus pandemic, the need to market a business has not. And from pens to personal protective equipment to interactive online experiences, Apia Marketing Solutions powered by Boundless is here to help.

Apia Marketing Solutions of La Jolla, run by local resident Michelle La Greca, specializes in branded merchandise and marketing and sales consulting for businesses of all sizes to provide one-on-one solutions with the backing of a multimillion-dollar company with a large supply chain.

“If there is something you need your name on, pandemic or not, reach out to me. Promotional products are powerful. A branded promotional item can be seen up to 5,700 times in its lifetime,” La Greca said. “I’m here to elevate your brand.”

Through her 13 years in the financial planning software business, she spent a lot of time building marketing processes and strategies, she said. “I spent my tenure creating marketing plans, product rollouts and managing client relationships with large financial institutions like LPL, Charles Schwab and Fidelity,” she said.

In 2017, she branched out on her own.

In working with a friend in the industry, she was connected to Boundless Network, a promotional products company based in Austin, Texas, with access to thousands of suppliers in apparel, hard goods, trophies, tradeshow displays, stickers and more.

“My business is going well, but when the pandemic hit, I went from starting something from scratch to a full stop,” La Greca said. “But I work with hospitals and … I found that I needed to become an expert on PPE quickly. Now I know more than I ever thought I would need to about masks, face shields, hand sanitizers.”

With the demand for personal protective equipment at an all-time high, and with businesses needing to stay on top of that to stay afloat, La Greca said she adapted her business to meet her clients’ — and the general public’s — needs.

“It became about necessity — everyone found themselves needing to take these things into consideration,” she said. “Acrylic barriers became important, as were ‘six feet apart’ stickers, along with hand sanitizer and branded masks. This was the need I was seeing and wanted to help.”

Building out from there, and as businesses migrated online, La Greca developed interactive experiences for her clients along with boxes to send home that accompany a planned Zoom meeting. “There is more you can do to make it an experience ... and help people feel like they are a part of something,” she said.

“I’m passionate about working with companies to elevate their brand image and create long-lasting connections with their audience,” La Greca added. “I work with small businesses, corporations and some enterprise folks. It’s all levels; I work with a lot of nonprofits as well. I’m passionate about helping folks get their message across. There are different needs for each level, so I work with the client to understand their needs and deliver. It could be a pen and it could be an entire experience.”

A recent project for the Oprah Winfrey Network and Hulu involved sending clients a “mailer” of a picnic basket with OWN and Hulu messaging emblazoned on the basket, along with a wine tote bag and wine opener.

Michelle La Greca’s Apia Marketing Solutions created this basket for the Oprah Winfrey Network and Hulu.

(Courtesy)

“I get to shop for folks, which is fun, and see what creative ways I can solve their problems,” La Greca said. “Sometimes they know what they want and other times they don’t. So you have to do some digging. I have to look at what they are trying to accomplish, their messaging, who their audience is.”

La Greca lives in La Jolla and has a business degree from Cal State San Marcos with an emphasis in marketing.

“I believe you have to love what you do, and I love helping businesses create brand love. It brings me so much joy and energy. No matter what the project is, whether it be branding pens, creating a custom box, helping to amplify an experience or to bring an event into your home, I am always all in.”

Apia Marketing Solutions is at 7460 Girard Ave., Suite 12, La Jolla. Contact La Greca at (760) 717-6626 or michelle.lagreca@apiamarketingsolutions.com. Learn more at apiamarketingsolutions.com.

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