Camille DiLorenzo’s path to becoming an NJBIA ambassador began serendipitously when she was overheard chatting with other businesspeople at an NJBIA event.
An account executive at All-Ways Advertising in Bloomfield, DiLorenzo says she has been networking at NJBIA events for four decades because of the valuable opportunity these gatherings afford her to meet new people and make sales connections that grow her business. Starting a conversation with people she has never met before by talking about NJBIA is a great icebreaker, she says.
“So, there I was a few years ago chatting about how long we’ve been members of NJBIA and how membership has opened up so many opportunities for me and my business,” DiLorenzo recalls. Unbeknownst to DiLorenzo, leaders of NJBIA’s business relations team were standing nearby.
“They approached me afterward about a new ambassador program that they were forming,” DiLorenzo says. “They asked me if I was interested in being one of the first ambassadors and I said, ‘Well I talk about the benefits of BIA all the time anyway so I might as well make it official as part of a program.’”
Harnessing the enthusiasm of long-time members like DiLorenzo has been an effective way to onboard businesses that are new to NJBIA to ensure they maximize all that membership offers. Ambassadors like Camille meet quarterly with NJBIA staff to learn the latest about new member benefits, services, and discounts available to NJBIA businesses so that their outreach to new members is as useful as possible.
“As an ambassador we need to be up to date on all the benefits and pay particularly close attention to the upcoming events,” DiLorenzo said. “For example, I might call a new member and say I plan to attend the not-for-profit summit in person and if that is an event that you would also like to attend, I would be happy to meet you there and maybe introduce you to some of the BIA personnel.”
DiLorenzo’s long association with NJBIA began right out of college, when she went to work alongside her father and siblings in their family-owned marketing firm. “I remember one of my first networking opportunities was an NJBIA event in Atlantic City, and I have continued to attend as many big events as I could and have built many long-standing relationships,” she says.
Fourteen years ago, DiLorenzo’s firm was acquired by another family-owned business (and NJBIA member), All-Ways Advertising, an industry leading full-service promotional advertising and creative marketing agency with its own 38,000-square-foot fulfillment center in Hillside.
All-Ways Advertising was honored in 2019 as NJBIA’s Member of the Year.
All-Ways Advertising has offices in four states, a wide client base and millions of products that help businesses elevate their brand. All-Ways sells promotional items for trade shows and other giveaways, employee recognition and appreciation products, university and school spirit items, and much more. If you’ve ever been to NJBIA’s Golf Day outing, the custom polos with the NJBIA logos came from All-Ways.
“We source our products from manufacturers all over the county,” DiLorenzo says. “The real nature of our business is custom branding. We custom brand products with your company logo. I’ve been providing branded products for the BIA golf outing and other BIA events for many years.”
In 2019, NJBIA honored All-Ways Advertising as its Member of the Year at the association’s Awards for Excellence, noting the company’s contributions toward improving New Jersey’s business climate and DiLorenzo’s role as an NJBIA ambassador serving as a valuable resource for new members.
As an ambassador, DiLorenzo says she focuses her outreach on new members in the Essex County area but is happy to help any NJBIA company or prospective member no matter where their business is located. She can be reached at 973-544-0239 or camilled@awadv.com.
