USC graduate starts off on the net marketing agency amid the pandemic

When the pandemic hit and several organizations moved on the internet to mitigate the decline of in-human being clientele, USC alumnus Jordan Banafsheha realized it was time to commence the on line advertising agency he had dreamed about. In spite of the negatives of the new pandemic environment, he stated he was offered with a astonishing prospect: a niche for entrepreneurship. 

Icepop, a marketing and advertising and promotion firm located in Los Angeles started by Banafsheha in May possibly, is aiding providers grow their on-line presence.

Soon after graduation, Banafsheha invested various decades performing for providers these types of as Tinder and later on formed portion of the co-founding workforce for social procuring platform Verishop. Acquiring an overflow of messages from individuals who were being referred to Banafsheha for help with generating an on-line platform, he made a decision to go away Verishop to aim on generating his company full time.

With a tagline of “Grow Ideal,” icepop seems to assist firms authentically maximize their net existence, Banafsheha said. This development is achieved in a way that is personalized to every single shopper, opposite to what he said lots of may consider about marketing. 

“A good deal of persons like to assume that promotion is a playbook, and we just adhere to the identical playbook for every single account. It is unquestionably not like that,” Banafsheha stated. “Every firm has a distinct quantity of information, has a unique brand name voice, has a various customer group that they’re likely immediately after. Just about every consumer we acquire on, it’s kind of like ‘Is this the appropriate healthy for us?’ ‘Do we consider we can produce?’ ‘Do we feel that we can craft a tale which is distinctive to them?’”

Icepop focuses on advertising and marketing via a few major regions: paid out social advertising, compensated search advertising and marketing and organic and natural look for listings. 

In paid social advertising, icepop marketplaces client adverts via social media platforms, including Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and Snapchat. Its other two services include Google and Bing, with paid out look for advertising and marketing, exhibiting ads at the major of research motor final results and bettering natural lookup, making it possible for the company’s page to by natural means surface better on look for engine results based mostly on the relevancy to someone’s look for. 

Icepop has a variety of purchasers including Madhappy, a streetwear life-style manufacturer primarily based in Los Angeles, and Euka, a wellness model that has used other significant internet marketing businesses like 72andSunny, Banfasheha explained. 

“Just being at the desk with these types of businesses at this sort of an early stage of our enterprise is seriously amazing,” Banafsheha explained. 

An additional one particular of icepop’s shoppers is Mini Dreamers — a “one-stop shop” for all of the trendiest apparel for toddlers and young ones — launched by Melody Nabati, a 2008 alumna, in 2016. Even though she felt she experienced sufficient means to make Mini Dreamers thriving and been given a ton of constructive responses from the local community when she to start with opened her business, Nabati said she necessary aid with growing Mini Dreamer’s online visibility.

Mini Dreamers, a present-day client of icepop who worked with Banafsheha for nearly a few decades right before icepop’s official start out, has grown nearly four times from what it was before, Nabati reported. 

“I’m actually delighted with the quantity, the time, the devotion, [Banafsheha’s] commitment to our business enterprise,” Nabati mentioned. “He’s actually experienced about what he does. And it’s been this sort of a excellent asset to the organization, specially for the duration of COVID.”

Garrette Wann, a contract worker for icepop, is right included in the artistic component for the organization — helping produce media and movies for clientele. Collectively, Wann and Banafsheha produce and industry films that crank out revenue for clientele. Doing the job for icepop for nearly a calendar year, Wann reported he continuously sees icepop live up to their client’s internet marketing targets. 

“It’s a genuinely excellent firm,” Wann said. “I adore functioning with them. They do seriously superior by their customers, and they make absolutely sure you know what they are going to do.”

Whilst the company is however in its starting decades, Banafsheha mentioned he hopes it results in being a single of L.A.’s prime promoting organizations in just the next 5 yrs. Banafsheha also reported, as icepop works with extra enterprises, he appears to be to department the company’s providers into investing and managing efficiency marketplaces. 

Banafsheha mentioned some of the corporations who occur to icepop have questioned him to invest in or recommend their corporation — an area he is open to as icepop grows. 

“As our business enterprise grows and we turn into even bigger, I would appreciate for us to have a quite good portfolio of brand names that we also commit in and operate their effectiveness marketing and advertising,” Banafsheha reported. “We’re additional than just a company to them. We’re also a lover to them.”

Banafsheha stated he had a collection of encounters at USC that aided contribute to his conclusion to develop icepop, such as an internship by way of USC TAMID, an group that presents company-minded students with hands-on consulting and investing. 

For Banafsheha’s internship he traveled to Israel where he discovered about Fb promotion and paid out on the web advertising and marketing. 

“If it was not for that practical experience, I likely would not have figured out how to do a good deal of this things I do now,” Banafsheha claimed. 

The USC Blackstone Launchpad Local community also helped Banafsheha improve his network and connections. As a consequence of his results with icepop and entrepreneurial expertise, Banafsheha has presented speeches about his track record and firm for entrepreneurship lessons each and every semester because he graduated, letting him to even further join with the USC neighborhood. 

Banafsheha claimed Anthony Borquez, a person of the professors who frequently has him as a class visitor, is a great mentor and has been able to introduce him to lots of college students who have aided hook up him with people who need to have icepop’s providers. 

The relevance of media and internet marketing to modern day society, as perfectly as the current global pandemic, has designed an setting that Banafsheha claimed he believes has permitted him to create a productive company, benefiting equally the exposure and results of all of his customers. 

“If it was not for the pandemic, I really don’t know if I would have started out my agency this rapidly I may possibly have waited yet another 12 months or two,” Banafsheha claimed. “But for the reason that so quite a few firms had been searching for individuals to support them publicize on Fb and set up their Shopify and all these points, the demand was so big that it mainly assisted me make that conclusion quicker.” 

On the lookout ahead, Banafsheha said he hopes to use USC college students as workers and interns. Not only does Banafsheha foresee his agency’s escalating achievements in the in close proximity to foreseeable future, but he encourages USC students to attain out and harness their individual goals of entrepreneurship as nicely.

“I want us to be, if not the ideal, one of the best 3 agencies in Los Angeles,” Banafsheha mentioned. “When men and women imagine of promoting on the internet, on social media, on Google increasing their enterprise, I want us to be in all those top rated ranks. And I believe we’re earning headway.”

Correction: A past variation of this post misstated icepop’s client as Yukka, alternatively than the wellness brand name Euka. A earlier version also misidentified USC professor Anthony Borquez as Anthony Cortez. The Everyday Trojan regrets this error.