Nick Lanzi didn’t all the time envision a profession in advertising and marketing and communications. With an accounting diploma from Penn State, he spent the primary a part of his profession in finance, serving as CFO for one of many area’s largest direct advertising and marketing corporations. His publicity to that business sparked his curiosity in launching his personal enterprise, Direct Selection, in 1995.

Almost three a long time later, he and his workforce have developed a specialised strategy for assembly the calls for of direct advertising and marketing for nationwide and regional manufacturers. Now, as a pacesetter within the LGBTQIA+ enterprise neighborhood, Lanzi sees the affect that investing in and dealing with numerous suppliers can have.

Working with Independence Blue Cross

Lanzi and his workforce have been doing enterprise with Independence Blue Cross (IBX) for practically 20 years, specializing in digital, direct advert, and mailed advertising and marketing campaigns.

“My company works on behalf of our shoppers to establish the perfect prospects to achieve out to. Then, we create and deploy communications to get these prospects to take motion,” Lanzi stated. “With Independence Blue Cross, our work contains renewing people and teams and advertising and marketing Reasonably priced Care Act and Medicare plans. No matter their want is, we offer an answer.”

Each IBX and Direct Selection profit from working collectively. Direct Selection’s versatile and enthusiastic expertise helps IBX talk with members successfully; and the cooperative partnership has helped Direct Selection achieve shoppers within the business.

“Having Independence Blue Cross in your listing of shoppers is like gold as a result of they’re the gold customary, particularly within the Philadelphia market,” stated Lanzi. “I’ve been capable of appeal to different companies as shoppers over the previous 17 years due to our relationship.”

Shared Alternatives

The connection between IBX and Direct Selection is rooted in shared beliefs and a shared dedication to neighborhood. Benefitting extra than simply the 2 organizations, it has helped to advance others within the diverse-owned enterprise neighborhood.

“My vendor companions allow me to offer Independence Blue Cross with high-quality and reasonably priced merchandise that we ship on time,” defined Lanzi. “Not solely does that make me feel and appear actually good, it additionally incentivizes Independence Blue Cross to provide us extra work — and that rolls downstream to my numerous vendor companions. So, it feeds the system.”

Integrating numerous suppliers into enterprise fashions has helped IBX and Direct Selection strengthen the native economic system, enhance innovation, help the hiring of native expertise, and higher serve members and shoppers by growing illustration for historically underrepresented communities.

“I’m completely happy to say that almost 25 p.c of Direct Selection’s annual vendor spend is with women-, BIPOC-, veteran-, and LGBTQIA+-owned companies,” stated Lanzi.

At IBX and our subsidiaries, the provider variety program continues to develop, with $317 million spent with numerous suppliers in 2023, a rise of 13 p.c since 2022.

Impression Past “Simply Enterprise”

Lanzi’s dedication to supporting different numerous companies extends past his hiring of these suppliers. He additionally sits on the board of the Impartial Enterprise Alliance, which is the Philadelphia chapter of the Nationwide LGBT Chamber of Commerce. Lanzi leverages that position to have a larger affect on LGBTQIA+ causes and companies within the space.

“Independence Blue Cross helps the LGBTQIA+ neighborhood in a means I’ve by no means skilled earlier than. They’re main sponsors of quite a few organizations within the Philadelphia space and so they actually put their cash the place their mouth is,” Lanzi stated.