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Game On
By: Audrey Sellers, Associate Editor
Issue: June 2010



When Bill Haramija, owner of Vail, Arizona-based distributor Proforma Printing & Promotional Products (UPIC: Profo206), hit the greens for a round of golf, business was not on his mind. But when his friend introduced him to the director of corporate partnerships for the University of Arizona, he realized there was potential for him to make a strong business connection.

Haramija mentioned Proforma’s capabilities, gave his new acquaintance a business card and enjoyed the afternoon on the course. He didn’t think anything would come from the meeting until he received a call five months later.

The director remembered their conversation and Haramija’s full-service capabilities. He was looking for help for a major project with a quick turnaround. The University of Arizona’s football team was getting ready to play its biggest game of the season in just 10 days.

The university wanted to create a ‘red out’ for the nationally televised game by providing the more than 10,000 expected students with red rally towels upon entering the stadium. Price was a key factor for the project, as the university had received pricing from a variety of current vendors and all exceeded the project’s budget.

Haramija quickly reached out to his vendor contacts to see if he could offer the university reasonable pricing. He ended up finding the perfect vendor that could supply the towels within the price range and by the rapidly approaching deadline. The school was thrilled and placed an order for 12,500 rally towels featuring the phrase “Arizona Football Bear Down: Red Out” as well as the date and team names.

The towels arrived two days before the big game and students grabbed one upon entering the stadium. The client was impressed at Haramija’s ability to identify a cost-effective product and have it in-hand so quickly, and to show its appreciation, the university invited him to its private suite to watch the game.

Above: The stadium was a wash of red as fans displayed their towels.