Our story

Born from
client demand

“i” and “media” stand for interactive media. “9” is cloud nine, the cumulonimbus that rises above all other clouds. i9media is marketing to rise above.

A surfer walking a dune path to the beach

How it started

A surf publication first

In 2007 Andre Niemeyer launched My Local Lineup, an action sports media platform for Southern California surfing and stand-up paddling. Built on open-source software, with user-generated content, surf photographer galleries and live updates, it became the second-largest surf publication in the world and led to a TV show airing up to nine times a week.

Businesses started asking Andre to replicate that success for them. In 2011, i9media was born in San Diego. Since then the agency has helped partners across auto, lifestyle, furniture and technology overcome market challenges: turnarounds, e-commerce growth, and two acquisitions, Litra by Logitech and Lumenlabs by R-Zero.

Milestones

Nineteen years, in six lines

2007
My Local Lineup launches and becomes the second-largest surf publication in the world. Supconnect follows in 2010, the leading publication for stand-up paddling.
2011
i9media is founded in San Diego, at the request of the businesses that wanted the same results for their own brands.
2012
SIC Maui launches globally on i9media strategy and creative. Flow Snowboards turns around, and is later acquired.
2017
Litra, a startup, grows into a global brand on i9media photography, video and campaigns, and is acquired by Logitech.
2021
Lumenlabs, a biotech startup, builds its brand and market presence with i9media, and is acquired by R-Zero.
2026
An AI-driven agency: productivity gains of 100x and more, broad-based across marketing operations, passed on to every partner.

What we believe

Because goodness and competence matter

Having great people, good and competent, by your side makes the journey better and more rewarding in more than one way. That is the company we try to be.

No ego
Do what it takes, learn from the rights and the wrongs, and iterate. The work is the point, not the credit.
Partnerships, not accounts
We measure ourselves in long-term value created together, and in the relationships that outlast any single project.
Competence through results
Net sales on lower discounts and smaller ad budgets. If the numbers do not move, the work is not done.
Purposeful innovation
New tools when they compress a month of work into an hour, never for their own sake. Technology in service of the partner.

Meet the team that adds meaning to marketing

Above & beyond

A core team of five, strategist, creative lead, web developer, advertising lead and the founder, plus a bench of specialist contractors we pull in as the work requires.