El Paso Community Foundation – Borderplex Regional Marketing Framework

Challenge

Comprised of three cities in two countries (El Paso, Texas; Las Cruces, New Mexico; and Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua), the Borderplex region offers a number of advantages for business and talent. To promote these advantages—which include a young and diverse population, a multi-modal transportation network, six international ports of entry, and nine institutions of higher education—a coalition of individuals and organizations came together to launch the “intersection of possibilities” marketing campaign. The five-year, $3.5-million initiative was created with assistance from Texas-based creative agency Sanders/Wingo. To maximize the momentum created by the campaign, a more formal framework was needed to align efforts and resources.

Response

With funding provided by the El Paso Community Foundation, TIP Strategies was engaged by the Borderplex Alliance and the City of El Paso to prepare the Borderplex Regional Marketing Framework to direct the implementation of the “intersection of possibilities” effort. Over a four-month engagement, the TIP project team, which included M. Hensley Consulting, facilitated a series of workshops, one-on-one meetings, creative agency briefs, and steering committee work sessions to identify, refine, and validate the region’s marketing challenges and opportunities. These input sessions were supplemented by a review of 15 peer and competitor communities to document their organizational structures and funding models. The resulting framework detailed key findings from the team’s quantitative and qualitative research and provided a high-level action plan. The framework is centered on three strategic recommendations: establishing a mechanism for regional implementation (the Borderplex Regional Marketing Coalition), developing and funding a three-year regional marketing plan, and extending marketing resources through greater information sharing and collaboration. In addition to supporting an increased level of alignment, the investment in a long-term regional marketing plan tied to pre-determined metrics will yield more targeted leads and greater regional economic growth.