Greater Houston Partnership

At Avalanche Consulting, I developed a branding and marketing strategy for the Greater Houston Partnership to position Houston as a premier destination for business and talent.

Our brand research methodology included extensive quantitative analysis, benchmarking and stakeholder engagement. I facilitated surveys, focus groups and interviews with local stakeholders and conducted brand perception interviews with site consultants and target industry executives to better understand internal and external perceptions of Greater Houston. This qualitative input, combined with data findings, uncovered the region’s unique strengths, differentiators and selling points. By grounding our recommendations with deep research, the brand identity was authentic, defensible, inspiring and honest.

Our research revealed that awareness of Houston’s quality of life assets — a critical factor in entrepreneurship, talent, visitors and ultimately business growth — was much less well known outside of the region. We also found that Greater Houston possessed unique traits that make it a dynamic destination for businesses, talent and visitors. It’s adaptable and anticipates change; it’s accessible in terms of mobility, affordability, job availability and opportunities to live well on any budget; and it’s accepting, open to new ideas and new people. It embraces newcomers and encourages a diversity of residents, industry, arts and culture. The brand identity that emerged captured these traits and reflected the tremendous sense of possibility in the region that was so frequently discussed during our interviews and focus groups: Greater Houston is a region where there is limitless opportunity to have a vibrant life and career.

Upon approval of the brand identity, I developed a global marketing strategy and implementation plan. The report contained clear and measurable goals and detailed internal and external marketing strategies, including how to engage stakeholders to help tell Greater Houston’s story. It described tactical business development campaigns for each target industry, including event attendance, marketing missions and inbound events. It also included a content strategy and recommendations for web copy, PR and social campaigns that brought the brand identity to life, capturing the specific details that make Houston such a dynamic place to live, work and visit. The strategy concluded with a five-year calendar of all activities, estimated budget, task assignments and performance metrics.