MISSION, Texas - North Tamaulipas and South Texas are located on the most advantageous part of the USMCA map but the region needs to promote itself better.
This is the view of Joaquin Spamer, founder and CEO of CIL Group and president of the Mexican chapter of the Border Trade Alliance.
Working with Hidalgo County Prosperity Task Force co-leader Mario Reyna, Spamer brought industrialists, empresarios, business leaders, bankers, and economic development officials together to brainstorm ways to better market the region.
The private meeting, which pulled in 50 key stakeholders, took place at La Fogata on March 20.
At the end of the meeting, Spamer gave The Rio Grande Guardian International News Service an exclusive interview:
https://youtu.be/RNb6-gJh6dE
Asked what happened at the meeting, Spamer said: “Well, we had a meeting with industrial developers from both sides of the border. I think that's something that we need - to make sure that we work more with the Mexican side. The Mexican side and the U.S. side working together. That's what we're trying to accomplish.”
Spamer said the region has some challenges.
“The biggest challenge is how we promote ourselves. It has always been that every city and every municipality on the Mexican side is promoting itself separately from the region. What we are promoting is for us to establish a specific branding for the region, including both sides of the border.”
Spamer said North Tamaulipas and South Texas are perfectly located to take advantage of increased trade between the U.S. and Mexico.
“We have a unique place. We have three ocean ports. We have railroads and a crossing railroad bridge. We have 14 international bridges. We have seven airports. And if you put it all together we have a region that has assets and competitive advantages that no other region in Texas has.
“We are three and a half million in population on both sides of the border and we are only two hours away from a seven million population region that is called Monterrey and only six hours away from an 11 million population region (Houston). So we have a unique situation.
“Also, if you look at the USMCA map, the most attractive region to invest in, as per the North American trade agreement, is the Rio Grande Valley. We are right in the middle. So if you're thinking of making an investment, where will you go? Where everything is happening. Most of the trade comes through here, from Laredo to Brownsville, most of the trading between the US and Mexico. The biggest trading partner of the United States is Mexico and the biggest trading partner for the state of Texas is Mexico. So we're in the middle.”
Every table at the private meeting had a card printed by the Hidalgo County Property Task Force. On the card was a QR code. Participants were asked to scan the code with their smart phones. A Google Forms page then popped up titled Region 1 Metroplex. It had the logos of the Prosperity Task Force, COSTEP, and the Rio Grande Valley Partnership. The form asked for the participant’s name, company organization, and email address. It listed seven questions:
Do you consider it is important to have a unified identity for the entire region?
Do you believe that a regional branding would strengthen the region's presence and competitiveness nationally and internationally?
What name would you suggest for a regional branding that represents both sides of the border?
What is your annual marketing budget for economic promotion?
Are you willing to align your marketing efforts with this regional initiative?
Are you willing to use the new branding proposal?
Would you be willing to use a regional calendar to enhance the coordination of marketing efforts for participation in events and trade missions?
The page also invited comments.
Spamer said the answers will be collated and used to come up with the best name to market the region.
“We are collecting suggestions for the name. We are going to give it to both the UTRGV and STC - Richard Solis was here - and they they are committed to making a kind of focus group and trying to make a decision on what will be the best way to describe the region, the best name,” Spamer said.
“Once we have that we're going to hire a marketing company to do a marketing strategy. We are not trying to tell the EDOs, the bankers, the private companies how to handle their marketing efforts. We want to stay away from it. We want each one of them to do whatever they're doing. We think they're doing a great job. Continue doing what they're doing. The only thing that we will ask is that anyone that thinks that the branding will make a better effort and a better solution on how to promote the region, to help us out and use the same branding.”
The Guardian asked if the stakeholders at the meeting were being asked to contribute financially to the marketing effort, Spamer said:
“No. I think that the marketing money's already being spent. The only thing that we will ask is for them to tweak a little bit of their marketing strategy to include the regional branding. That's what we're trying to do.”
And Spamer reaffirmed that, going forward, the region being marketed would include North Tamaulipas.
“We are one region. What did someone say? That we have an identity crisis. We are like a 17 year-old boy with an identity crisis. We are part of the region, the Mexican and the U.S. side is part of the same region. Same families, same businesses. We need to excel together.”
