Hillwood is one of the nation’s largest developers of commercial, residential and industrial real estate. To bring wider attention to one of Texas’ premier economic engines, Hillwood has retained Cooksey Communications for more than a decade to promote the company’s internationally acclaimed, 27,000-acre master-planned development, AllianceTexas. As AllianceTexas has expanded during that time, Cooksey has managed the development’s strategic communications efforts, implementing an ever-evolving strategy that continues to keep the mixed-use inland port at the forefront of the business media landscape.
industry
- real estate
services
- communications assessments & planning
- corporate social responsibility
- creative services – web and digital
- crisis communications & issues management
- internal communications
- key message development
- marketing strategy & planning
- media relations
- public involvement & stakeholder engagement
- special events
- thought leadership positioning
the challenge
Build an Enduring Media and Brand Presence During Multiple Business Cycles
The AllianceTexas mixed-use development and inland port is one of the most unique and successful real estate projects in the U.S., comprised of industrial, Class A office/campus, residential, retail, multifamily and aviation asset classes. Even with all of its success as a global corporate destination, the Texas market does experience cyclical shifts in its real estate market. Cooksey was engaged by Hillwood in 2011, during the peak of the financial crisis and has remained the company’s day-to-day public relations consultant throughout North Texas’s exponential growth period and during the global pandemic. With many competing business stories in a market as large as Dallas-Fort Worth, the challenge has been to keep sustained media interest in the development over the span of two decades.
the strategy
Leverage the AllianceTexas Story through Several Industry and Regional Growth Trends
Throughout its role as day-to-day public relations counsel for AllianceTexas, the Cooksey team has developed messaging, media outreach materials, and creative pieces designed to demonstrate Hillwood’s leadership not only within the real estate community, but also as a business innovator on the leading-edge of global industry. From 2011-2016, Hilllwood brought three significant corporate campus projects to AllianceTexas, including Charles Schwab Corp.’s global headquarters, Deloitte University and Mercedes Benz Credit Services. Meta developed one of the world’s largest data centers at the development in 2016, while Amazon Air located a significant air operations facility at Fort Worth Alliance Airport. And, in the 2020s, Hillwood launched the Mobility Innovation Zone (MIZ) at AllianceTexas, which has become a key component of the development’s Smart Port platform.
the solution
Execute an Integrated Marketing Communications Plan that Yields Big Results
By connecting the AllianceTexas story to the exponential growth happening in North Texas, Hillwood has benefited from international, national and regional media stories generated by Cooksey showcasing the development as a key corporate destination and an integral component of the U.S. supply chain. Hillwood has received countless awards for their projects and executive leadership, which Cooksey has helped to facilitate. Cooksey’s creative team has also managed important branding projects for AllianceTexas, including the long-running AllianceTexas Magazine, E-newsletters, brochures, video productions and digital marketing strategies.
