Economic Development Strategy for a Downtown Neighborhood

Downtown Dallas, Inc. (DDI) launched a multi-pronged economic development campaign to attract corporate, nonprofit, and government investment in the area. As part of this campaign, DDI recognized the need to present a comprehensive strategic vision of Downtown Dallas to key stakeholders, including real estate brokers and developers, tenant representatives, business executives, city leaders, current and future residents, and investors.

Sendero was chosen to lead the research and analysis to inform the strategic direction of the campaign. This work was conducted in partnership with LDWW, a marketing and communications agency that was selected to develop a marketing campaign that would speak to the broad range of audiences impacted by DDI’s work.

Ken Maxwell, Partner and Creative Director at LDWW explained, “LDWW was seeking a partner for an influencer study prior to the launch of a large civic economic development campaign. Our goal was to ascertain decision-making criteria for corporate relocations for Downtown Dallas, Inc. We selected Sendero to collaborate on this project after an extensive search for just the right team. Their size and their ability to move quickly was a major differentiator. There was serious attention to detail from every member of the team and they were able to align quickly to get the study underway. The results of their study and key findings were beneficial in the development of the strategies and tactics for a robust multi-pronged campaign. As a result of this success, we have already identified other client projects that we can partner with Sendero on in the future.”

Sendero’s qualitative and quantitative analysis process leveraged interviews with more than 50 stakeholders, including current and former elected officials and executives of companies with headquarters located in the Downtown Dallas neighborhood. These interviews focused on understanding the area’s strengths, personality, and areas for improvement.

By contextualizing Downtown Dallas against similar cities in the region and across the country, the Sendero team was able to understand the city’s key competitive advantages and better position the area as an attractive investment for small, mid-sized, and large organizations.

The Sendero team also conducted a comprehensive data analysis to better understand the area’s current perceptions and identity. These findings were then synthesized and put into an executive summary, which included new and unique proof points to counter existing perceptions and sell “Downtown’s personality.”