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Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority Wins 2020 Tampa Bay Marketer of the Year Award
The American Marketing Association has selected the Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority’s Selmon Extension Campaign as the winner of the 2020 Marketer of the Year in B2B Marketing. The AMA Tampa Bay Award honors leading local marketing professionals and organizations who have made significant contributions to the advancement of marketing and demonstrated groundbreaking solutions to challenging marketing problems.
“We are truly honored and humbled to receive this remarkable recognition,” said Susan Chrzan, THEA’s Director of Public Affairs and Communications. “I feel lucky to have a wonderful team by my side who shares THEA’s vision in making our community a more connected and safer place to live, work, and play.”
In 2014, THEA identified the need to extend the Selmon Expressway in order to accommodate the future growth of the Tampa Bay region; the population was expected to double by 2040. The Selmon Extension was designed to offer greater regional connectivity for commuters and provide a more efficient and safer dedicated hurricane evacuation route for local and regional families.
Prior to starting the project, THEA connected with businesses and homeowners along the Gandy, who would be affected by construction making sure that they were involved in the process of project design, development, and execution.
The Expressway Authority B2B Marketing campaign included virtual town hall meetings, business owners’ engagement meetings, surveys to business owners to see when deliveries arrived, hours of operations, and prime customer hours. The government agency also worked to minimize the pain points of local businesses along the boulevard accommodating the local businesses by doing the bulk of construction overnight and keeping all business driveways open and accessible. THEA also created a Shop Gandy! marketing campaign to encourage traffic to the local businesses that would be affected during construction.
“The Marketer of the Year Award celebrates innovation and results-driven marketing campaigns in the Tampa Bay area. Congratulations to THEA for being our first transportation agency to win this award for B2B Marketing,” said Justine Burke, President of AMA Tampa Bay.
The 5th Annual AMA Marketer of the Year ceremony was held virtually on September 10th, 2020. Click here to view the ceremony. The Selmon Extension construction is moving along, with expected completion in mid-2021.
ABOUT THEA:
The Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority (THEA) is a public agency of the state, created by the Florida Legislature, to provide local, user-financed transportation services that reinvest customer-based revenues back into the Tampa Bay community. THEA owns and operates the Lee Roy Selmon Expressway, Brandon Parkway, Meridian Avenue, and the Selmon Greenway; designed and operates the world’s first reversible all-electronic toll road; and provides over 100,000 daily travelers with safe, reliable and financially sustainable transportation solutions. For more information on how THEA is moving transportation forward, visit www.tampa-xway.com.
