La. Ports To Combine Marketing Efforts
Ken Eriksen, managing member of Polaris Analytics and Consulting, delivered the recommendations of a unified marketing plan that Polaris developed for the Louisiana Ports and Waterways Investment Commission May 14. The marketing plan covers the five port systems in the Lower Mississippi River—the Port of Baton Rouge, Port of South Louisiana, Port of New Orleans (Port NOLA), the St. Bernard Port, Harbor and Terminal District and the Louisiana Gateway Port (Plaquemines Port).
Andrew Kilshaw, who chairs the Office of Multimodal Commerce, said it had been a year since the LPWIC had met. Joseph Toomey, chairman of the special committee overseeing the development of the collaborative marketing plan and former chairman of the board of commissioners of Port NOLA, said the unified strategy is partly based on an earlier analysis of cargoes handled by the five ports. He said an integrated marketing plan would “better position Louisiana for international trade.”
Julia Fisher-Cormier, commission chair and executive director of the Port of South Louisiana, and several other speakers reiterated their hope that the marketing plan developed by Polaris, which coordinates the marketing of the five ports to emphasize each port’s strengths and avoid duplication of efforts, would serve as a template for other Louisiana ports to enter into similar agreements. Fisher-Cormier emphasized that any participation by other Louisiana ports is completely voluntary. “You can use this plan as a template, or you can have your own plan if you want one,” she said.
Ben Russo, executive director of Central Louisiana Regional Port, said that even though his port is not located on the Mississippi River, the five ports are important to his port and the central region of Louisiana. Cargoes of the five ports are shipped to and from his port, supporting the region.
Polaris prepared the plan with the help of several partners, including the DEVENEY Marketing Group, headquartered in New Orleans; CPCS Transcom, a global, independent management consulting group specializing in major projects, transportation, energy and infrastructure; and Razor Communications.
Since he was elected, Gov. Jeff Landry has said that getting Louisiana’s ports to work together and stop competing with each other is a top priority, and this marketing plan is a key step in that direction.
The plan covers an area stretching 252 miles from Baton Rouge southward. Eriksen stressed that the plan offers the covered ports “unity, not uniformity.” A meeting held by DEVENY at which every port was represented lasted all day and was very productive, he said.
Toomey said, “Communication between the five ports has never been stronger.” He cited a recent cooperative agreement between the Port of Greater Baton Rouge and the Port of South Louisiana, according to which the latter will manage dock and facility developments for the $5.8 billion Hyundai steel mill in Ascension Parish, despite the site falling within Baton Rouge’s jurisdiction.
The marketing plan will “live” at Louisiana Economic Development, Fisher-Cormier said, and be part of the state’s overall marketing plan.
The commission’s Task Force on Navigation and Safety stood in silence for a moment to honor the memory of Capt. Louis “Toby” Wattigney, the former president of the New Orleans-Baton Rouge Steamship Pilots Association (NOBRA), who chaired the task force before passing away suddenly last year. His successor at NOBRA and as chair of the task force, Steve Hathorn, spoke to the commission and praised the plan.
