Case Studies

Charleston Regional Development Alliance Cluster Strategies (2004-2005) and Opportunity Next Regional Strategy (2010)

Avalanche Consulting / McCallum Sweeney Consulting
Amy Holloway served as lead project for the Charleston Regional Development Alliance’s Cluster Strategy and Marketing Plans in 2004-2005. The process involved gathering wide-based public input and support from across the three-county region. 750 residents participated in the process. During the nine-month project, the team conducted a competitive assessment of the region, identified target clusters, created in-depth trend cluster profiles, and wrote community development and marketing tactical plans for each cluster. As a result, the CRDA established a cluster initiative in which executives from each target cluster assemble on a regular basis to identify ways that the CRDA and other leaders can facilitate the growth of their industry in the region. The Strategy has been widely implemented and is still producing results today. Among many other accomplishments following the Strategy’s completion, Boeing selected North Charleston as the location for its 787 Dreamliner facility – a project that is creating thousands of jobs in the region. Daimler Chrysler also selected the region for its new Sprinter van assembly plant; Clemson University received $2 million in State funding to construct a bioengineering innovation center; and two biotechnology companies, Apogee Biotechnology Corp. and Nanoscreen, LLC, announced major expansions in the region.

Following the 2005 strategy, Amy Holloway and Avalanche Consulting have worked with the CRDA on an ongoing basis, including board presentations, facilitating a creative cluster retreat, and conducting an audit of the region’s bioscience opportunities. In June 2010, Avalanche began developing the region’s “Opportunity Next” strategy, a plan designed to guide the CRDA’s economic development initiative for the next five years. That strategy is on-track to be completed – and implementation beginning – in May 2011.

Upstate SC Alliance ¬– Target Industry Strategy (2009)

Avalanche Consulting / McCallum Sweeney
Avalanche and McCallum Sweeney completed a Target Industry Strategy for the 10-county Greenville-Spartanburg (“Upstate”) region of South Carolina in 2009. The project was completed in two distinct phases: target identification and target strategy. During the first phase, the consulting team conducted an in-depth assessment of the region, analyzing statistical information, touring Upstate counties, and completing a Competitive Asset Map. The team selected niche industry sectors to be the region’s targets. The second phase of the project consisted of crafting a strategy for target industry growth. The final Strategy was presented to more than 300 Upstate leaders at a public forum in November 2009. Since the roll out event, the Upstate has generated $1.65 billion in new capital investment.

Economic Alliance Houston Port Region – Multiple Studies (2005-present)

Avalanche Consulting
Since its founding in 2005, Avalanche has worked on numerous economic studies for the Economic Alliance. In 2005, we conducted an impact analysis of a massive outdoor art initiative called “Project Stars.” The impact analysis was used to raise funds for the initiative that included a $1 million donation from Shell. Following Project Stars, Avalanche conducted a survey of residents in the 200,000+ region to assess the perceived impact of port and petrochemical industry traffic on quality of life. Most recently, in 2008, Avalanche was hired to conduct a hiring demand forecast survey of petrochemical companies in the four county region. The Texas Workforce Commission funded study was the first of its kind in Texas. Through the process, Avalanche worked hand in hand with more than one dozen regional industry associations and workforce development organizations. The results of the study are being used as a tool for changing workforce development practices in the region.

Team Texas Marketing Campaign Administration (2006-2007)

Avalanche Consulting
Team Texas is a coalition of 55 economic development organizations from across the state of Texas. Members pool their funding to jointly market the state to relocating and expanding industry. The Team has no staff members and is headed by a volunteer leadership committee. In 2006, Team Texas retained Avalanche Consulting to serve as its administrator and manage its campaign activities. The goal in hiring Avalanche was to lend a strategic approach to increasing the Team’s return on marketing investment.

During the course of 12 months, Avalanche worked with the Team to revamp its trade show activities, operating guidelines, online promotion, and coordination with the State of Texas’ Economic Development Department. With Avalanche’s assistance, automated visitor tracking and lead distribution functions were added to Team Texas’ redesigned website. Avalanche coordinated the group’s IAMC and Corenet hospitality parties, and organized a statewide business appreciation retreat featuring Texas’ Secretary of State, Roger Williams. The project required ongoing communication with the Team’s 55 members and quarterly meetings with the Governor’s office to ensure coordination of marketing efforts at the state level. As a result of Avalanche’s work, Team Texas’ marketing activities are now more creative and streamlined.

Temple Economic Development Corporation – Marketing Strategy (2007)

Avalanche Consulting
In 2007, Avalanche created a 5-year target industry and marketing strategy for the Temple Economic Development Corporation. The strategy consisted of a target industry analysis, detailed audience profiles, an evaluation of the TEDC’s lead management process, a public relations plan, trade show plan, annual marketing budgets, and a month-by-month calendar of marketing activities. Following the strategic plan, Avalanche was retained by the TEDC to assist with the redevelopment of its website and, most recently, to organize a prospecting mission for the TEDC and its board members to meet with target industry companies in the Northeastern U.S.