Cross Border Xpress
Opened in 2015, Cross Border Xpress (CBX) is a 390-foot enclosed pedestrian bridge that connects a passenger building in San Diego directly to the Tijuana International Airport (TIJ). The first of its kind in the U.S., the innovative bridge offers a significantly faster, more affordable way for people to travel between the U.S. and Mexico. The challenge? It was still a relatively unknown hidden gem among Southern Californian travelers.
62Above launched an ongoing public relations campaign to raise awareness for CBX across Southern California markets (San Diego, Los Angeles and Orange County), and ultimately help increase ticket purchases from leisure vacation and business travelers to Mexico. Key strategies included developing unique programming and activations throughout the year (including supporting the three-year anniversary, five million passenger milestone and TIJ renovations); hosting a FAM trip to allow top media targets to experience CBX first-hand; and securing interview features with CBX executive team members to reinforce its vision and further grow CBX’s reputation as a trusted innovator in the travel industry.
Over the course of a year, the team secured consistent coverage in target markets, with 265 total proactive press mentions of CBX from October 2018 to October 2019. Coverage highlights include mentions nationally in Travel + Leisure and The Points Guy, as well as features in important local publications like San Diego Union-Tribune, San Diego Magazine, San Diego Business Journal, ABC 10 News, and more. The team met or exceeded quarterly program KPIs, securing more than 10 regional placements, facilitating at least 1-2 local media visits, coordinating an average of 5 broadcast segments and securing 2-3 national placements per quarter. Program efforts contributed to significant year-over-year increases in passenger traffic counts, with a 30.2 percent increase in total travelers over the previous year (as of November 2019).
