Communications

Communications

Our Communications and Public Engagement division has extensive expertise in creating and executing on countless customized engagement plans built on timely, accessible, and sustained messaging to help diffuse tensions and build consensus on the studies, plans, and projects that affect communities

Our approach is based on the understanding that members of the public and stakeholders are owed the opportunity to influence decisions that affect their lives, and to participate in the development of their communities. We build effective communication strategies that educate and engage public audiences and position our clients for long-term success.

Consistency, transparency, and strategic focus are our core values in providing opportunities for public input and involvement that develops a consensus-based vision, local ownership and to foster community awareness and excitement around a plan, campaign, or project.

Tools & Services

Strategic Planning

Public Involvement Plans

Meeting Facilitation

Focus Groups

Past Projects

Census 2020

Watch Census 2020 Video

TouchPoint Strategies was enlisted to build out the communication efforts as to why it is vital for every individual to be counted in the Census 2020 and to combat an undercount in hard to count communities.

Our Team accomplished this through six different initiatives: we canvassed and were able to reach 60,000 residences, facilitated focus groups, hosted a tele-townhall event in English and Spanish that reached 38,619 residents, we strategically placed five murals throughout the city, hosted PPE events where we distributed 7,500 PPE bags to the community, and we nominated members to serve on a Complete Count Committee.

This project has earned six awards: The Public Relations Society of America Silver Anvil Award of Excellence, Bronze Anvil, Silver Anvil, and Audience Choice Award, the Advertising Research Foundation David Ogilvy Silver Award, and the American Advertising Federation 10th District Mosaic Award.

Missouri City Mobility & ITS Master Plan

The Mobility & ITS (Intelligent Transportation System) Master Plan is a comprehensive look at Missouri City’s existing transportation network, in order to effectively plan for the future of mobility in the city.

The TouchPoint Strategies team was responsible for the Public Outreach and Community Engagement phases of the Mobility & ITS Master Plan project. We developed an outreach strategy to raise awareness and increase attendance at four public community meetings. We provided website design and recommendations to increase traffic to the modules and project survey, where residents provide suggestions on the plan. TouchPoint led the marketing design, provided elected officials engagement toolkits, gave presentation coaching, and recommendations for Missouri City’s Communications Division in spreading awareness of this project and the opportunities to provide input.

Houston Health Department COVID-19 Vaccination Campaign

In late 2021, the COVID-19 vaccine became widely available for grade school aged children. In an effort to prevent widespread COVID-19 infection rates in schools and communities, the Houston Health Department sought out a marketing campaign aimed at promoting opportunities for increased detection and prevention of COVID-19, and to promote vaccinations for children ages 5-11 years old.

The TouchPoint Strategies Team was enlisted to focus in on three key areas that helped to shape the creation and execution of this marketing and outreach campaign: The first was Leading Qualitative Research through Focus Groups where in order to better understand specific barriers to vaccination and possible motivators for changing attitudes and behaviors, the research was designed to talk directly with Houston residents from a variety of different cultural backgrounds individually. The second focus area was Providing Creative Message Development and Consultation in which using the findings from the research phase, we worked to incorporate our stakeholder’s trusted voices and co-developed messaging architecture. We ensured the campaign was nuanced for each targeted audience and included key messages, reason to believe, and rational and emotional benefits. Third, our team was responsible for Managing Grassroots Canvassing Efforts where we oversaw the team who distributed 340,000 pieces of collateral with vaccination information to elementary schools across the greater Houston area and to neighborhoods with low vaccination rates.