NEXUS Program Marketing
The NEXUS program is a binational travel program administered by Canadian and U.S. inspection agencies that grants pre-approved travelers access to a dedicated commuter lane, allowing them to skip often lengthy queues at the U.S. - Canada border.
NEXUS opened at the Peace Arch/Douglas and Pacific Highway ports-of-entry between B.C. and WA State in June, 2002. NEXUS is the successor to the popular PACE and CANPASS cross-border travel programs, which were closed September 11, 2001.
The Whatcom Council of Governments (WCOG), working closely with Canada Border Services Agency and U.S. Customs & Border Protection, marketed the NEXUS program to Lower Mainland, BC and Washington State residents through advertising, promotional activities, and by developing an informational website.
WCOG provides getNEXUS.com, a website with information about NEXUS and links to program applications, hours of operation, and other program-related resources. The marketing project promoted the website through advertisements, signs at the border, and on the internet.
NEXUS Marketing 2011
Backrgound
While NEXUS traffic constitutes well over 30 percent of cross-border car trips at the Peace Arch-Douglas and Pacific Highway ports of entry, recent surveys show two important things. First, a regional market for additional NEXUS subscribers still exists (especially in Surrey, BC and Bellingham, WA). A majority of cross-border travelers who do not currently have NEXUS have misconceptions about cost – most assuming the processing fee is an annual fee (it is a five-year fee) and most not realizing that children are not charged any fee. The need for better information, the known population of likely beneficiaries, and the federal inspection agencies’ new ability to open more than one NEXUS booth all contributed to IMTC’s identification of NEXUS Marketing as a priority project for 2011. Facilitating continued growth of NEXUS is also a goal of the BC-WA Joint Transportation Executive Committee.
Current Effort
In June 2011, The Whatcom Council of Governments identified $20,000 of US Coordinated Border Infrastructure Program funds to undertake a NEXUS marketing effort. The Cloverdale, BC Chamber of Commerce also joined the effort, hiring additional staff for information distribution efforts described below. Working closely with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), six days of informational flyer distribution were planned – over the July 1-4 long weekend and the following weekend (July 9 & 10). WCOG designed and printed flyers, hired student employees from Western Washington University (along with Cloverdale Chamber staff), and handed out approximately 20,000 flyers. In addition to addressing the frequent NEXUS program misconceptions mentioned above, the flyers (as well large signs and custom shirts used with the effort) prominently featured the getNEXUS.com web address – the website that WCOG has maintained since 2004 to tie in with regional marketing efforts and provide an easy-to-remember portal to inspection-agency program registration and official regulations pages.
Results So Far
On days following flyer distribution, daily website visitor counts increase from over 300 to between 600 and 700. WCOG will continue to work with inspection agencies to see if there is an effect measurable in the amount of applications submitted.
2002 Marketing Efforts
The original project began in the fall, 2002, and was completed December, 2003. Marketing efforts included advertising, information distribution, and the development of the getNEXUS.com website. Details are outlined in the project final report.
Project Funding
Estimated total: $129.750 (USD) - Provided by U.S. Federal Highway Administration.
