The Port of Oakland touches nearly every Bay Area resident, but research showed most people didn’t understand its role—or separate it from declining views of the City of Oakland. D&A was engaged to reintroduce the Port through an equity-first brand strategy and comprehensive identity development process. Using tracking surveys, leadership workshops, and an inclusive messaging framework, we built the “Seaport. Airport. Everyone’s Port” platform and rolled it out through digital, social, and out-of-home ads.
The campaign clarified the Port’s economic, environmental, and community benefits while protecting its reputation in a challenging political climate.
Positive rating; Port maintains +19–20 net favorability from 2022–2024 even as city ratings decline
Voters say the Port is highly important for the region’s economy and future
Digital and social impressions and 6,000+ clicks in a single June 2024 campaign flight
Major research efforts: two voter tracking surveys and one multilingual staff survey grounding the Everyone’s Port strategy
