360º solutions for the first deep-water port in Ecuador
DP World Ecuador
Year: 2018–2022
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Who is DP World ?
DP World is one of the largest port facilitators in the world. Operating in 80 countries, they hold many of the largest and sophisticated port terminals and logistics centers, employing thousands of workers. DP originally stands for Dubai Port; the main office being in the United Arab Emirates.
In 2018, a new branch opened in Ecuador, in a small fishing town called Posorja. During this same time, I worked in a marketing and design agency where I maintained DP World branding, websites and communication needs until April 2022, when I moved back to the United States.
Together with DP World and PRAYD agency, I created designs and strategies that helped further the DP World mission of “Creating the future…Now”.
So...What was the problem?
DP World Ecuador faced many challenges since the beginning of construction until the first Post-Panamax vessel arrived. Primary concerns included political opposition and misunderstanding of the port’s benefits, along with widespread calls for its closure. Concerns also included:
- A previous administration had approved the construction, creating a sense of distrust and negative public perception.
- Guayaquil—known as the “Pearl of the Pacific”— has always been the city of ports and the largest importer of the country. City officials feared the new technological advances and felt the port would disrupt market shares. We heard the concerns people had and reminded them that Posorja is a canton of Guayaquil, its success meant the success of the region. We created additional campaigns and materials explaining the port’s benefits and necessity.
- Since Posorja is a small, rural parish, and a relatively unknown fishing town, DP World needed to convince shipping vessels and transport agencies to import/export goods. I created various campaigns for transport agencies, highlighting benefits of the port while DP World focused on the shipping vessels.
- The people of Posorja felt this project would ruin their land, damage mangroves and eco-systems while also creating unnecessary traffic from cargo trucks into the Playa-Villamil area—a touristic and economic hotspot. DP World implemented various sustainability and community outreach projects. I marketed, designed, and/or created landing pages for the campaigns.
Task one: Construction, community involvement, and hiring/partnerships
Community involvement forms part of the primary pillars of DP World. In order to inform the community of DP World’s plans and success, we created a website to showcase investment plans, construction objectives and historical highlights.
This task was one of the primary focuses of 2018 through August 2019. Here are a few highlights of that timeframe.
UI/UX design
We created the site to highlight the construction metrics of the port terminal and logistic center:
- First Deep Water port terminal in Ecuador with capacity to receive ships of up to 15,500 TEUS (Post-Panamax).
- The project will have a new 20 km road to provide direct, orderly and safe access to the port.
A new and safer access channel to the Guayas River, 16.5 meters deep and 21 nautical miles long.
- A logistics park with direct connectivity to the deepwater port of Posorja with more than 100 HA available.
In time, it also grew to include key sustainability projects in the area, key administrative personnel, governmental visits/events and highlights of its international brand presence.
Transportista amigo campaign
While the construction of the port advanced, we needed to entice heavy transport agencies to join the port terminal.
At the time transport vehicles had an unusually long wait time before entering the port terminals. DP World was offering quick and expedited service. This campaign focused on the following:
- Fast, expedited service where you could be in-and-out within 1 hour
- OCR scanner limiting cargo contamination
- Know where to go and how to register successfully before the start of operations
My role focused on:
- The creation of flyers, infographics, triptychs, and accordion brochures
- The sequences and animation in After Effects, Premier Pro and Adobe Illustrator
Hiring talent campaign
DP World also required a campaign to hire people within the community. This was connected to a job portal on the website and focused on:
- Allowing participants to drop off their resume for a limited time in the Guayaquil office
- Informing applicants that we also accept women and people of all backgrounds
Task two: Reinforcing objectives and preventing fraud
Ports are fundamental to the functioning of society. For all things to work, however, there needs to be accountability for when things do not go as planned. This may be additional campaigns to change societal behaviors or creating an open space for alerts and public communication.
Whistleblowing campaign
The purpose of this campaign is to open communication and allow people to speak up if they see or suspect of any irregularities—with confidence and anonymity.
Task three: Improving internal communications
Once DP World finished its initial hiring processes and transport agencies have been finalized, the focus shifted on improving internal communications. There were many ways this was accomplished, however two campaigns dealt with 1) creating a secure communication channel thru a messaging system, 2) creating a system to receive and process suggestions while informing employees where and how to do this.
Secure communication channel
DP Chat is a secure communication channel that is created with the intent of a direct, fast, and interactive response. This campaign focused on the rules of use, who handles information, and additional safety tips. My role focused on:
- The creation of the logo
- The sequences and animation in After Effects, Premier Pro and Adobe Illustrator
Complaints management
The campaign explained to employees and contractors the process for addressing their suggestions, specifying who handles them and their priority. An important aspect was remaining anonymous. My role focused on:
- The creation of the logo
- The sequences and animation in After Effects, Premier Pro and Adobe Illustrator
Task four: Creating the future...now
DP World Ecuador’s future in the region includes the creation of an economic development zone, a new 2022 brand implementation and increasing their portfolio to provide better services and distribution.
I firmly believe they can create a better future through the continuation of local sustainability programs and community involvement. If they continue to do what they have done till now, the future is bright.
