Port Laredo wins two Platinum MarCom Awards for “Hot City – Cold Chain” campaign

Port Laredo has earned two Platinum MarCom Awards, the highest distinction from the 2025 MarCom International Creative Competition, for its bilingual campaign Hot City – Cold Chain. The honor places Port Laredo among the most innovative city-led economic institutions in the Americas, celebrated for its marketing, design, and trade-focused storytelling.

Developed and led by Port Laredo, in collaboration with ADS Comunicación, the campaign repositions Laredo, Texas, as North America’s premier inland port for cold-chain logistics, transforming the city’s intense summer heat into a symbol of resilience, innovation, and global trade strength.

“This campaign isn’t just creative, it’s strategic,” said Felipe G. Romero, executive marketing manager for Port Laredo. “It tells the world that Port Laredo can move temperature-sensitive goods as reliably as any coastal port while strengthening binational trade ties with Mexico.”

Launched during a citywide budget moratorium, Hot City – Cold Chain amplified Port Laredo’s broader momentum in refrigerated and temperature-controlled trade. Recent data from Trade Numbers show that 2024 perishable trade totaled $11.25 billion, up $860 million or 8.28 percent from the prior year, with exports at $4.29 billion (up $443.44 million, 11.52 percent) and imports at $6.96 billion (up $416.56 million, 6.37 percent). For 2025 year-to-date through July:

• Avocado imports into Port Laredo rose 33.67 percent, an increase of $228.85 million in trade value.
• Port Laredo ranks first nationally for U.S. exports of pork, representing 18.5 percent of the national total, a 70 percent increase since 2021 to a record $677.61 million.
• Port Laredo also ranks first for U.S. imports of frozen vegetables, with 30.82 percent of the national total, more than double the market share of any other U.S. port of entry.

The campaign featured cinematic visuals, cross-border digital advertising, bilingual messaging, and strategic collateral for investment briefings, trade expos, and global partnerships.

“Laredo’s success is built on binational collaboration,” said Dr. Victor D. Treviño, mayor of the City of Laredo. “Every container, truck, and shipment that crosses our bridges represents jobs, opportunity, and shared prosperity across the Americas. This recognition reaffirms that Port Laredo is not only the No. 1 port in the United States, it’s the gateway of the Western Hemisphere.”

The MarCom Awards are among the world’s most respected international competitions for marketing and communication professionals, honoring excellence in concept, writing, and design. Each year, more than 6,500 entries are submitted from over 40 countries, representing global brands such as Cisco, IBM, Deloitte, Hilton, Johnson & Johnson, Yamaha, and Topgolf.

With dual Platinum honors, Port Laredo joins an elite group of global brands recognized for creative and strategic excellence.