A proactive communications approach to cross-border trade tensions

By Alexa Cangialosi, Senior Account Manager 

Topeka, Kan. – a city with fewer than 180,000 people – has long relied on international partnerships to drive economic growth, from trade to tourism. In mid-2025, rising U.S.-Canada tariffs threatened up to 20% of local jobs. Rather than waiting for the fallout, Topeka’s economic development team turned a looming threat into an opportunity. 

Given Canada is Topeka’s number one trading partner, the Greater Topeka Chamber of Commerce immediately sought to open up direct dialogue with its Canadian counterparts. The team launched a campaign to meet with public and private stakeholders to raise awareness about the tariffs’ real-world impact on both locations – and we at Violet PR saw an immediate earned media opportunity. 

We moved quickly to plan a Canadian media relations campaign tied to this cross-border outreach, positioning Topeka leaders as U.S. allies with insights into the economic impacts of rapidly changing policy shifts. With a message centered on how localized collaboration can protect jobs and strengthen international ties, our goal was to position Topeka as a standout among its U.S. peer communities with Canadian audiences. 

Ultimately, the effort became an award-winning campaign (2026 PRSA Anvil honor) that transformed a North American policy challenge into high-impact earned media success, generating more than 50 media placements. Here’s a more detailed breakdown: 

Early Goal Setting 

At the start, our specific PR campaign objectives were clear: 

• Plan and secure at least three interviews, generating at least two news stories in notable Canadian media outlets. 

• Clearly communicate the strength and diversity of Topeka’s economy to a Canadian audience. 

• Position Topeka as a globally minded region committed to international collaboration, regardless of national political headwinds. 

Building the Narrative Through Data 

For a team that loves storytelling, we also love data – it’s what gives a story legs. 

For this particular outreach, data would be essential to demonstrate the economic ties between Kansas and Canada. In just a few days, we conducted primary research on imports and exports, travel and tourism figures, Canadian companies operating in the state and job market analytics. 

Additional research included a deep dive into: the U.S. transnational rail network to better understand the role supply chains play in cross-border trade; and ‘field interviews’ with Canadian economic development leaders to understand the Canadian landscape. 

Refining the Media Approach 

Our PR campaign then kicked off in earnest, with multiple planning calls with economic development experts in Topeka. Throughout the process, we refined talking points – a bulk of which included the data we uncovered – and carefully shaped messaging for clarity and nuance, and then developed a strategy to prepare our spokespeople to tackle a difficult topic in a hot news cycle. 

The first week of outreach was less than ideal – we were met with unanswered emails or lackluster acknowledgments with no real interest. We initially focused on virtual media opportunities, but the ask was clearly not strong enough to land with reporters, so as any PR team must, we pivoted. 

With timing critical to ensure maximum relevance and media impact amid a shifting news landscape, the team took decisive action: travel to Canada. 

From Virtual Outreach to In-Person Media Activation 

The boots-on-the-ground approach was what this campaign needed. 

After identifying top-tier Canadian media outlets, we targeted a concise list of 50 carefully selected reporters in and around Ottawa – and the team generated immediate interest. 

Interview requests came in from the Toronto Star, Globe and Mail, and Politico, plus additional virtual interviews with Ottawa Now, BNN Bloomberg, The Canadian Press, CFRA Live! Radio, and more. 

These conversations focused on several key themes, including: 

• Trade flows and export data, highlighting the US$2.6 billion in regional exports to Canada annually (and imports of US$2.1 billion in goods from the United States’ northern neighbor). 

• Business connections, including the 98 Canadian-owned businesses operating in the state. 

• Workforce impact, noting that 20% of Shawnee County’s workforce (where Topeka is located) is connected to international trade. 

After each conversation, Violet PR proactively followed up with reporters, working with them to ensure they had all the data and context to craft a compelling narrative. 

The Sought-After Results 

Our team far surpassed the original goal. In fact, the interviews we arranged all yielded coverage – generating seven features across Canada’s major print, online and broadcast press. 

An additional 50 pickups of these stories appeared across platforms in Canada and the U.S., including Yahoo! and MSN. The coverage reached a total global audience of around 225 million people

 (and was seen by an estimated million-plus readers/viewers). 

Notable headlines included:  

• BNN Bloomberg: “Topeka Chamber president visits Ottawa to strengthen trade ties”  

• Canadian Press: “Kansas businesses hit by Trump’s trade war are wooing Canadian customers” 

• Politico: “Topeka Calling” 

Key Lessons 

The campaign left us with several takeaways that will inevitably inform future international work. For instance: 

• “Strike While the Iron is Hot”: When national news breaks – especially on issues that directly affect communities across the U.S. – there’s often an opportunity to tell a more localized story. It’s important to think outside the box to pinpoint policy changes and the effects they may have on a client community. 

• “Go Beyond ‘Surface Level’”: It’s one thing to recognize the opportunity to connect political news to a client’s goals, but it’s another to build a compelling, data-backed case for how policy changes directly affect that client and its industry peers. That requires proactively digging into the data, and fast. As communicators, we’re often responsible for uncovering the evidence ourselves. In this case, that meant sourcing and analyzing niche datasets and reports. 

• “Be Willing to Pivot”: One approach might work well for one campaign, though fall flat on the next. In this case, reporters didn’t want another, perhaps impersonal, Zoom interview. Instead, the in-person visit gave the journalists a stronger sense of urgency – and demonstrated the Topeka team’s commitment to nurturing relationships with international counterparts. 

In fast-moving policy environments, strong storytelling can turn uncertainty into opportunity and local impact into global relevance. 

Interested in learning more about our work – and how it may fit into your organization’s near-term goals? Reach out to hello@violetpr.com for any inquiries!