After spending the last few years struggling to stay afloat, the Port of Tacoma got a wave of good news. The Grand Alliance, a shipping consortium composed of NYK Shipping, PPCL and Hapag-Lloyd, selected the Port of Tacomas Washington United Terminal to serve as its port of call. Perhaps even more important is the fact that the Port of Tacoma was able to secure the contract without having to spend money on refurbishing the Terminal or assuming any costs of operations for the shipping group.

With marketing budgets squeezed nearly dry, many businesses find banner printing and poster printing a cost-effective means of gaining attention and branding the company name. Tacoma, for example, implemented a banner program to aesthetically brand downtown and to feature not-for-profit community activities and events.