What happened?
The Rail District’s new brand—giving the city’s historic downtown a new, cohesive color scheme, identity and tagline—was unveiled at a launch party Sept. 12.
“This is just the start,” said Cori Powers, Visit Frisco’s director of marketing and communications.
Visit Frisco is the city’s official destination marketing organization. Its staff, including Powers, were the driving force behind the rebrand alongside consultants from Verb Interactive, and have been working to deliver the final product in a months-long initiative that included:
- 872 responses from a citywide survey
- Eight stakeholder interviews
- Three voice and tone workshops
- Communication with community leaders and Frisco City Council members
The results of the community surveys and interviews can be found in the new brand, according to a Sept. 12 Visit Frisco news release. For example, the new “good to be here” tagline is a direct pull from stakeholder and council member discussions, according to the release.
“The tagline, ‘it's good to be here,’ because we feel it every day ... and we want to make sure that more people get to experience that, even through construction,” said Christal Howard, president of the Frisco Chamber of Commerce. “It's important that we show how good it is to be here with these businesses.”
Other elements of the new brand were chosen deliberately, such as a versatile color scheme, standalone logo and pattern to allow the city and local businesses to use them on stickers, shirts or coasters, said Troy Woodland, chief creative officer at Verb.
“There is so much more to come when we think about this brand and seeing it out and hopefully driving traffic back to The Rail District,” Powers said.
Another thing
Announced alongside the new brand was a “Receipt Race” spending initiative from the Frisco Chamber of Commerce.
The race, which is expected to drive more foot traffic downtown, is similar to a Frisco ISD spirit night or Box Top collection, Howard said. Customers purchasing anything in The Rail District can save their receipts and turn them in to their children’s school’s Parent Teacher Association.
The PTA with the most receipts regardless of value will be awarded a cash prize: $5,000 for first place, $3,000 for second place and $1,000 for three third place spots. The race is open from Sept. 12 to Dec. 31 with receipts due no later than Jan. 15, 2025.
“We hope to be swimming through receipts that are turned into us,” Howard said. “We know the PTAs are already excited because we have met with the presidents to let them know this is coming.”
Residents who do not have children in the Frisco ISD school district can still participate by giving their collected receipts to any school and PTA of their choosing, Howard said.
“Support your neighborhood schools or whoever you choose, with those receipts,” she said. “It's a win-win for all of us.”
Zooming out
The new brand and initiative comes a little over one year into The Rail District’s redevelopment, a nearly $70 million project to remove on street parking and widen the roads for a pedestrian plaza known as Fourth Street Plaza.
Roadwork along Main Street, where construction is currently focused, has been cited as a pain point for local businesses in The Rail District as customer parking is removed or relocated.
Shannon Hammond, co-owner of Main Street business The Game Show Experience, said her business is beginning to feel the effects of ongoing construction.
“We've got a tough 18 months ahead of us,” Hammond said.
Hammond and her fellow co-owner Danny Mehta were among multiple downtown business owners to attend the Sept. 12 launch.
“We're hopeful that the little efforts that the city makes like this will be beneficial to us and some of the other surrounding businesses until all the construction is done,” Mehta said.
Another way city officials hope to support their local businesses is with a recently-created position inside the Frisco Economic Development Corporation.
Lauren Williams, FEDC’s manager of downtown services and real estate, said she started her position as a “small business advocate” in The Rail District a little over three weeks ago.
“My role, this brand and the work happening here is a direct response to your voice,” Williams said.
Going forward
More information on some of the initiatives taking place in The Rail District can be found at the following links:
