Downtown redevelopment has been a priority for the Round Rock City Council for several years as part of the City’s overall economic development efforts. The City has completed a Downtown Masterplan, developed Prete Plaza and Centennial Plaza and begun major infrastructure improvements to realign Mays Street and make downtown more unified and walkable.

As part of these overall improvements to downtown, the City recently launched a branding campaign to help make people aware of these changes and create a distinct identity for downtown Round Rock.

“As part of the branding effort, we wanted to define what sets our downtown apart from other cities,” says Downtown Manager Courtney Ainsworth. “We want to leverage that distinction to attract customers and businesses.”

North Star, a company from Tennessee, did quantitative and qualitative research to get an idea of what people thought about and wanted from downtown Round Rock. They interviewed residents, business owners, council members, and more. They also looked at surrounding cities.

“Through our research, we found that people see our downtown as relaxed and casual, fun for all ages, with local flavor and a sense of ease,” says Courtney. “The brand we developed has a relaxed, casual feel. We are using denim as part of the imaging.”

This brand image will be used on signs, banners, a website, ads and more. Through the branding, the City hopes to expand the perception of downtown as more than just the two blocks on Main Street.

“We want to use these images to give a sense of place to downtown,” says Courtney. “Long-term, we want it to become ingrained in downtown.”
The tagline for the brand is “Right. At Home.” It reflects the feedback the City received from citizens.

“We want the brand to be recognized immediately and to give an emotional sense of what the place is,” says Special Event Coordinator Kristin Brown. “We want everyone to know that they are right at home here.”