Dalhart EDC unveils rebranding campaign; council OKs $19,500 in hotel-tax support
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Summary
The Dalhart Economic Development Corporation presented a marketing and tourism rebrand featuring new logos, billboards and geofencing; the City Council approved a $19,500 Hotel Occupancy Tax allocation to fund media placement and related advertising.
Dalhart’s Economic Development Corporation presented a new rebranding and tourism campaign on May 12, and the City Council approved $19,500 from the Hotel Occupancy Tax fund to pay for billboards, geofencing and related media placements.
The rebranding presentation, led by an EDC representative with a marketing team from Firehouse Marketing, introduced new logos and slogans intended to position Dalhart as “a stop worth staying for” rather than a quick highway stop. “Long road — don’t skip Dalhart,” the presenters said as an example of campaign copy that will appear on billboards and social ads.
The EDC representative said Firehouse Marketing researched travel patterns and found roughly 6,000 cars pass through the area daily; the campaign will use billboards between Amarillo and Dumas and a geofencing strategy that triggers social ads when drivers enter a defined radius around Dalhart. Merchandise and an online vendor portal were also presented as part of the plan.
Council members raised questions about how the rebrand might be perceived by stakeholders tied to the local XIT brand. A council member urged the EDC to meet with current XIT directors to clarify that the rebrand is not intended as a slight to XIT entities.
Council action: a motion to grant $19,500 from the Hotel Occupancy Tax Committee to the EDC for the rebranding media plan passed on a voice vote.
The EDC representative said this campaign is phase two of a multi-phase effort and that additional rollout items and merchandise distribution will follow in coming weeks.
The council’s approval allows staff and the EDC to proceed with purchasing ad placements and finalizing media buys funded through the hotel-tax allocation.