The City of Princeton is headed back to the drawing board after residents said no to a design that was on track to becoming the city’s new logo.
Princeton is a town in Collin County just outside of McKinney -- and it’s growing quickly.
In 2010, the United States Census Bureau reported a population of 6,807. In 2016, the population was an estimated 9,405.
So it’s no surprise that city leaders want a fresh look. The town recently inked a branding deal with Eisenberg and Associates, a Dallas-based marketing firm. The deal, which cost $9,500, involves Eisenberg and Associates building a new logo for the city.
The deal also consists of the company creating a strategic branding and messaging platform for the city to use to attract new businesses.
The costs of the deal were shared by the City of Princeton, the Princeton Economic Development Corporation, and the Princeton Community Development Corporation.
The EDC and the CDC serve the city and operate on funds from sales tax revenues.
Last month, council members revealed a design for a new city logo that included an exclamation point in the ‘O’ of Princeton and the phrase "Catch the Excitement."
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According to Eisenberg and Associates, council members were pleased with the design and told the company to move forward with final touches.
But once the Princeton Herald posted the logo on the internet, residents weren’t too pleased and hilariously had a field day in the comments section on Facebook.
The overall theme? Many thought what was decided on wasn’t worth the cash.
The City of Princeton conducted a survey online, and this week council members told Eisenberg and Associates to take a different direction.
Eisenberg and Associates told WFAA that it’s in talks with the City of Princeton to potentially present several logo ideas and let citizens give feedback.
Assistant City Manager Lesia Gronemeier provided background information to WFAA about the situation but declined an interview.
It's not uncommon for cities to spend thousands of dollars on branding. Some costs can go into the six-figure range.