The Franklin Tourism Development Authority approved a new logo and tagline at its Sept. 9 meeting.
Different logo designs and taglines were presented by Morgan Stewart of Stewart Communications, the local firm managing the TDA’s marketing this year.
For the logo, Stewart said they created 60 variations of the logo in a variety of shapes and colors to highlight the best of Franklin with mountains, rivers, waterfalls, leaves and rubies. He said they got input from TDA members, business representatives and community leaders.
“The logo and its design elements are meant to capture and fire the potential visitor’s imagination,” Stewart said. “Our new logo is fun and whimsical while giving tourists an enticing flavor of the beauty throughout the Franklin area, and the experiences they will enjoy when they visit. We capture the mountains, national forest, our waterways and our history as the gem capital. When potential visitors hear the mountains calling, we want them to be enticed to truly experience Franklin and all that our home offers.”
Stewart said in developing the new tag line they looked at what other surrounding counties were using and wanted to select something that differentiated Franklin from the others. Franklin had been using “Discover Franklin.” The new tagline will be “Experience Franklin.”
Jackson County uses the word “discover” in its promotions while Bryson City, Brevard, Boone, Asheville and Georgia all use “explore.” “Visit” was another popular tag with Haywood County, Smoky Mountain Host, Cherokee County and Clayton using that as part of their marketing.
“We have heard from plenty of local community members and leaders that people have ‘discovered’ Franklin, and so now they need to experience it.” Stewart said. “We agree that our wonderful home offers so much that we want potential visitors to spend their time here and truly experience Franklin.”
Stewart also pointed out that younger generations value experiences over material.
TDA member Josh Drake cautioned that rebranding can be hard in that you have to rebuild your following. He cast the dissenting vote in the 4-1 decision to adopt “Experience Franklin” as the new tagline.
The vote for the new logo was unanimous.
Event requests
Horse Tales Farm requested $2,500 for a pet adoption event to be held during PumpkinFest on Oct. 19. Previously, the TDA awarded Horse Tale Farms $2,000 for a craft fair and festival held in October 2022. During the even this year they hoped to raffle a car or ATV with funding going to Horse Tales Farm, Appalachian Animal Rescue Center and Macon County Animal Control. According to the funding request, for all animals adopted they supply the pet owners with pet beds, leashes, collars, food, toys and treats to get them started.
“We have been doing fundraisers since 2011 and always give back to the community as I find it rewarding to give back,” Pamela Swanson-Heaslip stated in the request. She said they have two vacation rentals on the farm and help promote local events, things to do and restaurants.
The Streets of Franklin Heritage Association requested $1,000 for a Monster Mash event to be held Oct. 26 along Main Street. Streets of Franklin representative Brooke Reale said the event will coincide with the Art Association’s Witches Walk, there will be trick or treating, games, face painting and music. The event will be held from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. in order to leave Main Street open later in the afternoon for the restaurants and shops.
Both requests will be voted on at the Oct. 14 meeting. The TDA meeting begins at 5:30 p.m. in the board room on the lower level of Town Hall.