Working alongside the design team at Asterisk, Content & Context created a comprehensive program of messaging for EDGE Realty Partners’ new mixed-use development in southwest Houston. When completed, the Grid’s 200 acres will include 350,000 square feet of retail, 500,000 square feet of office space, 2,400 apartment units, and hundreds of hotel rooms, plus pop-up stores, extensive public spaces, and a food hall.
A Place for Innovation
Before its redevelopment, the Grid was home to a legendary Texas Instruments campus. Crucial to establishing the area as a hotbed for new technology, the campus hosted 5,000 employees at its peak and played critical roles in the launch of the consumer handheld calculator and the digital signal processor.
The messaging we created for the Grid emphasizes the continuing role that the site will play in the economic life of the region. We helped tell the story of the Grid as a place that launched the area’s reputation as a center for advanced technology, now serving as a catalyst for the next generation of innovators.
The gateway to the Innovation Corridor
As part of the messaging initiative, we proposed that the Grid position itself as the gateway to Houston’s Innovation Corridor. The idea, which has been adopted and expanded by area economic development organizations, was inspired by the large number of patents obtained by tech-focused businesses in the area.
Sparking connections
We wove a theme of connections throughout the Grid’s messaging. We highlighted the connections that the Grid will facilitate and emphasized the energy that these connections will create. This approach helps to establish the Grid as a vibrant and valuable part of the local community.
Addressing a diverse range of audiences
Our messaging for the Grid included both an overall positioning approach and specific language aimed at a wide range of potential audiences. These audiences included shoppers across the region, local officials, area residents, and potential retail, office, and residential tenants. For each of these groups, we created language that ties the project’s strengths to their unique interests.
