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ECHDC Unveils New Buffalo Waterfront Website

BuffaloWaterfront.com unites Canalside and Outer Harbor under one family brand

Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation (ECHDC) today unveiled a new website and brand for the Buffalo Waterfront: BuffaloWaterfront.com. The website serves as a single online stop that will better inform the public of Canalside and Outer Harbor events and activities, with a goal of drawing more tourism and awareness to Buffalo’s waterfront. The user-friendly design was developed as a way for both locals and tourists to find Canalside and Outer Harbor events, activities and information, as well as drive an overall awareness of other destinations and points of interest along the downtown waterfront.

“BuffaloWaterfront.com is engaging and offers faster, more efficient access to the content that visitors to the waterfront want,” said ECHDC Chairman Robert Gioia. “As key locales on Buffalo’s waterfront continue to develop, it is important that we offer the public an easy way to find the information they need to plan their next visit to Buffalo’s burgeoning waterfront.”

The new website, which opens with a striking hero video that showcases the beauty of Canalside and the Outer Harbor, highlights events, daily activities, and features interactive waterfront maps. Upcoming events are easily identified, and users can filter events by categories such as health and wellness, concerts and music, and family and kid friendly. The website even features itineraries for exercise enthusiasts, history buffs, date nights and family fun days. A ‘Get Involved’ section allows visitors to explore options including: holding their own event, small business opportunities, job opportunities, and becoming a sponsor. For those that want to dig a little deeper, there is also a timeline of waterfront development and information on current projects. The site was built with mobile screens in mind, as research has shown that is how most people view websites today.

Also revealed today was a new parent brand for Canalside and the Outer Harbor: Buffalo Waterfront. The new parent brand serves to join Canalside and the Outer Harbor under one family to coincide with the combined online presence. The logo invokes an image of waves in the water while also forming the letters ‘b’ and ‘w.’ The individual Canalside and Outer Harbor brand logos and identities will remain predominant.

“We are honored to have partnered with Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation to mark this exciting milestone for Canalside and Outer Harbor,” said Lauren Dixon, CEO of Dixon Schwabl. “Our team was thrilled to have designed the new Buffalo Waterfront brand and website. With the launch, we look forward to helping Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation elevate awareness and increase tourism to Buffalo’s beautiful waterfront.”

“Buffalo’s waterfront has become an integral part of our visitor experience and its redevelopment has been central to the story of our destination’s transformation,” said Visit Buffalo Niagara President and CEO Patrick Kaler. “ECHDC’s new website will make it easier than ever before for our visitors to explore all our waterfront has to offer.”

Dixon Schwabl, a full-service, women-owned marketing firm with more than 30 years of experience in branding, advertising, design, strategy, research, PR and digital services, created and developed the new website and brand over the last 11 months.

“Here in Erie County we are very familiar with the Buffalo Waterfront and are excited at the new growth and energy that are happening there now,” said Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz. “From today forward, people worldwide will have all the latest information in one spot on where to find recreation, food and restrooms, biking and birding paths, amenities, entertainment, and anything else going on at the Buffalo Waterfront, accompanied by easy to follow directions to better understand how to get where they want to go. Everything old is new again, and if the name ‘the Buffalo Waterfront’ was good enough for Mayors Samuel Wilkeson and Ebenezer Walden in Buffalo’s early years it should do very well for us now.”

About Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation

The Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation (ECHDC) is governed by a nine-member board consisting of seven voting directors and two non-voting, ex-officio directors. The seven voting directors are recommended by the New York State Governor and are appointed by the New York State Urban Development Corporation d/b/a Empire State Development as sole shareholder of ECHDC. The two non-voting, ex-officio director positions are held by the Erie County Executive and the City of Buffalo Mayor.

As a subsidiary of Empire State Development, the state’s chief economic development agency, the Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation supports and promotes the creation of infrastructure and public activities at Canalside, the Ohio Street corridor and the Outer Harbor that is attracting critical mass, private investment and enhance the enjoyment of the waterfront for residents and tourists in Western New York. Its vision is to revitalize Western New York’s waterfront and restore economic growth to Buffalo based on the region’s legacy of pride, urban significance and natural beauty.

 

Contact:

Pamm Lent | [email protected] | 716-846-8309 | (800) 260-7313

Laura Magee | [email protected] | 716-846-8239 | (800) 260-7313