With Southfork Ranch and America’s Team already on Dallas’ roster of worldwide recognition, the city is staking a new claim: “RFID Hub.” RFID stands for “radio frequency identification,” little transponders that relay data. RFID tags are used in everything from toll tags to lost dogs, and as the list of applications grows longer the potential payoff gets bigger. Today those little tags are a $1.85 billion business worldwide. It’ll be $3 billion by 2010, and $26 billion in another decade.
This area is already home to more than 120 RFID-related manufacturers, investors, and suppliers, making the region the largest cluster of RFID intellectual capital in the world. But what good is that if no one knows?
“Branding the Dallas-Fort Worth region as a global RFID Hub brings business to the RFID companies in the region,” says Bill Sproull, president and CEO of the Metroplex Technology Business Council, the group behind the branding and logo.
He believes existing RFID companies in the area will be recognized as “best-in-class providers” to the early adopters of RFID technology like Wal-Mart and the Department of Defense. Thus, subsequent adopters will turn here first. And having that identity in a single, marketable brand will attract even more RFID talent to Dallas.
Still, we wish the council consulted with us before moving forward with the logo’s design. The slogan, too. Our vote: “Tag. We’re it.”
