If you’re wondering what the town of Sour Lake, Texas has to do with a blog post about conversion rate optimization strategies for your business website, read on. The town council in this small community changed its name from “Sour Lake” to “Sweetwater” as a marketing ploy to get some free TV advertising. If you’re not familiar with their story, it goes like this:
In 2005, the city council of Sour Lake was looking for ways to drum up publicity and increase tourism for the area. They decided that changing the town’s name from “Sour Lake” (which sounded more like an industrial chemical than a vacation spot) would be just what they needed. And so they christened themselves after Sweetwater Creek, which flows through the town.
The first thing they did was change the name of their local TV station to “Sweetwater Television.” They also changed the street names and all references on any maps – including those found online! Of course, a few people had already discovered the new moniker for this sleepy little community before it officially happened; as soon as the council made their decision, they were inundated with calls from journalists and visitors inquiring about Sweetwater Creek.
And although most locals now refer to this place as “Sweetwater,” it still hasn’t quite caught on – even after all these years!
The town’s name has been changed three times in its history. It was first called Lexington, then renamed New York (to honor a popular tourist attraction), and finally christened Sour Lake when oil companies arrived in 1892. The city of 150 residents is located at the intersection of State Highway 16 and FM 1774 southwest of Houston. In 2005, state officials had asked that municipalities change social security numbers if towns have similar names for identification purposes; since there are towns in Texas called New York and Lexington, the town was renamed Sour Lake.
What’s In A Name?
When it came to social security numbers, apparently not much!
A small town outside of Houston found itself with one too many names… or rather three – but they finally settled on “Sour Lake”. It all started when state officials asked that municipalities change their social security numbers if towns have similar names for identification purposes; since there are towns in Texas named New York and Lexington, the town became known as Sour Lake. Locals say that most people still call this place Sweetwater Creek because its old name is easier to pronounce than ‘Sour Lake’. Though it hasn’t caught on after all these years, locals are still trying to educate people on the new name.
Ironically, this town re-named itself Sour Lake in 2005 and is now part of a reality show called “Texas Town Names” which airs every night at nine… just like old times!
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What’s your family story about how you ended up with such an unusual city name? Find out what cities are similar to yours by taking our quiz – but be forewarned that some questions may surprise you. Go ahead, put your hometown pride on blast!
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Sour Lake renamed itself in 2005 after deciding that it was tired of being considered an area too poor and ugly to live in. The townspeople hoped that by changing their name they would also change their fortunes but so far there hasn’t been much luck with this plan as locals are still trying to educate people on the new name. Ironically, this town re-named itself Sour Lake in 2005 and is now part of a reality show called “Texas Town Names” which airs every night at nine; just like old times! Sounds Like Home? Take The Quiz: What’s Your Texas Town Name?
Conclusion paragraph:
In the early 2000s, Sour Lake was a small town of about 1200 people. In 2001, they made an agreement with a local television station owner to change their name to “Sweetwater” for six months in exchange for free airtime on his channel. The campaign worked and many more people came to visit the newly named tourist destination than before. When asked if he would do it again today, Mayor Dale Allen said that he had done some research since then which showed that smaller towns like theirs have been able to generate revenue from advertising deals worth millions of dollars by changing its name temporarily. It seems as though this is one strategy for growing your business offline or online! What are you waiting for? ____________________________________________________________________
