Case Study
Smilin D Arena Events
Grit, Glory, and Good Times: A Brand for the Everyday Cowboy.
Smilin’ D Arena & Events is a family-owned arena in Belgrade, Minnesota, built for cutting, roping, ranch sorting, and western-style events. This would be their second time venturing down the Smilin’ D path, and they wanted to do it right. With a new five-star arena being built, they needed a brand worthy of the name.
CLIENT INDUSTRY
- Recreation & Entertainment
OUR ROLE
- Strategy, Branding, Creative, Event Marketing
After visiting the arena and hearing the team’s vision, we knew this brand had to look the part. Drawing inspiration from their previous logo and the smile that can always be found on owner Dave’s face, we used imagery found in the Western sphere to immediately tell the story of Smilin’ D Arena.
To ensure their logo would be efficient, we created multiple versions for various applications: a master logo, a badge-style logo, logo marks, and even decorative versions that included more Western imagery.
Perhaps the greatest challenge of any branding project is finding colors the whole team can agree to. For Smilin’ D, we kept things rugged with a neutral palette and added an option to pull in the red to match their building when necessary.
Next, it was time to bring the brand to life, starting with custom event flyers. Since the client was going to be hosting multiple events each month, we opted for a two-fold approach: a template-style flyer for non-spectator events and a custom option for larger public events.
Our goal was to communicate the event in a unique and visually appealing way, which can often be an afterthought on Western event flyers.
The last stop on the Smilin’ D ride was a star-studded website built for event registration. The user experience on this site needed to be top-notch, and we were happy to deliver a site that not only functions but also looks beautiful!
