Tonkawa Enterprises had a challenge on their hands: three casinos with different guest experiences and internal operations. Situated on a busy interstate, Tonkawa Hotel & Casino was home to a bustling younger crowd. Forty miles northeast, within a stone’s throw of the Kansas border, Native Lights casino’s Cheers-like atmosphere attracted established regulars. And Tonkawa Gasino was a small gas station-turned-casino, operated at the Fort Oakland reservation.
CEO Phillip Glass’s vision was simple but ambitious: streamline operations and bring all three casinos under the umbrella of Tonkawa Enterprises. The first step? An ambitious rebrand.
Inspired by Heritage
The creative approach for the rebrand drew inspiration from the seal of the Tonkawa tribe. Waterbird and sun rays motifs combine to form a single energetic mark. An upward-pointed spear forms the body of a bird in flight, with rays acting as wings. Color-coded gradients differentiate each property. And to complete the logos, the marks were paired with a modified Optima typeface.
To further connect the brand’s heritage to the future that lay ahead, we created a brand reveal video featuring archival photos and footage of drum corps members. We presented the video to casino employees to cultivate buy-in. And to ensure the tribe was bought-in, we presented to them, too. Pride and excitement all around.
Rebranded Website and Social Properties
The spirit of unity continued. Instead of managing separate websites built on different architectures, we opted for a single, custom-themed website. Each casino property features its gaming promotions, food and drink specials, directions and more. We designed the site to be mobile responsive from the ground up.
New Interiors, Signage – and A Hotel
Soon after launch, elements of the new brand made their way into the signage and decor of the properties. The waterbird logo was placed above the grand entrance of Tonkawa Casino and elements of the logo design were incorporated into architectural features of the interior. Brand typography replaced old signage. And with the addition of a hotel and pool, the property was renamed to Tonkawa Hotel & Casino.
Just How I Like It Campaign
The rebrand was a success. Hotel occupancy was full and coin-in was up. Tonkawa Enterprises was ready to market new amenities and stand out in a saturated market.
Standing in contrast to the sparkling glitz of the competition, the Just How I Like It campaign revolves around Clint & Daryl. Relaxed and authentic, these best buds don’t need gimmicks like water slides or yesteryear’s bands to have a great time. They’re the kind of guys who live by the three B’s: burgers, beers and bucks. And that’s how they like it. Because however you like it, Tonkawa Enterprises has you covered.
The first commercials featured Clint & Daryl visiting their favorite places for some food, drink and a little bit of gaming. And once craps and roulette became legal in Oklahoma casinos, we brought Clint & Daryl back to promote the new games.
Year-Round Casino Promos
What’s a casino without promotions? In addition to the rebrand and campaign, Tonkawa Enterprises promoted a ton of seasonal, holiday and year-round gaming promotions. These multimedia promos included motion graphics videos, posters for the casino floor and graphics for social properties and the website.
