Page 174 - Visual Marketing

71. The Omaha Cow and Snowboarding: Using an Iconic Symbol
Updated with Current Culture to Create an Au Courant Logo

W hat visual symbol best represents the sili-
con prairie of Omaha? Drew Davies, Oxide
Design creative director and founder, says
that after a lot of soul-searching the answer was clear.
The cow was the perfect tongue-in-cheek symbol for
the city. “Special bonus? Cows are kitschy and kinda
funny looking,” adds Davies. The cow indeed became
the central image in a campaign to attract creatives,
entrepreneurs, and innovators to a weekend confer-
ence in Omaha founded by Jeff Slobotski and Dusty
Davidson and produced by the Silicon Prairie News.

“The challenge when branding the Big Omaha
conference was to pay homage to the history of
Omaha, while recognizing its place as a leader in the
digital and electronic development,” says Davies.

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