Riverbat Paddle Battle

Project Description

In 2018, our longtime client American Constructors completed construction on the new Austin Community College San Gabriel campus in Leander. Looking for a creative way to give back to the ACC Foundation and support future students, they came up with the idea to host a charity kayak race on Lady Bird Lake—the first of its kind in Austin. 

American Constructors engaged our team for all aspects of event planning and execution, starting with naming and branding. After a thorough workshipping process, we landed on the Riverbat Paddle Battle, a nod to ACC’s mascot, the riverbats. From the shield-style logo with crossed paddles, to the color palette centered around a vibrant blue to represent the lake, the RBPB brand was bright, playful and approachable from top to bottom.

After deciding on a date and location (The Rowing Dock), we developed a custom website to house all event details and the registration platform. Buie & Co. began hosting regular meetings with the RBPB committee, a team of volunteers that American Constructors convened to help with sponsorships, registration and in-kind donations. We also launched an email marketing campaign, as well as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram profiles for the event to begin building our following.

Leading up to race day, we created dozens of pieces of custom-branded race collateral, including t-shirts, swag bags, buoys, stickers, wristbands, signage, maps and more. We coordinated a wide range of vendors for the after-party, which featured a crawfish boil, grilled cheese truck, shaved ice, live entertainment, family-friendly games, and more. 

Despite a rainy morning, the big day was a huge success with 72 racers and more than 100 guests at the after party. We’re proud to have raised $10,000 for the ACC Foundation in the event’s first year. Thank you to American Constructors, the RBPB committee and everyone who supported the event! We couldn’t have done it without you.