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CLIENT CASE STUDY
Rooted in Relationship
A nine-year digital partnership with the Oneida Nation — two full website transformations and the first-ever Digital Pow Wow.
FIG. 00 — AT A GLANCE
9
YEARS OF PARTNERSHIP
2
FULL WEBSITE BUILDS
1st
DIGITAL POW WOW PRODUCED
THE CLIENT
A sovereign nation with a story worth telling well.
The Oneida Nation is a sovereign Native American nation with a deep cultural heritage, a thriving modern community, and a growing reputation as a destination for visitors drawn to its history, hospitality, and natural beauty. Its story spans generations, and it deserves to be told with the same care online as it is in person.
THE OPPORTUNITY
A destination is only as compelling as the invitation.
The Nation had the substance: cultural richness, memorable places, and events people travel for. It needed a digital home that could tell the story with respect, serve the visitor, grow with the community, and stand the test of time as expectations and technology changed.
FIG. 01 — A PARTNERSHIP MEASURED IN YEARS, NOT PROJECTS
Most agency relationships are transactional. Ours was not.
We became a dependable extension of the Nation’s team — the people they call when something needs to be built, fixed, launched, or reimagined. Trust compounds. So does quality.
YEAR 1
The first website
Designed and developed the Oneida Nation’s first modern website, establishing the brand online and giving visitors a true digital front door.
LAUNCH
ONGOING
A true support partner
Updates, new pages, seasonal content, troubleshooting, and steady technical care that kept the site healthy.
SUPPORT
2020
The first Digital Pow Wow
When COVID-19 shut down in-person gatherings, we helped the Nation produce its first-ever Digital Pow Wow, bringing a cherished tradition online.
PANDEMIC
LATER
A ground-up redesign
As the web evolved, we designed and developed the site a second time: the current ExploreOneida experience, rebuilt for today’s visitor.
REBUILD
TODAY
Still building together
Nine years in, the partnership continues, with new features, content, and care delivered by a team that knows the Nation inside and out.
ONGOING
WEBSITE 1.0
The Digital Front Door
The first site gave the Oneida Nation a professional, welcoming presence online. It organized the Nation’s story and destinations into a clear, easy-to-navigate experience and gave the internal team a foundation they could update and expand. It earned trust and set the stage for everything that followed.
WEBSITE 2.0
ExploreOneida, Reimagined
Years later, we rebuilt the site from the ground up. The current ExploreOneida experience is richer, faster, and far more immersive, with each attraction (the Museum, Walk of Legends, Veterans Wall, Long House Village, the Apple Orchard, the Farmers Market, Buffalo Overlook, and more) given its own page. Built on WordPress with fully custom design and templating, structured so the Nation’s team can keep it growing.
THE STANDOUT STORY
The first Digital Pow Wow
In 2020, COVID-19 made large in-person gatherings impossible, putting one of the Nation’s most cherished traditions at risk. A Pow Wow is more than an event; it is a gathering of community, culture, dance, drum, and connection. Losing it was not an option.
So the Nation set out to do something that had never been done before: bring the Pow Wow online. We helped produce the first-ever Digital Pow Wow, carrying the spirit of the gathering across screens and into homes when people could not be together in person.
It kept a vital tradition alive during one of the most isolating moments in recent memory, and let the community come together when togetherness mattered most.
FIG. 02 — WHY THE RELATIONSHIP LASTED
Nine-year partnerships are not an accident.
01
Cultural respect
We approached the Nation’s culture and story with respect and humility, listening first and designing second.
02
Reliability
We didn’t disappear after launch. We stayed reachable, responsive, and accountable — a partner, not a vendor.
03
Versatility
From a first website to a full rebuild to a never-been-done digital event, we kept solving new problems as they came.
04
Showing up
When it mattered most, during a pandemic, we showed up and made something meaningful happen.
FIG. 03 — SERVICES DELIVERED
Everything that goes into showing up for nine years.
▸
Brand-aligned website design (twice)
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Custom WordPress development & templating
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Information architecture & content structuring
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Attraction & destination content pages
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Forms, integrations & functionality
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Ongoing maintenance, updates & technical support
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Digital event strategy & production (the first Digital Pow Wow)
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