BBQGuys Back to Backyard — Signature Sales Event

Role: Design Lead / Art Director — Created the brand identity and visual system for BBQGuys’ tentpole flash sale event. Directed the overall look + feel, art direction, and asset execution across four consecutive campaigns.

Partnered with channel leads and copywriter to develop content that differentiated this event from typical promotions by making it a brand moment on par with Prime Day and Way Day. Guided a junior designer in developing the event logo lock-up and expanded it into a full visual identity system.

Stakeholders: Channel Managers, Sr. Brand + Creative Director, Sr. Category Director, Brand Manager

Consulted: Copy Lead, Junior Designer, Brand Team

Back to Backyard (B2BY) is BBQGuys’ twice-yearly signature sales event, launched in Spring 2024 to fill a gap in the market: no other e-commerce retailer owned the backyard as a singular seasonal moment.
- Established BBQGuys’ own “Prime Day” / “Way Day” — building brand equity while driving short-term revenue.
- Created urgency outside of traditional retail peaks (Memorial Day, July 4, BFCM).
- Gave BBQGuys a proprietary, ownable moment to plant a stake in seasonal shopping and consumer mindset.
Drive sales lift through a 5-day flash event while reinforcing BBQGuys as the one-stop-shop for backyard living.
- Deliver urgency through short-term deals and heavy promo messaging.
- Extend backyard seasonality — prepping in Spring, sustaining in Fall.
- Differentiate BBQGuys as the only dedicated backyard retailer.
- Established BBQGuys’ first proprietary flash sale identity, now executed bi-annually and positioned as a tentpole brand event.
- Helped drive revenue during off-peak retail windows while reinforcing brand differentiation.
- Created a repeatable art direction framework (Product, Content, Sale) that guides every seasonal campaign.
- Build brand recognition: Continue to establish “Back to Backyard” as BBQGuys’ signature event, on par with category-defining retail moments like Prime Day.

Establishing the Identity

As design lead, I developed the Back to Backyard identity system to brand the event as a signature moment.

Logo lock-up: Directed the creation of a bold, versatile event logo (with flame + yard lock-up), designed by junior designer under my guidance.
Seasonal color system: Branded Spring campaigns with fresh blues, greens, and yellows; Fall campaigns with deep reds, oranges, and greens.
Typographic treatments: Loud, typographic-forward promo creative to stand apart from evergreen ads.
Flexibility: Identity applied consistently across paid, organic, email, and onsite to build recognition and equity.

Creative & Content Strategy

Established an art direction framework for asset creation across every campaign:

Product-Focused Ads — Spotlight major promo items by category/brand.
Content-Focused (Native) Ads — Meme-style, review-driven, and guide-based content that could work across organic and paid.
Sale-Focused Ads — Loud, energetic ads highlighting deals, driving urgency, and directing to the promotions page.

Building on Creative Learnings

Seasonal Context is Key: In Spring, B2BY positioned as the kickoff to backyard season (buy now to enjoy all summer). In Fall, it reframed as there’s no off-season for your outdoor space — leaning into warmer climates or extending backyard time before winter.

Buzz Beyond Discounts: What set B2BY apart wasn’t just steep discounts, but the brand-building content layer we created with Copy + Channels (memes, native ads, content tie-ins). This generated engagement and gave consumers a reason to connect emotionally with the event.
Identity as Equity: The logo and visual system created consistency across campaigns, building recall for B2BY as a repeatable, recognizable event.