Beer Branding Trends

Points of discussion:

1. Evolution vs. Revolution

2. What is a package refresh?

3. Why (and when) do breweries do this?

4. Common pain points that lead to package refreshes 

5. Common goals and objectives in these projects 

6. On hierarchy and packaging hierarchy

7. What if a brewery has a terrible logo and wants to keep it?

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Learn more at: www.craftbeerrebranded.com / http://www.beyondbeerbook.com

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Have a topic or question you’d like us to field on the show? Shoot it our way: [email protected]

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Join 5,500+ food and bev industry pros who are subscribed to the Beer Branding Trends Newsletter (and access all past issues) at: www.beerbrandingtrends.com

Points of discussion:

1. Fernson Brewing

2. Beer & Loathing Across the Lonesome Prairie

3. How has Fernson's identity shifted over the last 8 years? 

4. Fernson's thoughts on Brand Voice

5. Monolithic naming vs. Fanciful Names and Sub Brands

6. Why Fernson started naming beers 

7. How this move sets Fernson up for future Line Extensions and Sub Brands

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Learn more at: www.craftbeerrebranded.com / http://www.beyondbeerbook.com

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Have a topic or question you’d like us to field on the show? Shoot it our way: [email protected]

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Join 5,500+ food and bev industry pros who are subscribed to the Beer Branding Trends Newsletter (and access all past issues) at: www.beerbrandingtrends.com

Points of discussion:

1. What is a Modular Brand Identity System?

2. The "Facebook Problem" 

3. Primary vs. Secondary vs. Tertiary components 

4. Brand Identity vs. Brand Strategy (upstream vs. surface level)

5. Brand Guidelines 

6. These are great for quickly rolling out merch programs.

7. Modular Identity Systems require a deft hand and hawkish editing to be built correctly.

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Learn more at: www.craftbeerrebranded.com / http://www.beyondbeerbook.com

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Have a topic or question you’d like us to field on the show? Shoot it our way: [email protected]

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Join 5,500+ food and bev industry pros who are subscribed to the Beer Branding Trends Newsletter (and access all past issues) at: www.beerbrandingtrends.com

Points of discussion:

Read the 2023 Beer Branding Trends Review

Q1: I asked this last year and am curious again, were there any sections / ideas that didn’t make it into the final draft? Thanks again for putting this all together. Love these reports.

- Burt Reynolds and Tom Selleck founded Casamigos Tequila

- Fingers Newsletter

Q2: On the idea of releasing a budget beer option… Let’s say that, hypothetically, you could get the COGS to a place where this was actually a feasible option. Would you still advise against this from a branding and reputation standpoint?

I’m picturing a compelling use case for something like this where someone might enjoy 1 or 2 great craft beers and then finish the night with a High Life or Banquet, etc. Could this be an opportunity to still offer a craft beer to those consumers?

- On the perils of releasing budget beer brand

Q3: Is hop water design really a blank canvas? Are there cues that consumers are already expecting? What should people be doing to fit it neatly outside of NA / Seltzer / Sparkling Water?

- Is Hop Water the next big Beyond Beer trend?

Q4: I looked up hop waters after reading this newsletter last year, and was blown away by how expensive they are. The few brands that I found locally are as expensive if not more so than actual beer. How do you think these brands can justify such a high price point at retail, and do you still think that this category is going to see a lot of growth in the short term given how expensive these products are?

- Doug Veliky’s COGS breakdown on Hop Water vs. Beer

Q5: You joked about hand waving and pearl clutching in the podcast about alcohol & minors, but do you really think anything is going to happen legislatively on this front?

I see so many actual problems facing our country (income inequality, gun violence, attacks on women’s rights and on LGBTQ communities) and just can’t see lawmakers doing anything to even attempt to address this issue.

I agree that it’s getting kind of ridiculous—Hard Sunny D, c’mon!— I just don’t think anything will come of this. That’s not to mention how powerful the alcohol lobby is.

- Joe Camel vs. JAMA

Q6: I know you explicitly said you’re only focusing on branding and marketing for this piece, but I have to ask about specific beverage trends in your work, COLD IPA is big (maybe?), RTDs are on fire, and Non Alc beer seems to be catching on… Are there any other categories or beer styles that people are sleeping on?

Q7: My partner sent me your paths to market email. It was reassuring to see that we’re doing at least a few things right. I’m curious, out of everything you wrote about there, is there any valuable marketing activity a new brewery should consider as they get closer to opening their doors?

RAPID FIRE!!!

Q8: What is your boldest prediction for the beer industry by 2030? Spicy takes only?

Q9: You’ve written a lot about Hop Water, but no love for Hard Tea?

Q10: Where do you guys fall on Fat Tire’s latest rebrand? Good idea or complete disaster? I get why they would update the packaging, but to change the liquid itself seems extremely risky. I’ve been expecting a newsletter on this topic for months now!

Q11: What do you make of the super high ABV beer trend we’re seeing right now? I’ve seen a lot of reporting about how this can be explained as a “Bang for your Buck,” in other words, this is driven primarily by the recession. But I’m not sure it’s that simple. Why is this such a big deal right now?

Q12: Given everything you wrote about hard seltzer in this report, would you try to dissuade a small brewery (say, yours truly here in Texas hill country), from releasing one in 2023?

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Learn more at: www.craftbeerrebranded.com / http://www.beyondbeerbook.com

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Have a topic or question you’d like us to field on the show? Shoot it our way: [email protected]

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Join 5,500+ food and bev industry pros who are subscribed to the Beer Branding Trends Newsletter (and access all past issues) at: www.beerbrandingtrends.com

Points of discussion:

1. 2023 Beer Branding Trends Review

2. New York Times article

3. Some Brand Architecture solutions: The Beyond Beer Handbook  

4. Check out the Joe Camel JAMA Studies and subsequent lawsuits from the 90s. Wild to think that as many as 90% of 6 year old children could accurately match the Joe Camel campaign with the brand itself.

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Learn more at: www.craftbeerrebranded.com / http://www.beyondbeerbook.com

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Have a topic or question you’d like us to field on the show? Shoot it our way: [email protected]

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Join 5,500+ food and bev industry pros who are subscribed to the Beer Branding Trends Newsletter (and access all past issues) at: www.beerbrandingtrends.com

Points of discussion:

1. 2023 Beer Branding Trends Review

2. Brewhouse sizing  

3. The evolving role of packaging for the startup brewery 

4. An increase in food and hospitality in craft beer 

5. M&A activity (buying breweries and/or forming joint ventures)

6. Where are people building breweries?

7. Lifestyle Brands

8. Reviving Heritage IP brands

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Learn more at: www.craftbeerrebranded.com / http://www.beyondbeerbook.com

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Have a topic or question you’d like us to field on the show? Shoot it our way: [email protected]

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Join 5,500+ food and bev industry pros who are subscribed to the Beer Branding Trends Newsletter (and access all past issues) at: www.beerbrandingtrends.com

Points of discussion:

1. Read the 2023 Beer Branding Trends Review here.

2. Good George Brewing's rebrand

3. The Beyond Beer Handbook

4. BBT Issue on Hop Water

5. BBT Issue on breweries building budget brands

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Learn more at: www.craftbeerrebranded.com / http://www.beyondbeerbook.com

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Have a topic or question you’d like us to field on the show? Shoot it our way: [email protected]

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Join 5,500+ food and bev industry pros who are subscribed to the Beer Branding Trends Newsletter (and access all past issues) at: www.beerbrandingtrends.com

Points of discussion:

1. Branding a startup brewery, feat. Lost Nomad Brewing

2. Name vs. No name

3. Identity vs. Story & Strategy

4. Positioning (What do you do? For whom? How are you different?)

5. Brand strategy drives the design train (always)

6. What is myth making? And why can't Isaac settle on one definition for it?

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Learn more at: www.craftbeerrebranded.com / http://www.beyondbeerbook.com

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Have a topic or question you’d like us to field on the show? Shoot it our way: [email protected]

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Join 5,500+ food and bev industry pros who are subscribed to the Beer Branding Trends Newsletter (and access all past issues) at: www.beerbrandingtrends.com

Points of discussion:

1. How many people actually read brand guidelines?

2. Guidelines should be all killer, no filler tools.

3. There are two core components to brand guidelines—visual style guide and brand messaging guide.

4. These are important because you can reference them when working with other partners and onboarding new employees.

5. Are brand guidelines the same thing as an employee handbook?

6. Brand guidelines are a great way to protect your branding investment, provided you read and honor them.

7. Don’t stretch your logo, folks.

8. Bonus Content: Cody & Isaac discuss Pepsi's Brand Guidelines

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Learn more at www.craftbeerrebranded.com

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Have a topic or question you’d like us to field on the show? Shoot it our way: [email protected]

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Join 5,500+ food and bev industry pros who are subscribed to the Beer Branding Trends Newsletter (and access all past issues) at: www.beerbrandingtrends.com

Points of discussion:

- BBT 016 - Defining Your Brewery's Core Audience 

1. How do you prevent customer personas from becoming overly stereotypical? Seems like this would leave the door open for any number of sweeping generalizations and maybe not be that valuable as you begin to work on brand strategy? And secondly, do you find that most brewery’s customer persona exercises tend to be similar?

2. Do you use Brand Archetypes for your brand strategy or do you think it's total bullshit?

3. I read the Rabobank Report you linked to in the Lost Nomad issue of the Beer Branding Trends Newsletter... The most interesting thing about that report was how much more women are drinking than men. What do you think this means for the future of the craft beer industry? It has traditionally been a male-dominated space (something I’ve been keenly aware of over the last 5 years as I’ve carved out a career in it). Do you think the beer industry, as it is today, can survive as we move into a more diverse, women-led future?

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Learn more at: www.craftbeerrebranded.com / http://www.beyondbeerbook.com

-

Have a topic or question you’d like us to field on the show? Shoot it our way: [email protected]

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Join 5,500+ food and bev industry pros who are subscribed to the Beer Branding Trends Newsletter (and access all past issues) at: www.beerbrandingtrends.com