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Crafting One Ale Of An Experience
Print, Design, Branding, Social Media Management
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With a name like 'Kentucky Ale' it's pretty much a given you need to make a big splash during the Kentucky Derby, and that's exactly what we did for Lexington Brewing & Distilling Company. Every year nearly 200,000 people gather to enjoy nearly a 150 year old tradition of the world's most iconic horse racing competition. Lexington Brewing & Distilling Company set out to launch a campaign that expresses the spirit of what Kentucky is through the story of their beers, and share that with both the world and Bluegrass natives alike.
The idea was simple: to encompass a collection of Lexington Brewing & Distilling Company's most notable craft beers, show the customers what kind of journey they had in store, and call it 'The Kentucky Experience.' In addition, we organized a social media giveaway of a VIP tour of the distillery, tickets to the Derby, and a two night stay in downtown Lexington. We set out to re-introduce the rest of the world to Lexington Brewing & Distilling Company, and with that, create an unforgettable first (or second) impression.
The very first thing we had to establish was a new brand, both for the sweepstakes and the continuation of future campaigns. It had to be unique, simple to understand, and most importantly it had to scream “Kentucky.” We set off playing with different types of fonts, weights, kerning and colors; drawing a lot of inspiration from beer and bourbon labels both old and new. As we progressed, we really were trying to find a path towards not only spelling out ‘Kentucky,’ but visually expressing it.
This led to experimenting with adding the state outline iconography in conjunction with the letters, but ultimately it wasn’t until we enveloped the entire word with it that we found the branding to stand out. We finished off the mark with custom, hand-drawn lettering and flourishes to ensure a unique flair when competing for customer’s attention in a storefront.
Regardless of the client, it’s paramount to try and create a sense of individuality that tells a story that sets them apart from the competition; simply put, we had to make The Kentucky Experience memorable. This materialized in a variety of ways through our research, prototyping and discovery phase we internally call “intrensic ideation.” This is where we explore potential avenues of exposure for the immediate needs and possibilities for future opportunities. Here’s a sneak peak into rough ideas that popped up but were set aside for time restraints, budgetary concerns or simply considered to be creatively weaker directions.
Naturally we executed all of the staples of a modern brand awareness campaign and sweepstakes giveaway, with posters, flyers, coasters, table tents, magazine ads, digital and social ads etc. Each customized for maximum response within their respective avenues of interaction.
One of the concepts we knew we wanted to pursue were unique beer coasters that displayed considerable contrast against wood/earthy tones to allow them to “pop” against the majority of bartops. Additionally, we implemented another way for the audience to interact with the brand by writing fun facts about beer, horse racing and Kentucky Ale on the back. Again, just another way to connect and interact with customers to create memorable experiences.
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Table tents are a must-have staple for the food and service industry and we knew going into the campaign small peripheral pieces like this is the difference between an average response, and carving out meaningful and memorable mindshare in consumers. Taken by itself, it might not be enough to call an individual to take action, but if it’s the second or third positive interaction with the brand, it could be all the difference in accomplishing that critical first sale.
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With horse racing being such a major industry around Kentucky, it was only natural we took advantage of the opportunity and created branded betting cards to supply to retail partners. Consistently supplementing transitional marketing avenues with small touches like this help set Kentucky Ale apart from other local and regional brewers.
Finally, we re-skinned all of the existing retail displays to be in line with the new brand, featuring deep blues, bourbon barrel textures and the popup header flap for displaying the logo as it’s dominant feature, ready to be filled with four or six packs of product.
With A Sincere Thank You To Kentucky Ale’s Parent Company, Alltech.
