What they were up against.
Excelsior Brewing Company was a newcomer to the craft beer scene. Founded in the lakeside town of Excelsior, the upstart brewery built a business and a following on the merits of thoughtfully crafted, tastefully balanced beer. It was a refreshing take on craft beer, but Excelsior was entering a metro-area market that featured stiff competition. After all, Minnesota was a state where the number of breweries was skyrocketing.
Not even a year old and with limited staff, capacity and budget, Excelsior needed to find a way to make a little go a long way in spreading the word about their selection of tasty brews. More importantly, the brand was young and without an established identity. Yamamoto was on the case.
What we did to help.
We established a promise: “Made right. Here.” It would encompass the brewery’s greatest strengths—a thoughtful approach to brewing and a respect and understanding for local culture. We crafted a bold and inviting look and feel inspired by Excelsior’s lake-life atmosphere. Efficient, engaging tactics would tell the story of the beer and the brand.
The “Hard-to-define-easy-to-enjoy-beer” campaign utilized grassroots print, digital and guerilla tactics to deliver the message along with heavy social media support. Tactics were diverse and unorthodox, ranging from bike trail signage to a pallet-painting initiative, but were connected in their goals of creating conversations, building awareness and driving taproom traffic.
Work we did:
- Identity
- Image System
- Messaging
- Testimonials
What happened next.
The campaign has already made a serious splash. Monthly sales increased by 17%, and event sales grew by over 50%. Pint sales tripled at the campaign’s debut event. Using social media as a driver and hub of the campaign, Twitter followers increased by 15% and Facebook traffic grew by 25%.