It’s not every day you get to name and brand a new brewery, so we were definitely excited to tackle this project. The CBS brewery is owned and operated by 4 friends, two of which are brothers, who all happen to be engineers, as well. I’m sure we got a few weird looks when telling people how much time we spent on market research, but we really did take the time to understand not just the brewing industry, but brewing history as well.
In an industry where cliches abound, we really wanted to offer something truly unique in the Newfoundland brewery landscape. What we ended up with was a name and logo that we feel will stand the test of time and serve the brewers well in its scalability.
Challenge
The challenge with this project was similar to the challenge with any naming project; a brand’s name forms its identity and is a key decision-maker for consumers. We also had to remain vigilant and avoid falling into any industry cliches; we wanted to create a brand that would be resilient in the face of a market that is constantly in flux. Starting in early 2020, we also had to help the brand navigate the unforeseen challenges presented by COVID-19. The taproom was traded in for virtual sales, so a website with a robust e-commerce platform became priority number one. The brewery is now running a full-featured online storefront that not only handles products and transactions, but seamlessly integrates with their internal accounting systems and delivery programs.
Strategy
The core of our strategy came down to research. Weeks of pouring over magazines, online articles, history books, brewery websites, and even conducting focus groups went into the initial phase of this project. We wanted to be confident in our understanding before we began pitching ideas: without it we’d just be making stabs in the dark. In response to the pandemic, the brewery is now running a full-featured online storefront that not only handles products and transactions, but seamlessly integrates with their internal accounting systems and delivery program. A specialty of ours that’s more important than ever is our ability to create online sales platforms that blend perfectly with traditional sales models while still remaining cutting edge in terms of aesthetics and functionality.
Naming a company isn’t just about picking a word that sounds catchy and dressing it up with a pretty font. A company’s name has to make sense in the context of its industry, location, goals, and owners. By delving through the history of brewing, we were able to isolate trends and ideas that ultimately led us to the name Ninepenny, a 19th slang term for beer. A lot of work went into one word, but the response from the client and public have been great. Below is a list of services that we delivered for this client.
- Market Research
- E-Commerce
- Brand Name
- Logo Design
- Splash Page
- Focus Groups