Product	Craft-brewed Beer
Project	Complete Identity + Packaging System
Scope	Brand Strategy, Audits, Logomark, Packaging System (Bottles, Cans, Cartons), Identity Platform, Print Collateral, Posters & Point-of-Sale, On-Premise Branding, Taphandles, Coasters, Glassware, Wearables, Stationery, Templates, Corporate & On-Premise Signage, Brand Standards Manual.

In its first 20 years, Okanagan Spring has grown to become BC's leading craft beer brand. However, in recent years, their share has been slowly eroded by other craft brands, pseudo-craft brands and by the insurgence of strong imports like Stella and Heineken. Okanagan Spring's target groups of 18-25 males who are just beginning to discover the value of craft beer over mainstream brands, and 25-40 males who have been long-standing fans of the brand, were seeing the brand as tired, stale and "my Dad's beer", not something they valued.

Despite top marks for the liquid itself, the brand had low recall, poor differentiation, and the logo had no unaided recall among even the most diehard fans. The packaging was even worse: it followed the category clichés of "old world" ribbons, banners and crests, oval labels, and zero unique communication. It was a "logo on a bottle"; nothing more.

Multiple rounds of research were conducted by the Lana Porter Group to initially test market share and positioning in 2006, and then, in collaboration with Subplot Design Inc. in 2007 and 2008, to test positioning statements, the permission to change the logomark and packaging, and actual packaging concept directions. The result was a green light from consumers to revolutionize the brand: to change the logomark radically and to completely overhaul the packaging system to reflect an ideal positioning of "craftsmanship, purity and authenticity" rather than the logo-centric and "historic" packaging that was the brand's, and remains the industry's, norm.

The revitalized positioning is best expressed by the new tagline, "Know Your Beer". OKSpring is the craft leader for a reason: pure ingredients, no preservatives, no additives, all-natural beer that is brewed with the highest attention to detail, knowledge and craftsmanship. They possess a wealth of knowledge about what makes great beer, and about why they brew the beers they do.

Okanagan Spring can't help but share this craft excellence and expertise with their drinkers. Central to the new logomark is the "Craft Beer" icon, symbolized by a barley sheaf resting in an open hand. Not only does it symbolize the human dimension of their product, it captures the strength and passion they bring to everything we do. The act of "hand-crafting" and the art and craft of brewing are one in the same. All contained within a strong, distinctive "shield", the Logomark is unique among their competitors by virtue of its simplicity, boldness, strength and modernity. And yet, the logo has a "timelessness" that defies pure "trendiness". Like the beer their make, the Okanagan Spring logomark sets them apart.

The new Packaging Platform shows "Know Your Beer" in all its glory, from the first-ever "Beer Colour Scale", to ideal serving temperatures, first brew dates, and the Brewmaster's certification, to diagrams and writing that tell the story behind every beer that they make. Functionally, the branding is stronger and more prominent and the flavour differentiation through colour and type is unmistakable. All these elements add up to a brand that not only expresses itself well, but one that considers the needs of its users by helping them choose and discover new beers with more information at hand, and helps them enjoy them to their fullest.

Subplot was also responsible for the entire Brand Platform design, including all on-premise items like taphandles, pint glasses, coasters and signage, and all point-of-sale materials, including sales collateral, brand collateral, posters, shelf talkers and cooler decals. The Brand Platform is standardized and comprehensive while remaining modular and flexible, to allow for future extension and implementation. And it continues the dialogue with the consumer about what makes a great "craft beer". Gone are the days of writing a new brief for internal designers or external suppliers to create a new branded item or communications material. The brand is solid and standardized, with increased efficiency (time, money and effort) in running every aspect of the brand communications. The up front effort has resulted in massive long-term efficiency.