Week 3 Part B: Developing a Brand

    In the craft beer world, developing your brewery’s brand is just as important as making and selling beer. More often than not, your visual identity will be a consumer’s first interaction with your brewery and your beer. Whether at a beer bar or beer festival, in your taproom, or on a t-shirt, this type of branding will be one of the greatest factors in a consumer’s choice to try your beer over another. With so many craft breweries around the world, especially here in San Diego, you need to create a distinct and recognizable brand that sets you apart from your competitors.

    As a brewery, your logo is used everywhere. It’s going to go on bottles, growlers, tap handles, and much more. My plan for my future logo is inspired by my dog. His name is Axl and he is blue brindle, French Bulldog. Axl is going to be the main face of my logo. This is going to play a role in being a dog-friendly establishment. The font style that I am going to use is the Microbrew font. It gives off a vintage feel that I think will pair nicely with Axl on the logo. I also chose this style font for the sole purpose of it being called Microbrew.

    A color scheme is one of the first elements to communicate the message behind your logo. Color creates ideas, sparks interest, and generates emotions. My color scheme is going to be based on red, white, and blue. I based my choice of colors on the fact that I was in the United States Marine Corps and I am going to establish my brewery as a Veteran Owned and Operated business. I understand that some people may have mixed feelings about the military, but I also know that I will have the support of many futures, current, and former military members. I want to be recognized as a business that supports the men and women that defend this country. Whether it is giving them a job as they are transitioning back into the civilian world, or getting them a beer on their day off, I want to be able to lend a helping hand.

    Your branding will be the face of your business, with your logo being one of the first stops on the journey to building this image. My logo will be on clothing, stickers, koozies, etc. I will have my website created, which will contain access to all my social media pages. I plan to create a Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter account for my business. I will be sure to keep my pages up to date and actively interact with consumers daily. Despite all the technological advancements, I will have business cards that are easily accessible. My business cards will have my logo, along with important contact information; name, position, phone number, and email.

    Developing a brand is important, but what is even more important is developing a brand that is going to stand out from the rest. If your brand is consistent and easy to recognize, it can help people feel more at ease purchasing products from you than from your competitors. My plan to stand out and get recognized is by creating a logo that makes people feel something when they look at it. By having my dog Axl as the main face of my logo, dog lovers can relate and know that my business is a dog-friendly environment. When consumers see the red, white, and blue they can see that I support our military and that my business is Veteran Owned. Whether the consumers are beer enthusiasts, dog lovers, veterans, or anybody else, when they visit my social media pages to check my business out, they will see that I am here to engage with them and learn how to better improve their experience.