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Class in the Spotlight
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Students team up for Moon River campaign
 Photo by Charlie Ribbens John Pinkerton (right), brewmaster at Moon River, discusses bottling and packaging samples with advertising design and graphic design students in Poetter Hall May 26. By Monique Bos Published: Friday, June 1, 2007 Moon River Brewing Co., located at 21 W. Bay St., has gained popularity among Savannah residents and visitors for its beers, but right now they’re available only in the restaurant. John Pinkerton, the brewmaster, wants to begin bottling his brews and selling them in various locations, but he wasn’t sure how to approach the packaging and advertising angles. So he turned to a logical resource: Savannah College of Art and Design students. During spring quarter, undergraduate students in advertising design professor Stephen Hall’s Branding Studio course teamed up with graduate students in graphic design professor Robert Newman’s Graphics Studio class to develop cohesive looks and campaigns for the various beers. Pinkerton met with the students at the beginning of the quarter to tell them about Moon River, its history and the six brews he wants to market. Students then split into four teams, each consisting of three advertising design and three graphic design students, and chose three of the beers for which to develop branding and marketing campaigns. The advertising design students identified target audiences and conceived a way to reach people in those demographics, while the graphic design students created labels and packaging, focusing on colors, fonts, bottle shapes and other elements that distinguished each beer while maintaining continuity with one another. The most popular brews were the Captain’s Porter and Wild Wacky Wit, which all four teams chose. Three of them also selected Swamp Fox for their projects. On May 26, Pinkerton visited Poetter Hall to see presentations by the four teams. He asked questions and provided feedback to each group. The first team targeted their advertising campaign to Savannah visitors who want to “share and relive the Moon River experience through the bottled beer itself,” said Tara Henderson. Their marketing included print advertising, in-store promotions, and a guerilla campaign for sporting events and stores. “This is for someone who is a connoisseur of beer,” explained Rich Minkoff. “We’re promoting it as an elegant, upscale beer.” The graphic design students created illustrated characters for each brew. “We … developed characters to bring people into what the beer was about,” said Julius Woodard. “For the Swamp Fox, we created a fox and gave it personality, put it in Revolutionary War clothes for that connection, but also brought him into the modern day. For Captain Porter, we tried to keep the feel very, very loose and rugged, … kind of crafty to emulate the hand-craftedness of the beer.” “We met with [Pinkerton] and based Captain Porter on his grandfather and the nautical aspect,” added Josh Wade. “For Wild Wacky Wit, we made a mischievous character, kind of playful, zany and wacky. He doesn’t necessarily fly by the rules, but he has a lot of fun.” Their labels are cut out around each character, giving the brews a distinctive feel. They opted to include four rather than six bottles per package, and their box opens up so it can be used as a display. The second team targeted “the beer drinker who likes craft beers,” said graphic design student Mark Adonna. “Our overall theme is ‘Slow-vannah;’ we wanted to stick with the idea of a party atmosphere … Slow down and enjoy life.” After researching a variety of beer bottles, labels, shapes and colors, he and his classmates chose 12-oz. aluminum bottles for the beer. “It kind of generates a buzz because it’s a fresh new idea, it retains a chill so it keeps the beer colder longer, and it’s 100 percent recyclable,” Adonna explained. “The manufacturer claims the bottles are unbreakable. They’re pool-friendly, easy to wrap, can be made in various colors and are lightweight. They have a longer shelf life and are resealable.” Another advantage, especially in Savannah, is that open bottles can be taken out of a bar and carried outside because they aren’t glass, said graphic design student Andrea Combs. The team chose to package the bottles in groups of six, using a long, slender box that resembles a soda refrigerator pack. The advertising design students assigned a personality to each beer, and their campaign includes a Web site with a quiz users can take to determine which beer personality they are. They also created vehicle wraps, beer coasters, koozies, matchboxes and nametags for each personality, which can be displayed above urinals in a bar, for example. They identified the Captain’s Porter as a daredevil, Swamp Fox as a wise type, and Wild Wacky Wit as a fun, free-spirited screwball. The third team also focused on individual characters for each brew. The advertising design students developed a campaign based on mysterious characters who represent each brew — a faceless, 300-year-old Revolutionary War character for the Swamp Fox; a Belgian con artist with a lampshade over his head for Wild Wacky Wit, a Belgian wheat brew; and a sea captain for the Captain’s Porter. Their plan includes having people dressed as these characters appear at Savannah events, such as St. Patrick’s Day festivities, along with posters, radio spots and other guerilla techniques to create a buzz. For in-store promotions, they created floor stickers in the form of footprints that can lead consumers to the shelf where Moon River brews are sold. The final team to share their work selected local landscapes and images to give each beer a unique look while evoking the Savannah experience. They drew on the imagery of brew kettles for the bottle shapes and packaging. For Savannah Fest, a German-style beer, they used images from Savannah that are easily identifiable, such as the Savannah River and the Talmadge Bridge. The Wild Wacky Wit label depicts a sailboat, and the Captain’s Porter shows a pirate ship. Their six-pack comes in a box with rounded sides, resembling the shape of a brew kettle and also providing a distinctive look to make it stand out on shelves in stores. For the advertising aspect, one of the students’ approaches was to build on the visitors to Moon River who already have an interest in and knowledge of brewing. Their suggestions included a guest book; a booklet with information about the history of Moon River and the building that houses it, as well as information about each brew; postcards; and a cookbook that uses the various beers in its recipes. They also talked about developing a home brew kit to sell, in which the company could include some tips about brewing for people who are interested but don’t know where to begin. Newman stressed the fact that every product and idea that the student teams presented is feasible. “All the bottles and packaging materials are made from standard examples and packaging forms that somebody can manufacture; we didn’t just make these things up,” he said. At the end of all the presentations, Pinkerton thanked the students and professors. “It’s been really interesting to see how everyone’s ideas differ,” he said. “I’m totally impressed; there are some really neat ideas here.”  |
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