The latest edition in this series features hundreds of examples judged by a panel of leading professionals. This book has everything: complete corporate identity programs, packaging, tags, bags, labels ...
By Ron Romanik
When absinthe was made legal in the U.S. again after a 92-year ban on the distilled spirit, Europe had beaten the U.S. to the market with dozens of new absinthe brands. The vilified spirit had been suspected of having dangerously addictive psychoactive powers and causing insane and criminal behavior. European countries had begun repealing their bans over the past decade, and a few U.S. distillers, such as the small-batch distillery Integrity Spirits in Portland, OR, were ready for the U.S. repeal. Award-winning master distiller Kieran Sienkiewicz and his Integrity Spirits partner, apprentice distiller Richard Phillips, had been refining their own formula for a couple of years.
Sienkiewicz and Phillips had been brewing up a business plan for a line of distilled spirits that included vodka, gin, and absinthe. The partners had carefully considered how to position their brands in these highly competitive categories. With the help of ID Branding, also in Portland, they quickly decided that the best direction would be to capitalize on their pride in the city of Portland.
Phillips never saw this as a limitation. "We can tap into things that are uniquely Portland," says Phillips, "but still have a broadness to appeal to all regions." For instance, the gin makes the most of how Portlanders take pride in their bridges, the vodka takes pride in the history and landmarks of the city, and the absinthe taps into the natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest.
Similarly, across the continent's amber waves of grain, another small-batch distiller was cooking up a business plan for three similar spirits. Philadelphia Distilling, located in Northeast Philadelphia, had their own local stories to tell. Their gin's bottle design is an homage to Revolutionary War freedom fighters, the vodka honored the founding of Pennsylvania by William Penn, while the absinthe found appropriate French roots in New Orleans.
What neither of these companies did was create any relatedness, or a parent brand, among their three brands. Doug Lowell, executive creative director at ID Branding explains Integrity Spirits' rationale by asking a rhetorical question: "Are we going to be a branded house or a house of brands?" In the long tradition of spirits, says Lowell, branding with a parent house brand name often indicates a lower priced, or value, product. "We wanted each product to have its own vision and world view," he says.