Branding pt 1

So with some downtime we are trying to refine what we want the "look" of the brewery to be. What we want is to develop not just an image we can slap on some glasses but an overall theme that will be tie together all of the logos, bottle labels, tap handles and the format of the blog. I guess we are trying to develop some of the brand of the brewery.

The brand of the brewery encompasses not only the physical aspects such as the iconography I mentioned above but also the more conceptual aspects of what your brewery represents. That is, from a conceptual standpoint, what ideas and feelings do you want your consumers to associate with your brewery and your products. When I think of a microbrewery, (or in our case maybe nano-brewery...) I am already thinking that it is different from the major brands like Anheuser-Busch. It's the "little guy." By drinking their beer I am saying that I am different than the Joe six packs of America who probably won't ever pick up anything but a Bud. Picking up from that easy branding start, we need to develop further to identify ourselves in the growing sea of small breweries. What sets us apart making us different and memorable to the consumer? Are we the quirky brewery like Magic Hat? Are we the traditional Belgian style brewery like Ommegang (a personal favorite of mine)?

To be honest I really have little to no idea what I am talking about (does it show?) but these are my amateur impressions of branding from what reading I have done and what I think of when I ponder the subject. I think a good example of a developing brand can be seen in the guys over at Monday Night Brewery. We don't even have names for our beers much less labels like these guys do. They are doing what we at Midnight Brewing can only dream of doing and taking forward their ambitions of becoming a brewery serving up delicious beer to all. In any case, more thoughts on the subject of branding and maybe a taste of what we come up with to come later.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING to all! Be sure to crack open some homebrew with the turkey and mashed potatoes.