Moosehead gets a new look – of brands and re-brands

Moosehead Breweries is getting a re-design, incorporating a modern take on the older historic elements that aims to make its iconic moose pop in a new color scheme. The moose is now a bit more modern and approachable, sticking to its roots but with an eye looking ahead to the future as well. Modern elements include the typography and the use of emerald green and gold.

Moosehead is Canada’s oldest brewery and this is the first change it has made in five years – the change includes new packaging for its core family of brands (Moosehead Lager, Moosehead Light and Moosehead Radler).

The new packaging design work was led by Conflict, the Moosehead’s creative AOR which debuts in a personalized campaign, that builds on the previous year’s “Beer with your Name on it.” The campaign rewards people for various small accomplishments with a free beer in packaging that is personalized. The campaign got thousands of submissions.

This campaign is an update to that, and is called “We Were Serious,” which features “interviews” with people who have been rewarded earlier with messages like “a task done is a beer won.” Moosehead is looking at running campaigns in digital, social and connected TV than traditional television and “dabbling more in Pinterest.”

Moosehead’s new packaging is currently rolling out across Canada. Moosehead believes that beer is something that people turn to, when they want to celebrate something – that there is no better reward for a job well done, than a cold beer.

Craft does the PR and Media Experts manages the media for the launch.

When a brand has been around for some time, it is a good idea to infuse new life and vitality into it through re-branding. Of course several brands engage in this activity for many reasons. Some of them even to save face and create a better impression after a catastrophe that they had survived!

But in general, it is good to give things a face-lift, as it were. It goes a long way in increasing relevance and value. While holding on to how things used to be, you might think that it reflects a classic, traditional image to your customers. But what they might think is that you don’t care enough to freshen things up and stay relevant even after times have changed!

Moosehead has gone into this exercise with an aim to appear fresh, more modern, more relevant to the younger consumers and more Canadian. What’s Canada without a great big moose, right!

While brands should consider re-branding to increase relevance and value amongst consumers, it is important to carefully consider everything, see the larger picture and then get into this exercise. Because an exercise such as this, doesn’t come cheap!

The branding must reflect the essence of who you are – that is most important. And who you are, must resonate with your audience, or the whole thing is a lost cause.

Re-branding makes you most relevant with your existing customers and it also positions you as an attractive option in front of newer and wider audiences. You appear new and fresh and attractive. You want to appear that you are going places and evolving into something better and newer. And all this contributes to business growth.

Maybe you want to completely re-position yourself. You wish to widen your audience base and broaden your appeal.

Regardless of why, ensure that your re-branding exercise makes you appealing to both the customers that you already have and the ones that you hope to get onboard. Don’t get taken in by fads and passing trends.

And when you do re-brand, ensure that the essence permeates every bit of who you are, consistently and thoroughly from top to bottom - from your website, to your apps. It has to be consistent and authentic and you need to keep at it. That is the only way this will work.