Intro/Summary
The Bronx Brewery is a staple in their community. They are dedicated to their Community, Creativity, & Inclusivity. Many of my values align and that’s why I was more than excited when they approached me with a proposal to design a beer label for their Y-Series. Their Y-Series is a limited release collaboration between creatives and the brewery to showcase their talents.
The Proposal
Jose Ruiz, the Head of Creative of The Bronx Brewery, is also my fraternity brother. We have collaborated on various projects in the past, he even helped produce the first Support Creativity’s Untitled Art Show! He presented the idea of doing a collaboration for the Y-Series. The Y-Series also allows the artist to select a non-profit that will receive proceeds from the sales of the beer. He knew that the perfect non-profit to receive these donations would be my own non-profit organization, Support Creativity. Before I could decide I needed to consult the board of directors of Support Creativity; they were completely on board and excited with this project.
The Process
The first step was to begin designing the label. Before starting, I needed to do the research. I had never designed a beer can label before and I wanted to get some inspiration from other labels to understand the industry. We were informed that the beer would be a milkshake IPA so that’s where I looked for inspiration.
Most of my inspiration came from understanding the purpose of the design and how it could influence my community. From previous events I had done with Support Creativity, I knew I wanted to create something that the community could be a part of. We had done community murals and I knew that would be something I could incorporate into this project.
That’s where the inspiration came from for the black and white label. I wanted to create something that could be turned into a community mural, a piece that all the community can take a part in and that could inspire others to create. It’s a beer can label that everyone can make their own, that everyone can add their own flavor to.
Naming the Beer Can
The process of designing the label, creating the name, and the flavor all happened around the same time. The brewer informed me that tropical flavors lend themselves great to IPAs so that’s where the idea to bring in an orangey flavor came to play. We also wanted the flavor to be incorporated into the name so we played a lot with a list of puns, playing on words with names and flavors. Everyone on the Support Creativity board really felt “creamsicle” vibes and then the word “cream” came up. Alex Gonzalez, one of the board members and lifelong creative partner, mentioned that he had thought of naming his business CREAM and that it was an acronym for Creativity Reveals Everything About Me. That’s when it clicked, it was a perfect name for a creamsicle inspired drink we wanted to create.
Activation
Once we understood the direction of the beer label, the name, and flavor we sent over our ideas to Jose Ruiz & The Bronx Brewery. They loved it all and we were set to move on to the next step: the activation.
The Bronx Brewery gave us a budget and a space to put together the release event for the collaboration. I knew I had to bring out my crew, family, and friends to help support. They were more than happy to come out. And you know I had to bring my community of DJ’s to bless the vibes.
Because we wanted to create a community mural, we printed it on a 4’ by 6’ canvas so that our community could practice coloring on their beer cans and then color their designs on the canvas.
Marketing
We went IN on the marketing for this event! We posted on our social media platforms a total of 14 videos, 6 carousels that included 19 graphics and 12 photos! Part of the process was for the artist to come into the Bronx Brewery and decide on the flavor, attend brew day, and even check out the packaging. I decided to do a vlog style video every time I went to The Bronx Brewery to talk with the brew masters and The Bronx Brewery team. We posted daily for about 2 1/2 weeks. Our top three posts had a combined engagement of 814 accounts and 136 shares!
During the event we posted 15+ times in our story and reposted everyone who tagged us in their stories. We also did 6 posts recapping the event, announcing the results, and giving big shout outs to everyone that helped put the event together and came out. Day of I also had Bryan Nunez, CEO of WeCapture Media, come out and record the whole event! He made promotional content and we collaborated on a post. Naty, a personal close friend and artist, also shared a recap video of the day and shared on her feed.
Livestream
Prior to the event we created a webpage dedicated to the CREAM event. You can check that out at https://www.wesupportcreativity.org/cream. During the event we live streamed on the site and had call-to-actions for people to donate to Support Creativity, buy CREAM, and also download the beer can label that they could later upload for others to see.
After the event, anyone that visits the site is able to watch the replay of the livestream and all the performances that took place.
Big shout out to VGAmateurs for sponsoring the livestream.
Event Day
Event day was poppin! My whole community came out and I felt truly blessed to enjoy the moment with them. We had special performances by these incredible artists: DJ Bembona, Halucinated, Mad Flava NYC, Chet Gold, Fhloston.
The community mural was a success, and it was great to see people drawing on the actual beer cans. I know everyone was a bit iffy of the orange and vanilla peel milkshake IPA flavor, but it was a hit all around.
I got to VJ to close off the event and be in my element. Oh, and I was also able to announce that Support Creativity now is an official nonprofit with 501(c)(3) status!
Results
The beer design and taste were a hit! During the event 229 single cans, 30 4-packs, and 12 cases were sold! You can also buy the cans at Costco, Trader Joe’s, and Whole Food or buy it straight from The Bronx Brewery. So if you couldn't make it, you can still try it out.
Thank you again to all the community for showing up!
We Are Available For Your Next Project
Bring the CREAM project to your product/business/organization. Our package can include:
Custom product packaging designed by yours truly
Pre-Marketing and Post-Marleting material
Activation complete with DJ performances, community mural engagement, live projection mapping, livestreaming, and vibes on 100
Include Support Creativity as a benefactor and help your organization look great
Book some time to chat with us today!
Steve Lucin
I am a creative entrepreneur who helps passionate visionaries rebrand and produce virtual events so they can serve those they love. And I VJ.