Southern Brewing Company lacked brand awareness and a cohesive brand identity. To address this, an advertising agency revamped SBC's digital presence, creating a new website and consistent branding across social media. This included establishing a welcoming tone and visual identity focused on locally sourced ingredients. The rebranding increased social media followers and engagement. SBC now has a stronger online presence to connect with the Athens community.

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CASE STUDY
Talking Dog
Advertising

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Table of
ContentS
The Brew CrEW............................
Behind the BreW..........................
The BreakDown...........................
Making Our Brand HoP...............
Drinking Buddies.......................
The FINAL BATCH.........................
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5
9
15
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The BREW
CREW
The TEAM
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Stacy Garrett
Account Executive
Caitlin CLasscock
Digital Specialist
EMILY MUSGROVE
Strategic Planner
Lilly NunnALLY
Copywriter
Orlando Pimentel
Art Director
Lauren SmitH
Project Manager
J.P. VAN WERT
Photographer

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Behind the
Brew
BACKGROUND
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The Southern Brewing Company first opened its doors on
May 7, 2015, by co-owners Brian Roth and Rick Goddard. Roth
and Goddard met in 2008, where the two set out on a quest
to open a “true to its heritage” brewery. Eight years and 520
brewery visits later, Southern Brewing Company was
established in Athens, Georgia. The property boasts the first
purpose-built brewery in the state, nestled within 15-acres of
land and located just 2.5 miles outside of downtown Athens.
They brew 18 varying styles of beer with some of the freshest
and locally sourced products.
Athens is known for its tightly-knit community, lively music,
and arts scene, so they wanted to give the city a place where
all of these incredible aspects could be brought to life. SBC also
fosters a southern and hospitable atmosphere, welcoming
people of all ages and backgrounds, and even dogs.
They work to support as much of the Athens community as
possible by sourcing local products, with an eventual dream to
brew using 100% locally grown ingredients. For example, the
Wild Azalea Saison is created using the yeast from the Azaleas
in their backyard that they have preserved and re-cultivated,
with the help of the UGA Agriculture Department. They take
pride in the fact that there are less than 50 breweries in the
country running a similar yeast harvesting program.

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strengths Weaknesses
Opportunities THREATS
• Local craft brewery known for its authentic taste and feel
• Brewery space is very large
• Compared to other local breweries, SBC has an extensive list
of product
• Has distinctive value for tradition
• Brewery open later hours than others
SWOT
• Large beer-loving market currently in Athens
• Large potential market for craft beer in Georgia
• Large amount of space available for event hosting
• Target market is open to trying new activities
• Small percentage of microbreweries in the state of Georgia
• Potential brand differentiation
• Absence of a brewery in Georgia with “southern culture”
branding
• Already two well-established local breweries in Athens
• Craft beer market saturated in Atlanta and US
• Competitors can easily steal market share on draft brews in
restaurants and bars
• Athens community has a lot of leisurely activities for its
consumers to participate in
• Athens area has a high concentration of bars
• Beer not shelved (only draft)
• Logo is not iconic
• Lack of established, consistent social media presence
• Elementary website
• Low brand awareness
• Lacks strong, consistent brand voice
• Generic product names
• Brewery location is perceived to be relatively far from
central Athens

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CREATIVE BRIEF
Promise
Tone
Southern Brewing Company offers a laidback
atmosphere for the Athens community to
escape the bustle of town, while enjoying a vast
selection of locally sourced craft beer.
The Southern Brewing Com-
pany isn’t just a place for the
typical southerner, but for
anyone and everyone who has
ever felt rooted in the south,
with enough beers to suit any
personality
The Southern Brewing Com-
pany prides themselves on
being deep rooted within the
Athens’ community, whether
it be their loyalty to Athens
partners or their ability to
source locally
The Southern Brewing Com-
pany provides a place for the
people of Athens to escape the
bustle of town
The Southern Brewing Com-
pany encompasses every
sense of the word, from their
southern named beers to the
“big southern family” vibe
that radiates across their
brewery lawn
Welcoming
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ROOTED UNWIND SouthernTRADITION

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TARGET AUDIENCESouthern Brewing Company is welcoming to family, friends,
pets, and die hard Georgia fan, so the target audience for our
campaign is all beer and wine drinkers 21 years and older. Our
primary audience is local Athenians who enjoy drinking beer
and wine, and our secondary audience includes college students
of drinking age.
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Ben is 33 years old and currently lives in Athens with his
family. He is married to Meredith, and they have two kids
ages 1 and 4. Ben graduated from Clemson, and Meredith
graduated from the University of Georgia. They are partial
to UGA football, however, Meredith wants their kids to be
bulldawgs through and through. Meredith is a professor at the
university here, and Ben works for Deloitte and commutes to
Atlanta for work. Since the weekdays are so busy, the
weekends are family time for Ben and Meredith. They love to
watch Georgia football in the fall, and still love to reminisce on
their college days.
BLONDE ALE BEN

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Water, Barley, Hops, YEast:
The Breakdown
Executive Summary
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The Southern Brewing Company is an Athens-based
brewery specializing in craft beers, locally sourced ingredi-
ents and southern hospitality. They are nestled just outside of
downtown. What makes them so unique is their openness, as
they invite families, friends and pets alike.
The Southern Brewing Company team has an extensive
knowledge of beers and knows how to put a customer at ease,
even with their plethora of beers to choose from. Being the
youngest of the three major craft breweries in Athens, we
wanted to help them establish a presence in the minds of all
Athens beer and wine drinkers, ages 21 and up.
To ensure we made it into the hearts of every beer and wine
drinker in Athens, we decided we needed to increase their brand
awareness, as well as establish cohesive branding across all
platforms.
SUMMARY

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Our objectives were to completely revamp their digital
presencetocreateacohesiveanduser-friendlyexperienceacross
platforms. This includes constructing a new website and
creating a consistent brand personality on social media.
Consistency in design was also an important attribute we
brought to SBC. We created original designs for each medium,
which would also be customizable as templates. Our solutions
should allow for an increase in awareness across our target
market, as well as sales.
SOlution
We successfully increased our social presence by establishing
brand congruency between Facebook and Instagram, as well as
increasing followers on both platforms.
Results
Because Southern Brewing Company is the youngest of the
three major breweries in Athens and the only one that doesn’t
can their beers, we faced a lack of awareness across the
general Athens population of drinkers 21 years and older. Our
second problem is that the brewery was creating promotional
content that wasn’t cohesive, which established a weak brand
personality, leading to lack of brand recognition.
Problem

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The CHALLENGEAthens is home to two well-established craft breweries,
and the Southern Brewing Company lacked a strong brand
personality to differentiate itself. SBC is a place for the Athens
community to kick back, relax, and enjoy a cold one, but their
inconsistent messaging across social media has prevented
them from developing a true brand identity. As a relatively new
company, they have little brand awareness among their target
audience as well.
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The StrategyAfter establishing Southern Brewing Company’s key
weaknesses, brand awareness and brand personality, we
developed a strategy to revamp the look and feel of the brand.
Southern Brewing Company embodies a welcoming and
relaxing atmosphere, and we wanted to portray that in their
new brand identity. We chose a new color scheme and tone that
would set them apart from their competition, and we pushed
the new identity on all social media platforms.
In addition, we created a new website that encompass-
es the brand’s personality, including a promotional video
showcasing the brewery experience. After developing a strong
brand identity, we pushed to increase awareness by reaching
out to Greek Life social chairs, utilizing social media platforms,
and creating new sales sheets to be used for local restaurants
and bars.
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Making Our
Brand Hop
REBRANDING
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Southern Brewing Company welcomes everyone from all
walks of life to come in and experience a new kind of brewery.
With a wide range of amenities, and an extensive beer menu,
there is something for everyone at SBC. They’re locally brewed,
hospitably southern, and closer than one might think. For
members of the community who have heard of Southern
Brewing Company, a large percentage perceive it to be
relatively far away, and it’s proven to be a consistent struggle
in garnering new customers. However, SBC is less than 2 miles
from downtown Athens!
Your Drink Is CLOSER THAN YOU THINK
“Your drink is closer than you think” is a tagline that is
specific to the Athens market, but it can also be understood by
consumers on a larger scale. Whether it be visiting the
brewery for a tour, or visiting a restaurant and drinking their
beer on draft, the delicious taste of SBC beer isn’t that far away.
In addition, Southern Brewing Company sources many of its
ingredients locally, reminding customers that their drink is
in fact closer than they think. The tagline is coupled with
#FindYourBrew because it can be widely used, and it references
that vast selection of beer that SBC provides.
#Find YOUR BREW

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BRAND DESIGN GUIDE
COLORS
TYPE
Red Rust...........................
Golden WheaT.................
FOAM WHITE.....................
HEADINGS: ROCKWELL EXTRA BOLD
Body Copy: Rockwell Regular
#be432c
#f1cc4d
#FFFFFF

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LOGO REDESIGN

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Final
ORIGINAL Alternatives

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BEER CANS

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Sales SheetsSales sheets are product sheets that showcase descriptions
and features of, in our case, the various beers offered by
Southern Brewing Company. These sheets are brought to
restaurants and bars to enhance the selling process and
influence buying decisions. SBC’s original sales sheet lacked
strong and consistent branding. Our updated sales sheets
highlight each beer and its color, notes, hops, ABV percentage,
and IBU.

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Promo ITEMSPromotional items were very essential in SBC’s rebranding
process; they are often low cost and efficient in stimulating
brand awareness. The three items created were a decal, beer
caddy, and tin tacker. The decals are simple and would be great
for a laptop or on the back of a car; the beer caddies would use
locally-sourced wood and be sold on site; and the tin tackers
are used by breweries to hang at restuarants and bars. SBC’s
tin tacker is branded with the Athens’ skyline to foster the
local, hospitable sentiment that SBC and Athenians know and
cherish.Decal #1
Beer Caddy

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Decal #2
TIN TACKERBeer Caddy

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WELCOME CENTER
BROCHUREThe Athens Welcome Center provides visitors with
information to get the best out of their Classic City visit. The
Athens drinking experience is one like no other, and the craft
breweries here are top notch. The addition of a Southern
Brewing Company information card at the Welcome Center
not only helps give visitors the true Athens experience, but it
also enhances brand awareness among its audience.

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INfoGRaphicOur Beer Guide infographic is structured for beer drinkers
to find which beer is the best fit for them. With descriptions
of beer types from light to dark, as well as Southern Brew-
ing Company beer suggestions, it’s easy for consumers to
#FindYourBrew. Additionally, the ingredients section
allows them to better understand the notes, aromas, and
flavors of beer.

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Guerilla
MarketingFor our guerrilla marketing event, we will host a social
media-propelled scavenger hunt around downtown Ath-
ens. The scavenger hunt will be a 24-hour event for a “beer
throne” made of Southern Brewing Company beer cans. The
throne will change locations every hour, and we will utilize
Facebook and Instagram to hint to our followers where the
throne is. Signs will also be left at all of the previous locations,
with messages encouraging audiences to follow Southern
Brewing Company on social media. The throne will become a
permanent installation at SBC after the event.

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WEBSITEWe upgraded the Southern Brewing Company website
from an elementary, black and white Wordpress site, to an
informational, visually pleasing website. We included new
photography and edited the copy to further identify with the
new Southern Brewing Company branding.

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INstaGramWe decided to focus much of our social media efforts
towards creating consistent and cohesive content on SBC’s
Instagram page. While SBC had created and utilized their
Instagram page since early 2016, this platform was not
exercised to its full potential in comparison to Facebook.
One of the first steps was taking professional photos that
captured all the warm, welcoming atmosphere SBC has to
offer. We focused on warm tones and showcasing the beers and
brewing process. Many of our photos found a home on
Instagram beginning in February 2017, when we gained access
and partial control of the page.

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FacebookFacebook is the platform where content was most
consistently posted. With the largest audience of their
social media platforms, we wanted to carry the brand
consistency and theme we started to create on
Instagram over to Facebook; however, we soon understood
their Facebook was a place with more informational and
event-based content. With this in mind, we began to create
more informative content soon after we gained access and
partial control in February 2017.

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SnapchatA social platform that SBC had not yet utilized is Snapchat.
SBC is a place for all families, couples old and young alike. That
being said, we thought Snapchat would be an effective way
to engage and target a younger college market. We set up an
account in December 2016. We also designed geofilters to
further increase brand awareness, inluding a generic design
and event-specific design for their St. Patrick’s Day event.

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Photography

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Drinking
Buddies
Partnerships
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Strategic partnerships are a great way for both businesses to
build brand loyalty, increase brand awareness, and promote
friendly relations with local businesses. Athens has always had
a local, friendly atmosphere and it’s not uncommon for small
businesses to help each other out. Since SBC is passionate and
loyal to the Athens community, a strategic partnership would
benefit both from a business perspective and a marketing
perspective.
The Southern Brewing Company does several Tap Takeovers
in a given month, and we hoped to increase this number with
new suggestions that better target their younger audience.
PartnerSHIPS
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The Final
Batch
IMPACT
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SOCIAL MEDIA
INSTAGRAM
By keeping consistent metrics of SBC’s social account, we were
able to track a stable increase in followers and engagement.
Once we gained partial control of Instagram in February 2017,
average daily follower gain saw its first increase in 6 months
and total monthly follower gain (by percent) also saw its first
increase in 6 months. Average daily follower gain increased
77% and average likes per post increased 29%, when
compared to the previous 4 months. Over a 6-month period,
total followers increased 22%.
FACEBOOK
Facebook control remained primarily with SBC; howev-
er, we were able to collect data and metrics, giving us the
opportunity to track successful engagement. Over a 6-month
period, total page likes increased 11.63%.
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Metrics
INSTAGRAMToTal FOllower Gain

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WEBSITEThe new website launched towards the end of our campaign,
so we were unable to gather statistics. However, it has been
connected to Google Analytics for the Southern Brewing
Company to manage visits, CTRs, duration, and more.
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CHEERS!
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