David Geary has come from learning to brew in a 1,000-year-old castle in Scotland to opening D.L. Geary’s Brewing. The brewery has kept their marketing aesthetic seeped in tradition and heritage.
Their logo itself is designed to look like an old bank note or currency - something that has been integral to the fabric of the brewing world for a long time. However, this doesn’t mean Geary shies away from unique and innovative marketing. Case in point - Geary’s Summer Ale Contest, where a 5,000 scholarship is awarded to a student at the Maine College of Art who comes up with the best can design logo.
Marketing Strategy
Private Academic Partnership
With the Summer Ale Contest running for 15 years, David has seen first hand how the contest yields benefits on a twoway street. For the brewery, DL Geary gets packaging that pops right off store shelves every year with the catchy illustrations and graphic designs.
The students that win not only grab the scholarship but gain an excellent bullet point to show future clients and employers an example of their commercial work. In fact, every student that takes the contest seriously gets to add their work to their portfolio, as the design guidelines are extremely stringent. Geary is amazed every year at the sheer amount of talent out there and plans on fostering that talent in the years to come.
Geary’s Branding
David felt it was important to have his family name attached to the brewery. Think of all the major brands named after families: Pabst, Miller, Schlitz, and Leinenkugel just to name a few. Being able to go out and shake someone’s hand while they connect your name to the brewery is no small thing.
Design Strategy with Lewis Rossignol
Lewis Rossignol is a past winner of Geary’s Summer Ale Contest. He specializes in combining hand drawn and collage imagery. He is currently working on his BFA at the Maine College of Art.
Winning Logo Thought Process
David came into the school and talked about what he liked and didn’t like in past designs that were submitted. After looking at tons of packaging art, Lewis felt drawn to the illustrations for Flying Dog Brewery’s beers done by artist Ralph Steadman the same artist that illustrated Hunter S. Thompson’s book covers. Lewis looked at what people associated with Maine and Summer and set about to make a distinctive take on his logo.
David Geary’s contact info:
Email: [email protected]
Web: http://www.gearybrewing.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GearyBrewingCo
Twitter: @gearybrewing
Instagram: @gearybrewing
Lewis Rossignol’s contact info:
Email: [email protected]
Web: https://www.lewisrossignolart.com
Facebook: Lewis Rossignol
Instagram: @leweisrossignol
