Introduction

Brand strategy
Visual ID 
Messaging
Product design
Merch 
E-commerce website
Marketing launch strategy 
Social content creation & strategy 
Campaign(s)

They say if you sell to everyone, you sell to no one, so how do you brand a beer that truly is made for all?

 

A beer that’s not out of place at a punk show or a rodeo and tastes just as crisp in Texas as it does in California? You tug on the nostalgic thread that weaves every U.S. State together: Americana.

Americana embraces the ideals that connect us by celebrating the optimism and opportunity symbolized by The American Dream.

Fisherman holding a can of Merican Beer in one hand and fishing rod in the other, standing near a river.
Motion-blurred image of someone on a skateboard holding a six-pack of Merican beers.
White electric guitar laid on a faded rug, surrounded by cans of Merican beer.
Merican beer can perched on the motor of an old car.
Fisherman holding a can of Merican Beer in one hand and fishing rod in the other, standing near a river.
Motion-blurred image of someone on a skateboard holding a six-pack of Merican beers.
White electric guitar laid on a faded rug, surrounded by cans of Merican beer.
Merican beer can perched on the motor of an old car.

Audience

It resonates with the 25-year-old kid restoring his ‘70s Chevelle after his day job. The 35-year-old Midwestern running the ranch that’s been in her family for over 100 years. The 21-year-old living in New York collecting vintage Americana t-shirts and the 55-year-old reminiscing about the good ole days.

But don’t take it from us; take it from the most popular song in history, Old Town Road, or the most watched series on cable, Yellowstone, or Beyoncé’s genre-bending reclamation of her roots, Cowboy Carter.

Brand messaging

However, as with America, the brand name, MERICAN, is infused with many potential assumptions about who it’s for and the values it represents. We knew we couldn’t line-dance around this, so we addressed it head-on with a succinct tagline: MADE FOR ALL™.

White man outside, pictured through the windscreen of a vintage car, holding a can of Merican beer, wearing a cream-colored Minnesota Twins shirt. White man outside, pictured through the windscreen of a vintage car, holding a can of Merican beer, wearing a cream-colored Minnesota Twins shirt.
Man holding a six-pack of Merican beers with one foot on his skateboard.
Man with his back turned, carrying a fishing rod in one hand and a red cooler in the other, admires the winter landscape and lake in front of him.
Merican staff member packing cans into cardboard boxes, wearing a backwards black trucker cap with the Merican logo printed on the front. Merican staff member packing cans into cardboard boxes, wearing a backwards black trucker cap with the Merican logo printed on the front.
Conveyor belt of Merican beer cans in the production facility. Conveyor belt of Merican beer cans in the production facility.

Visual identity

With our strategic direction locked in, we went to work on bringing it to life visually. Whether it’s a dive bar in Los Angeles or a saloon in Bozeman, bar walls are lined with history: old beer advertisements, neon signs, taxidermy, and collectibles. We set out to create something that fits these timeless, legendary identities. In other words, how do we make something brand spankin’ old?

We landed on a bold, uncomplicated wordmark that looks like it was made in simpler times. And yes, the typeface was American-made (because we love a good Easter egg!).

Black Merican logo against a cream background. Black Merican logo against a cream background.

Visual identity

On the shelf, we wanted to remain familiar without getting lost in a sea of cans. So we landed on a design that channels a packet of Marlboro or an Andy Warhol Campbell’s Soup Can, depending on your cultural lens.

Oh, and when the cans are stacked vertically and horizontally on a shelf it makes the red and white stripes from the American flag, a real attention grabber, the star of the show. Or the stripe of the show?

Rows of Merican cans stacked vertically, resembling the horizontal red and white stripes of the US flag.
Two images showing a browser and mobile web mockup of the Merican website. One displays an overflowing can of Merican beer. Two images showing a browser and mobile web mockup of the Merican website. One displays an overflowing can of Merican beer.
Several cans of Merican beer nestled among ice in a red cooler.
Two Merican staff members talking to each other in the production facility, with large stacks of aluminium beer cans behind them.
Solitary can of Merican beer sitting atop a pile of dried hops with the Merican Logo superimposed beneath.

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