COVID-19 Case Study
Barlow's Brewery
Barlow’s Brewery opened its new taproom in February, back when “coronavirus” still sounded more like a bad hangover than a world-shaking pandemic. Within weeks, COVID-19 snuck up on the nascent brewery like Jason Momoa on Henry Cavill at the premiere of Suicide Squad.
Right around then, Netflix saw fit to release the dumpster fire that was Tiger King. Joe Exotic might have seen a tiger, but in that binge-worthy spectacle, Barlow’s saw an opportunity: With stay-at-home orders keeping crowds away (and draft lines dry), Barlow’s pivoted from plans to can its first beer this summer and seized the moment. Tiger King IPA, the brewery’s first canned beer, was born.
Since Barlow’s hadn’t even been open for a month when COVID-19 swept through town, the pressure was on to respond to a changing market and create an eye-catching label that would draw fans to the brewery’s brand-new release. So our ace graphic designer created the label, bedazzled lettering and all, and Barlow’s released the beer in mid-April.
Like the series it was named for, Tiger King was a runaway hit; Barlow’s went through its stash in roughly the same time it takes to stream the series. We paired the release with an Instagram photo contest, where we invited fans to share photos of their Tiger King cans in the wild.
But that wasn’t all: Right around the same time, we designed a label for the brewery’s second canned beer—the Alpina Viennese Lager. Inspired by the famed Bultaco motorcycles (which were made in the Viennese mountains), the crisp and refreshing lager was brewed with Hersbrucker hops for a nice malty backbone and a subtle fruity aroma. Like Tiger King IPA, Barlow’s fans couldn’t order four-packs fast enough.
Teamwork
Ashley Jhaveri designed both labels in record time, and on short notice, in order to meet labeling and canning deadlines; she also worked with the labeling company daily to ensure the timeline advanced perfectly.
Andrew Cooper oversaw the campaign execution and communications for a can release in the early days of COVID-19—back when folks weren’t sure whether Facebook events meant we should actually show up. Of course, it wasn’t a gathering, but a very successful pick-up day.
Michael Perozzo helped execute the campaign, featured Barlow’s on the Beer Nerd Virtual Pub (a daily livestream during COVID-19 in the popular Southwest Washington-based Beer Nerds Facebook group), and set up and snapped photos for the photo shoot (which included a stuffed tiger and Barlow’s owner, Brian Rummer).
