LATEST PRESS NEWS
1st october 2022 |
Wonderworks helps British brewery’s newly branded stout, ‘Nightjar’ take flighty
Award-winning UK beer producer, Wye Valley Brewery, has completed a dramatic rebrand of its popular keg stout in partnership with Wonderworks.
Relaunched as Nightjar on Thursday 22nd September to 250 publicans at the brewery in Herefordshire, the newly branded keg stout complements the other market leading brands in the Wye Valley Brewery core range.
The re-brand involved renaming this popular stout, and creating all the logos, labelling, POS, bar mats etc to reflect the beer’s local provenance and to elevate it to a wider craft beer audience. The name Nightjar is a reference to the nocturnal bird that hawks for food and nests in the Wye Valley.
Female founded drinks marketing agency, Wonderworks, were enlisted by Wye Valley Brewery’s Head of Sales & Marketing, Abbie Gadd, to help develop the Nightjar brand, which is already proving popular amongst the brewery’s loyal customer base.
Sarah Wildman-King who is co-founder of Wonderworks, commented:
“The brand identity we’ve created thoroughly reflects the passion Wye Valley Brewery have for their local environment and sourcing quality British ingredients, but also elevates Nightjar as a standout product within wider markets.”
Established in 1985, by ex-Guinness brewer Peter Amor, Wye Valley Brewery boasts a wide range of beers that include popular brands Butty Bach, HPA and 1985, which can be found in most pubs across the West Midlands and South Wales. The brewery’s bold ambitions for Nightjar are for it to become the British stout brand of choice, rivalling other stouts that currently dominate the category.
Nightjar is a kegged stout based on an original cask recipe dating back to 1985, when ex-Guinness alumni, Peter Amor, first began brewing his own beers at the back of a pub in Hereford. As a kegged stout, Nightjar is chilled to 4°C and is nitrogenated. This makes it a very refreshing drink with a delectably creamy texture.
Abbie Gadd, who has led the rebrand project at Wye Valley Brewery, said of the new brand:“When our Head Brewer, Gareth, first created a kegged version of our stout, he did so on a bit of a whim. But it proved to be an exceptional product, and one that warranted its own brand identity on the bar to differentiate it from the original cask version.
“We are extremely proud of this product – it looks great, it tastes great, and now with great branding, Nightjar is set to compete with leaders in the market.”
With extensive experience in the drinks industry, Wonderworks followed a well-honed process to create an identity that would stand out in the competitive marketplace. The brand landscape for stout ranges from more traditional branding (adopted by many of the industry’s largest producers) to contemporary examples. The agreed creative route was to be premium and contemporary with a nod to the provenance and history of the category.
With the approach agreed, an identifiable icon was required to act as a signifier across all brand touchpoints, including packaging. With the new name referencing the migratory birds, the Nightjar icon was created with free flowing, organic lines in a palette that was reminiscent of the category’s heritage, i.e., black, gold and cream. The result: a new identity that will help the product compete against the best-known stouts in the beer market.
Simon Daws, owner of renowned food and drink destination, The Gloucester Old Spot in Cheltenham, said of Nightjar:“Nightjar is a wonderful pint that I’ve made one of our permanent beers we offer. It’s popular with locals and tourists alike and gives us a point of difference on the bar.”
See www.wyevalleybrewery.co.uk for Nightjar stockists.
ENDS
Notes to Editors
For more information, please contact Fenella Taylor fenella@flourishmarketing.co.uk 07721 324696
About Wonderworks Communications:
Wonderworks is an independent, female-led, creative agency based in London.
Sarah Wildman-King and Miranda Hart head up the award-winning agency which specialises in premium drinks, with clients including Jim Beam, Avallen, Roku Gin, Courvoisier and Haku Vodka.
Wonderworks run a free 12-week mentoring programme for women who work or want to work in the drinks industry.
About Wye Valley Brewery:
Since 1985, Wye Valley Brewery has been producing the very best cask, keg, and bottled beers, using the finest ingredients, while at the same time supporting the Great British institution that is fondly known as the 'pub'.
The brewery’s reputation for consistent excellence in product quality and customer service is the reason their beers are served in more than 1,200 pubs and bars throughout the West Midlands and South Wales. In fact, they’ve gone from brewing approximately 10 brewers' barrels a week to producing an average of 900 barrels per week – that’s more than 14 million pints per year.
Popular products in Wye Valley Brewery’s range include Butty Bach, HPA, Hopfather and their 1985 lager.