Case Study: Bonfire Creative unveil brand identity for Eagle Brewery

The Eagle Brewery was born from the sale of the brewing and brands business by Charles Wells Ltd to Marston’s PLC. Marston’s approached Bonfire to create a bold new identity and branding, for the newly named brewery, that was fitting of an organisation with an enviable heritage as a master brewer and a long-standing relationship with the town of Bedford. Home of many famous beers such as Bombardier and Eagle, plus others bearing the Wells family name, the new brewery identity and branding needed to retain its associations, while reflecting a more modern contemporary style to help it remain relevant in years to come. The branding also needed to translate across multiple touchpoints including signage and uniforms to lorry liveries, bottle lables and point of sale material.

Approach

Home of many famous beers including Bombardier and Eagle, the new brewery’s identity and branding needed to retain its associations with its brewing traditions but also align with Marston’s plans for the site and it’s vision for the future of the business. The branding also needed to translate across multiple touchpoints from signage and uniforms to truck livery and digital assets.

There has been a long tradition of brewing in Bedford and The Eagle Brewery site has played an important part in that local story. Similarly, the eagle has been associated with the town for centuries so we looked at how it is used locally and beyond, both historically and now, to help us on the journey to create the brand story and identity.

The eagle is a powerful symbol of pride and has provided a strong mechanism for uniting the town in common cause. In this case, the eagle as a symbol would unite drinkers in a pride that their town creates quality beers. We also believed that it created a resonance among local businesses and organisations, subconsciously embedding the brewery in their minds and encouraging them to act as ‘partners’ in its promotion.

These elements had a strong influence on how we settled on the final creative concept. The Eagle Brewery’s new brand identity draws on these stories with a bold, contemporary rework of its existing eagle symbol. Unlike the way the bird is typically represented in heraldry however the Bedford eagle, and therefore the brewery’s, looks left to signify a unique point of view, and position the brand as progressive and forward thinking. A colour palette draws on Bedford’s historic association with the colour blue (the town’s highly regarded independent schools and rugby union club have both long sported the colour), partnered with a modern metallic copper, to give a contemporary, quality feel and deliver high impact. A modern font, Montserrat, was selected and appears in capitals to give the logo a clean bold look while allowing the eagle graphic to remain the focal point.

Results

Working closely with the Marston’s team Bonfire developed a complete brand story, visual identity and brand guidelines for The Eagle Brewery and how it is applied across its product range. The new branding was unveiled at a grand opening ceremony, for which we produced invitations, a supporting local press campaign and social media activity. The new branding was rolled-out across all on-site exterior signage and interiors, brands, digital assets and truck livery, while the the launch of the new Eagle Brewery branding was widely reported in local media and marketing industry trade press.

The branding has been so well received both on- and off-trade it is now being adapted for use on the Eagle IPA brand and implemented across Eagle IPA pump clips, bottles, promotional packaging, merchandise and POS, as well as sparking a wave of NPD.

Stephen Judge, founder & strategic development director, Bonfire Creative Intelligence