Family and Product Level Branding

Family Level Branding
There is a local Alehouse I go to on occasion in Seattle which provides a great example of family level branding called The Pyramid Alehouse. With the bright colors and memorable iconography Pyramid’s brand just stands out.

Unlike most other microbrews in the area Pyramid’s branding had been relatively straight forward and in some regards minimalist. I can’t even recall a slogan or any messaging that has ever gone with the logo. They’ve cultivated a strong no-nonsense kickass beer identity with their product.

Starting off with an umbrella brand, or family level brand was a smart move as Pyramid could easily build a following and brand identity in a way that wouldn’t be possible if they had focused on the sub-brands.

Product Level Branding
Pyramid has been in a brand transition for the last couple years. Having expanded to 7 different brews it has become increasingly important to drive awareness to the individual products. Additionally we’ve seen a shift in the crafted or micro-brew market with many more players beginning to surface in wide distribution.

The President of Pyramid calls out the need for a new brand:
“The robust craft beer business continues to grow with new breweries and brands arriving everyday. To remain relevant in a landscape with greater variety, we believe we must constantly evolve our brand and Pyramid is committed to providing craft consumers with interesting beers and experiences that quench their thirst for adventure.”

There is also an increased focus on creating product level positioning something that was not a huge focus before.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Branding Transition
Starting with the seasonal beers Pyramid has offered over the last couple years the company had played around with their branding. By utilizing a product that was not a dedicated product in market through-out the year Pyramid could take chances with their branding and see if it was working out. Some differences in packaging included: fanciful name, artwork that was less focused on the core Pyramid brand, and de-emphasized the beer category the product fell into. With the success in market the seasonals had, Pyramid has now determined to transition over its entire product line to this new branding focus.

Why the business needs changed
In the northwest there are complete isles dedicated to beer. It can be a daunting task to select a specific brew. While Pyramid has built a following and had a strong recognizable brand, it didn’t transition over to all products. By changing focus to the individual beer, Pyramid will drive brand recognition in the categories, hopefully spurring consideration, and ultimately leading to sales.

Conclusion
Pyramid has built a strong family brand, and it was the right way to go about branding when they started off this business. Under increased pressure from competitors it became paramount to build more identity into the product, and management transitioned beautifully.
These branding strategies work in all categories. Consider your own business and ask yourself if your company history shows a similar branding pattern.