Brand Strategy

Brand Strategy for Liberty Street Brewing Company

Shannon Chambers

Business Storytelling and Brand Development

Full Sail University Fall 2013

1

1

Brand Strategy

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to analyze how Liberty Streets brand strategy measures up to

today’s business market. presents tourism and marketing from the craft brewers point of

view; what brand recognition challenges the brewery faces when marketing their

products, as well as the kind brand strategy can be formed in order to keep their

consumers interested. An analysis is presented of the brand components: brand name,

brand identity, business card, and tagline. The brand story, mission statement, and

archetype build the brand message of the company. Using the SWOT Analysis, the

breweries weaknesses are exposed and ready to take advantage of the opportunities

provided. By providing an in depth analysis of the brand strategy, Liberty Street Brewery

hopes to gain the recognition and admiration from craft beer lovers.

Introduction

Brands give potential clients a solid idea of what they are buying before they buy

it, helping speed up their buying decision. Building trust with customers, employees, and

stakeholders will help strengthen and manage the perceptions of your business. Creating

a brand means picking a name, a logo, color scheme, font type, and incorporating your

values that make up your business. Author Marty Neumeier presents three important

branding questions in his book, The Brand Gap: “Who are you?”; “What do you do?”;

“Why does it matter?” (pg. 31, 2006). Liberty Streets brand helps patrons see the face

under the mask, enticing them with their innovation and individuality.

Liberty Street Brewing Company Brand Elements

Brand Name

2

2

Brand Strategy

Branding is a very important tool in the marketing industry. The brand name

represents the face behind the company. Neumeier believes that, “The need for good

brand names originates with customers, and customers will always want convenient ways

of identifying, remembering, discussing, and comparing brands,” (pg. 83).

The brand name, Liberty Street Brewing Company was selected based on

Neumier’s 7 criteria’s for a good name: 1. Distinctiveness; 2. Brevity; 3.

Appropriateness; 4. Easy spelling and pronunciation; 5. Liability; 6. Extendibility; 7.

Protectabiltiy. Liberty Streets brand name fits all of major characteristics of the company:

a brewery located on Liberty Street. Liberty Street Brewing Company, named after a

road, is a distinctive yet known name for the patrons of Plymouth Michigan. Liberty

Street is a historic road dating back when settlers Keziah (Benjamin) and William

Starkweather, Farmers from Preston, Connecticut, purchased 240 acres of land from the

United States Government on March 11, 1825 (Land Mark Reality)

Short and easy to spell, owner Joe Walters gave Liberty Street Brewing Company

it’s name based on the historic building it’s resides in and the Old Town Village it’s

located in. The owner/brewer uses cross roads, such as Starkweather Street, to label his

beer. The brand name allows the microbrewery to stand on it’s own two feet, benefiting

by its historic surroundings. The great name of the company extends the opportunities for

brand play. According the Neumiers book, The Brand Gap, “Some of most powerful

names are those that combine well with a visual treatment to create a memorable brand

icon,” (pg. 84). Liberty Street Brewery’s name is memorable but not to be shortened to

Liberty Street and be confused for that of the road itself.

3

3

Brand Strategy

Brand Identity

Brand identity is the representation of a company's reputation through the

conveyance of qualities, passions, innovation, strengths, and it’s purpose. People will first

recognize the name and logo-- the face of the company. The brand logo’s color, shape,

and tagline speaks for the company and needs to be able to sell its charming

characteristics to its consumers.

Liberty Street Brewery’s logo is all American colors; red, white, and blue call out

to local patrons and visitors supporting the history of the Old Town Plymouth. Below

figure 1 is the company’s logo.

Figure 1

Below figure 3 and 4 represent the front and back of breweries business card. Keeping it

simple, the brewery uses the same branding elements of their brand logo. By using the

brand logo on the face of the business card, consumers will connect the logo with the

business at first glance.

Figure 2: Front Figure 3: Back

Joe WaltersOwner/Brewer

Phone 734-207-9600

4

4

Brand Strategy

Brand Tagline

Liberty Street Brewery’s tagline is,

“Freedom to choose a better beer,”

expresses the primary purpose of the

company. Starting with the word

“freedom” Liberty Street Brewery connects to its brand name and story immediately.

Liberty Street Brewing Company Brand Messaging

It is clear that the creativity that Liberty Street Brewing Company pours into their

businesses is inspired by innovation and passion. They’re not afraid to attempt new ideas

or ingredients; frankly this is how they’re becoming authentic. Liberty Streets archetype

is a creator; “An expert at seeing the big picture and rearranging disparate pieces to craft

something meaningful.”

  The results fit perfectly with that of Liberty Street’s brand. They’re constantly

changing their combination of ingredients to craft something meaningful to them and

enjoyable to their consumers. However, their brand is also that of an explorer archetype.

They’re only able to create a masterpiece by experimenting with different ingredients for

their beers. One year their Oktoberfest is bitter but the next year one ingredient is being

substituted for something with a much sweeter quality. It’s one of their best beers yet and

it’s the experimentation that has let them reach their latest success.

Having a brand is a like having a house, it’s used to store the meaning and value

of a company. It’s the way we’re able to identify the essential elements of our brands.

Joe WaltersOwner/Brewer

Phone 734-207-9600

5

5

Brand Strategy

Finding the right visual and verbal archetypes in order to be fluently recognizable is

extremely important. Liberty Street Brewing Company continues to use their innovation

to expand the variety of flavors of craft beers, rather than creating a whole new product

they’re expanding their knowledge of beer to a new level. Instead of creating a new color

by combining blue and red or blue and green, they have combined yeast, hops, water, and

pumpkin spice. Instead of being able to enjoy a warm pumpkin pie on a cool fall day, you

can enjoy a cold pumpkin beer on a warm fall afternoon. It’s not about “Out with the old

and in with the new;” it’s about re-inventing something that already existed. By using an

archetype, Liberty Street Brewery is able to put a personality and face with its brand.

Mission Statement

Liberty Street Brewing Company began with a passion and desire to share craft

beers. With robust flavors and tantalizing aromas each handcrafted beer seeks an

invested drinking partner. Continuing with this passion, Liberty Street aspires to create

more local brand recognition within Southeastern Detroit.

Brand Story

A Pioneer for beer, Liberty Street Brewery Company’s story

began in 2008 when their doors opened up to the public. If you’re having a rough day,

love the Michigan craft brewery scene, or just want to try something new, try a taste of

history at Liberty Street Brewery located in Plymouth’s Old Town Village. Owner Joe

Walters has always had the passion to brew and distribute truly amazing beer and he

continues to explore the many possibilities of flavor combinations. Our focus is to deliver

delicious craft beer by concentrating on smaller batches, ensuring that each beer is

carefully crafted. Our commitment to handcrafted beer, excellent hospitality, local

6

6

Brand Strategy

sourcing, and community involvement has been the foundation for our growth and

success.

The roots of Liberty Street have been firmly planted in Old Town. With a dedication to

heritage, the first beer crafted on site, Starkweather Stout, acquired its name from a

nearby cross street. An environmentally responsible business practice has been one of our

core values from the beginning. It inspires us to employ re-use reclaimed building

materials and second-hand furnishings that enhanced the historic features of the building

built in 1895. Still giving an old-English theme, the Brazilian cherry hardwood floors,

beautiful oak trim and wainscoting, six-panel solid oak doors, granite tile bar and

tabletops, and old artwork beautifully displayed throughout the pub was there when

owner, Joe Walters bought the building. 

Joe spends long days at the pub, working hard to make his dreams come true,

taking it to the next level. With such a unique location and historic charm, Liberty Street

Brewery continues its efforts to create delicious beer while taking pride in the energy put

into the quality of beer, staff, and overall experience.

Promotion Plan

A promotion plan is built around the companies target audience, product, and

brand identity. Liberty Street wants their marketing campaign to increase their invested

beer drinkers. The marketing campaign is to increase social media recognition, website

visitors, car sticker sales, and the number of brewery members.

Increasing social media recognition includes prioritizing link building. As tourism

increases within the state of Michigan, it is essential that Liberty Street use this to their

advantage. An important link builder will be connecting Liberty Street’s website to that

7

7

Brand Strategy

of Pure Michigan, a highly used tourism guide for Michigan. Secondly, Michigan

Brewer’s Guild website is an important link builder. A vast majority of current and new

craft beer drinkers need to be quickly and accessibly linked from the Brewer’s Guild

website. With the campaign to increase web visitors it becomes essential to make the

website more customer directed. The website will need to be user-friendly and age

appropriate. As visitors access the link they will find an age verification request to delve

further into becoming an invested beer drinker.

If the website is easy to use, a marketing campaign for online brewery

memberships will be implanted. In order to have a fully functioning and successful

website, Liberty Street Brewing Company needs to make sure that the tags are in place

and the links are not broken. The company needs to submit a sitemap.xml file to Google

in order to make sure the website shows up in Google’s search engines. Google’s website

offers a tool that will inspect the website just incase there are tags missing, giving results

quickly.

In order to ensure that the website is obtaining steady traffic, the company must

market a fresh and regularly updated website. In case there are multiple visits to the site,

it is crucial to keep the website up to date and unique. Adding a good video to the

homepage will improve conversations and page rankings more so than any other item you

can add to your pages.

Car stickers are cheap to produce and important to the overall marketing

campaign. All members will be provided a car sticker to help display their pride in being

an invested beer drinker. Equally, availability of car stickers will be made for all

consumers regardless of membership status. The car stickers will be identifiable with the

8

8

Brand Strategy

LSB logo and the goal is to create the most amount of visibility outside of the brewery to

the public.

Finally, Liberty Street Brewing Company will introduce their product at beer

festivals all over Michigan. Frankenmuth’s World Beer Expo is just one of the many beer

festivals that brings craft beer together from all of the United States. Word of mouth at

these large venues will be greatly beneficial.

Liberty Street Brewing Company Market Research

Target Market

Unlike traditional beer drinkers, craft beer drinkers hardly ever stay loyal to just

one specific brand of beer. A microbrew customer may sample a new brand of Stout one

week, pick up a favorite pale ale the next week, and eat a meal with a lager the week after

that. This is because microbrew drinkers seek out new and exciting beers. Craft beer

drinkers have come to expect breweries to produce multiple beers rather than one single

products. It’s essential for microbrewers to use a noticeable name, logo and distinctive

flavor to attract attention to potential customers.

Depending on the product mix, the largest customer segments are men between

the ages 21-55. Though woman are beginning the be a lager percentage of craft beer

drinkers than 10 years ago, searching to get more flavor out of beer.

Product Description

Every beer is fresh, flavorful, perfectly balanced, and true to style while

maintaining a slight individuality. Liberty Street offers hand crafted beers, brewed in

small amounts to ensure top quality. Offering four “regular” beers that stay on the taps at

all times and rotate “seasonal” styles on the remaining taps.  This allows the brewers the

9

9

Brand Strategy

freedom to brew specialty and higher gravity beers.

Glutinous Minimums is the newest of the “regular” beers offered on tap and the

breweries first gluten free beer brewed with sorghum, raspberry blossom honey, agave

nectar and cinnamon sticks. The other “regular” beers offered year round are: Liberty

Belle Blonde Ale, lightest colored beer based on an American Blond style; Red Glare

known as the flagship beer with caramel notes that are quickly balanced with a mild hop

bitterness; Starkweather Stout, full of chocolate flavor and aroma coming from grain

only; Steamy Windows, very much like a pale ale, but this California Common is

fermented with a lager yeast to create a crisp taste with fruity notes. Besides the great

beer, Liberty Street Brewery offers four types of wine, as well as hard cider made locally.

Competitive Differentiators

The three main competitors of Liberty Street Brewery are Arbor Brewing

Company, Atwater Brewery, and Detroit Beer Co. Arbor Brewing Company, located in

the heart of Ann Arbor, Michigan is know for committing themselves to tasty handcrafted

beer and good food. They offer happy hour prices through the week. Detroit Brewing

Company, located downtown Detroit is known for its broad selection of eclectic

American cuisine and award winning ales and lagers. Their location, right down the street

from Comerica Park, keeps this brewery busy throughout spring, summer, and fall.

Atwater Brewery is located in Detroit’s historic Rivertown Distract and was one of the

first breweries founded in 1997 that is still around today. They’re known for using only

the finest malt and hops brought in from Germany to brew their lagers.

Liberty Street Brewery is the only craft brewery that focuses strictly on the beer

they’re brewing, allowing outside food in. Unlike their competitors, they want their

10

10

Brand Strategy

customers to be able to enjoy the many different beers they have created, while having

the option to pair any of the beer with one of the many local restaurants great food. If

your not looking to bring food in, your able to enjoy one of the snacks offered while

sitting down with a board game from the back.

Liberty Street Brewing Company Brand SWOT Analysis

The content within the SWOT analysis, such as the strengths, weaknesses,

opportunities, and threats will help develop the outline of a marketing strategy. The

owner and management staff has a wide and comprehensive knowledge of the local

manufacturing market and expertise, which will go towards getting into the market of

craft beer. However acknowledging the weakness of a small company without years of

experience, and the threat of new competition, it’s important to analyze the strengths,

weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

Strengths Weaknesses The brand name conveys what the

company represents-American History.

The brand logo and design (colors) portray the identity of the brewery.

The tagline expresses the primary purpose of the company.

Lack of brand recognition. Brand story lacks individuality and

distinctiveness. Lack of a diverse advertising focus.

Opportunities Threats Exposure at communities’ events. Working with local restaurants to

promote each other and establish mutually beneficial relationships.

Other local microbreweries in the area.

Economic downturn decreases population spending.

11

11

Brand Strategy

Multiple online sources to expand brand recognition.

Strengths

The strength of Liberty Street Brewery is showcasing its brand to its consumers.

The brand name represents the concepts that the company stands for, American History.

Fitting perfectly with a strong brand name, the colors chosen for the brand logo quite

accurate. Red, white, and blue represent the breweries brand logo, also representing the

American flag and the freedom of press, speech, and religion. Liberty Street Brewery

combines the freedom of happiness with their tagline, “Freedom to choose better beer.”

Weaknesses

With strengths come weaknesses, every business has them. Weak brand recognition and

a weak brand story are two of the companies’ greatest weaknesses. If the brewery

expands its connection to social media marketing, they have the possibility of the target

market being exposed to their brand. Internet Marketing: A practical Approach

proclaims, Google’s president for Europe, Middle East and Africa, Nikesh Arora,

commented that:

‘ The change in consumer behavior is so fundamental that in the

future one of the dividing lines between firms that succeed and

those that don’t will be the ones that have embraced the Internet. ’

If used correctly, the Internet can help companies enhance distribution, communication,

and transactions.

Opportunities

12

12

Brand Strategy

Liberty Street Brewery takes advantage of two opportunities within its

community. By using its resources, such as community events and brew festivals, the

brewery is putting their name out there getting their brand a little more recognizable

every time. The company also teams up with local restaurants for beer dinners, where

craft beer lovers get to enjoy five amazing beers pairing well with foods prepared by

local chefs. Not only are they again putting their name out their, they’re supporting other

local businesses.

Threats

Within the last 10 years in the state of Michigan micro brewing has grown.

According to Brewers Association (2012), “Growth of the craft brewing industry in 2011

was 13% in volume compare to 12% the year before.” As growth continues within the

state, the time is ripe to make an entrance and join the other proud brewers that are

making an impact towards Michigan’s economy and its people. Even though Liberty

Street Brewery is surrounded by multiple award winning microbreweries, it has the

possibility to still stand out with a an memorable brand name, logo, and story. Even

though Michigan ranks #5 in the nation and claims it’s fame as “The Great Beer State,”

the brewery still faces a weak economy. With low wages and a slow increase in

employment, consumers do not have a lot of money to spend on the finer things in life

such as craft beer.

Conclusion

As a business owner you want your brand to stand out in the crowd. The target market

needs to see the person behind your brand, wanting to connect with the brand. The

elements of brand recognition include logos, stories, colors, a tagline, and the mission

13

13

Brand Strategy

statement. These elements are important for the brewery to get the main message out.

Nuemier’s book The Brand Gap “Since branding is a process, not an entity, it can be

learned, taught, replicated, and cultivated.” Knowing your strengths, weaknesses,

opportunities, and threats is the first step of learning what will increase your brand

recognition.

References

Alfs, L. (2012, April 16). Local brewers finding success as craft beer sales increase

nationwide. Retrieved from Local brewers finding success as craft beer sales increase

nationwide. Retrieved 2013, October 18.

Allegory Studios. (2013) What is your archetype. Retrieved on 2013, October 15.

Retrieved from

http://www.allegorystudios.com/creator?sid=1817

14

14

Brand Strategy

David, Young. n.d. "What qualifies as craft beer?." USA Today, n.d. Academic Search

Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed October 20, 2013).

Esterl, Mke. 2012. "After Long Downturn, Beer Sales Are Back." Wall Street Journal -

Eastern Edition, October 03. B1-B10. Academic Search

LandMark Reality. (2007). Plymouth. Retrieved on 2013, October 10. Retrieved from

http://www.landmarkadvantage.com/plymouth/

Neumeier, M. (2006). The brand gap: how to bridge the distance between business

strategy and design: a whiteboard overview. (Rev. ed.). Berkekley, CA: New Riders.

Retrieved from VitalSource Bookshelf.

15

15