Please Drink Responsibly

Account Management • Graphic Design • Print Production

Creative Brief

How do you advertise for a new product line, follow state legal regulations, meet sales quotas, and manage a portfolio of over 1,000 products? You outsource the work to a specialized agency. I worked for Brandmuscle, an agency specializing in integrated and local channel marketing. In my three years with the organization, I created more than 4,000 unique print pieces, was named a “brand ambassador” for a nationwide team of designers, and developed templates for national clients

What did the work look like?

Small Jobs

Anything 12-inches-by-18-inches or smaller was considered “small-format.” These pieces ranged from simple feature cards to extensive wine menus. Often, the pieces were needed for only a brief promotional period. Such limited-time offers allowed me to use a lot of creativity and explore a wide range of design trends—try, execute, print, repeat.

Big Jobs

Huge. We could print huge. Large format jobs typically translated to off-premise displays. The pieces ranged from window decals to rebate posters to three-dimensional Jim Beam Stillhouse recreations. I worked closely with the merchandising team to craft fantastical displays to help my clients’ products stand out in a saturated market.

Customer Service

The distributor client I served, Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits, had over 150 sales representatives in our office. It was my job to transition the staff from a paper entry order form to a digital system. I held group trainings and one-on-one consultations, and I was always available to troubleshoot the system and ensure Brandmuscle could accept print orders.

Browse Projects

Click on an image to highlight and learn more about the type of work

Introducing a new product into the market resulted in the need for tasting event posters. This design was pulled together using inspiration from the American Honey bottle design.

This piece was a custom bottle tag designed for a barrel promotion.

It wasn’t all about alcohol. Often, I would create posters to highlight specialty food pairing events. The above piece was created to feature a weekly Raw Bar and Moscow Mule event.

Rebate displays made up the bulk of off-premises work. The pieces needed to follow brand guidelines while still highlighting the savings available to consumers in an eye-catching way.

Bar promotions often fell into the “rush request” category. An establishment would take in a large order of a new product, and we were able to support them by creating incentive posters to create product awareness.

Typically speaking, the brand guidelines for a restaurant would be a pixelated copy of their logo. Working from a simple graphic, I would create full-length wine and spirit menus that would reflect the atmosphere of the establishment.

Reflections

Best Moment

October, November, December—OND. The gauntlet. The Olympics of print design. The number of print requests would often triple in the months of October, November, and December. Brandmuscle knew the cycle and offered incentive programs for top-performing designers. I was regularly listed as one of the top five designers from a nationwide team throughout the entire OND cycle.

Greatest Challenge

Several New York State alcohol regulations specifically prohibit popular promotions often demanded by bar owners. As the designer, it was frequently my responsibility to diplomatically explain why we would be unable to fulfill a specific print request and then offer alternative (legal) solutions—all while maintaining a positive relationship with the client.

Unexpected Lesson

There is a remarkable infrastructure that supports the wine and spirit industry. I often tell people that the best part of working in design is you can work in any industry. My time with Brandmuscle and the related distributor, Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits, revealed a massive supply chain world to me.