Marston’s beers have been given a striking new look in a revolutionary departure from its traditional imagery in a bid to attract a new generation of drinkers to Marston’s story in Burton, the spiritual home of UK brewing, at the heart of the new campaign.
In rejuvenating the positioning and identity so fundamentally, Marston’s is investing over £1million over the next 12 months on a brand new assertive position that is “100% Burton”.
The range that includes the iconic Marston’s Pedigree and the newly created 61 Deep, will boast new packaging, pump clips, point of sale materials and younger tone of voice to convey a compelling meaning behind each of the brand’s stories.
And an all-new consumer campaign, ‘From Burton With Love’ shot by ‘Skins’ photographer Gavin Watson will depict the brand’s proud Burton-on-Trent roots and brewing back-story using local people, locations and everyday situations.
In addition to a new beer range, Marston’s Burton-on-Trent brewery will develop its NPD pipeline in ‘DE14’, a new 600-pint innovation brewery inspired from the brewery’s postcode.
Lee Williams, Marketing Manager for Marston’s Brewery says: “The harsh reality is that as a brewer, we’re not resonating with the next generation of drinkers who are attracted to the authenticity and simplicity of the new beer scene. For them it’s real and it resonates.”
Talk to anyone working at our brewery in Burton though and you realise that we’re no different and share the same passion and love for what we do. So you could say this is just about us presenting ourselves in a new and honest way, as only a true Burton brewery can. We need the next generation to consider our beers, perhaps for the first time and discover that they love the taste too – just as generations before have done and still do.”
The new positioning goes live across all consumer touchpoints from November with a print, online and social media campaign kicking off in Spring 2017.
New look – the details:
Burton is world famous for the gypsum-rich water that is used to brew its beers and Marston’s has put this unique story front and centre of its new campaign with the newly created 61 Deep, a refreshing 3.8% abv (4.1% abv in bottle) fruity pale ale that simply refers to the depth of one of the brewery’s own fresh water wells.
Pedigree‘s radical new look on the other hand comes from another seminal moment in its own history. The 4.5% abv classic Burton pale ale was named Pedigree in 1952 following a staff competition. Head brewer at the time, George Peard, oversaw the name change so Marston’s has recognised the role he played by placing him centre stage in its new imagery along with the Marston’s three barrel logo. And the changes don’t stop there – drinkers of the bottled version will now enjoy a ‘nearer to cask’ flavour as Pedigree will be bottle conditioned for the first time.
Meanwhile, Old Empire, the 5.7% abv English IPA and EPA, the 3.6% abv English pale ale have been refreshed with the new brand identity but Marston’s has taken the opportunity to continue the story-telling by renaming the final two beers in its range:
Oyster Stout, the eponymous 4.5% abv beer will become Pearl Jet a name drawn from the stout’s style and its jet black colour.
And, inspired by the last ever railway engine at the brewery – a Saddle Tank No. 3581 – that used to bring the hops and malts in and deliver the beer casks out, Burton Bitter 3.8% abv, has the new name of Saddle Tank.
Richard Westwood, Managing Director of Marston’s Brewing Company said: “This is an important move for us and signifies a bold and fundamental change in the way we celebrate our heritage and location. It’s about banishing prejudices; being exciting and intriguing to new drinkers; and putting Burton front and centre!”
New advertising campaign – the details
Creative agency, Big Al’s Creative Emporium have put Burton at the heart of Marston’s beers and their story. The campaign features real people and the stories that they have to tell about Burton and Marston’s.
Together with Marston’s, they commissioned Gavin Watson, the social realism photographer renowned for his iconic book ‘Skins’ depicting skinheads in the 70s & 80s. He reputedly inspired Shane Meadows of ‘This is England’ fame who grew up near Burton and studied at Burton College.
Gavin explains: “I wanted to capture the spirit of a place – making it look as dramatic but as real as possible – about what it is to live and breathe in this town. The ‘secondary town’ thing resonates with me. Burton still has its industry and it filled me with joy when I came to a town that still means something.
“It’s in the blood; in the water. If you’re going to live, grow and die in this town you’re going to be connected to brewing in some way. You can sense it as soon as you get off the train.”
The models featured in the campaign were recruited from people in Burton or are Marston’s employees and the photographs were shot in locations around the town depicting local scenes or typical occasions in their lives or with their mates.
Marston’s Brewery’s head brewer Patrick McGinty features in one of the advertisements as does photographer and home-brewer Morgan Silk and Latvian-born Burton taxi driver Stepans Cajevskis. All three live and work in Burton.
New nano-brewery – the details
Named after the Brewery’s postcode, DE14 is the nano-brewery situated in the Visitor’s Centre at Marston’s Brewery. With a brew-length of just 600 pints per brew, it will be where the brewers let rip; an innovation hub where in the spirit of trial and the chance to create spectacular beers.
Patrick McGinty, Head Brewer at Marston’s said: “These small-batch beers will turn up at national festivals and events and in bars a bit closer to home initially. Every member of the brewing team want to show what we can do on DE14 – as well inviting some special collaborators to join us too.”