I know we always use the old cliche of “We’re not in it for the awards”, but it felt great when the team were recognised for all their hard work by being awarded with 2 Golden Crushies at the prestigious Craft Beer Marketing Awards. We won Best Can Design Series for both the UK and Europe for our work with 4Ts Brewery.
The CBMA Crushies honour the best beer marketing & design from around the world. They were developed to recognise and award the very best in the industry with breweries, agencies, artists, and marketing partners all entering their very best work, so you can imagine how delighted the team felt when the awards were announced.
The judges were immediately drawn to the brilliantly boisterous and colourful characters we had created for the series of can designs. Using hand drawn, bespoke illustrations has converted the 4Ts concept into an exciting and visually impactful can range, bringing the cans to life by adding unique personalities to each one. Customers can see a little of their own personality in these larger-than-life characters and can relate to them on a personal level, giving an emotional connection, encouraging a broad smile, and creating a desire to buy the product. The character designs, together with a creative strategy that is based on humour has enhanced recall and purchase intention throughout the entire range. 4Ts brand personality shines through with the help of these wildly original and achingly funny characters.
To even be considered for these prestigious global awards is testament to the quality and creativity of all the work we do at LemonTop, with everything from the branding and can design, through to the bespoke illustrations being judged and scrutinised. To go on and win them proves we are creating work that is standing out and being noticed within the brewing industry. Everyone at LemonTop is delighted with the awards and are proud to be part of a team that produces work that is powerful, engaging, and inspirational on every level.
It wasn’t just the front face of the can that won us the award, it was the attention to detail and and our knowledge of the brewing industry. As a creative design agency we know it is extremely important to have clear, concise, and legally correct information on the back of the can. We encourage our designers to take as much care and pride in the information they put on the back of the can as they do with the designs and illustrations on the front. We have developed the backs of the 4Ts cans with the same bold, bright, and eye-catching approach, ensuring all the vital information is clearly annotated, paired with recognisable icons, and cannot be missed by the customer. It wasn’t missed by the judges either, and was part of the reason they were so impressed by our can designs.
The judges were looking for something different and unique, but also something that tied the theme together and gave the customer something to think about and interact with. We achieved this by giving the cans a distinct feel when anyone picked them up. A feel that reminded people that these are hand drawn, unique characters created through a collaboration of the wonderfully mad-cap ideas of the 4Ts brewers and the creative skills of our designers. We used a tactile paper that reminded us of the drawing paper we used as children, in the knowledge that this would bring a nostalgic feeling to the customer and further enhance the idea that these characters, with their their unique personalities, have been skillfully brought to life.
It’s been a great experience to be involved with, and win, these CBMA awards. We’ll continue to push the boundaries of beer and brewery design and marketing and maybe next year we can conquer the world with a CBMA “Global Crushie”.
