Bridger Brewing is a craft brewery deeply rooted in Bozeman, Montana, built around a shared love for adventure, community and beer. Located across from Montana State University’s campus, students, locals and tourists frequent Bridger Brewing for its house-made pizza and beer. With plans to expand to a second location in Three Forks, the Bridger team sought a partner to elevate its brand and make it more competitive in a saturated market.
We partnered with Bridger Brewing for brand strategy and identity. We created unique and versatile identity and packaging systems and a state-of-the-art website. Through our custom brand strategy process, Hardy was able to focus on what makes Bridger unique then craft visuals and messaging that speaks to their core values.
Bridger Brewing now has the tools to help them achieve their goals of packaging and expansion. It is well on its way to becoming one of Montana’s most recognized and appreciated craft breweries.
Brand Strategy
Brand Identity
Identity Design
Packaging
Branded Merchandise
Print & Digital Advertising
Website Design
Brand Launch
Signage
Bozeman and Three Forks, Montana
Bridger Brewing Website — American Advertising Awards Northwest, 2021
Bridger Brewing Website — Craft Beer Marketing Awards, 2020
This community brewery now has the assets and strategic tools it needs to tackle the next adventure. Post launch, their sales went up 10.12% from the previous year-to-date. They also saw an 18% increase in merchandise sales on their new branded apparel designed by Hardy.
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Stand out in the crowded and competitive craft brewing space where many competitors are also investing in polished branding and packaging.
Prepare a community brewery for a major expansion, packaging and distribution, eventually becoming a nationally recognized brewery.
By determining during brand strategy that “community” and “adventure” are their core values, we were able to craft a strategy and identity that mirrored these driving forces.
Hardy facilitated a multi-phase brand launch that considered everything from employee-owner training to the ‘why pay more’ signs. The first step was to train all leadership staff on the new strategy. By providing consistent language, their leadership team has the tools to communicate the brand to all employee-owners and customers, utilize it in hiring, and lean on it for business decisions. To support the high level of service T&C is known for, we created talking points, rack cards, and tools that empower employee-owners to answer questions customers may have.
The Bridger Brewing team wanted to be prepared to can and distribute its beer after opening its second location. AMS partnered with Bridger Brewing for packaging design concepts. The first step in the packaging process involved a strategy session in which the unique identity of each beer was explored and dissected. Several concepts were then sketched out. Once a concept was selected for each beer, custom illustrations were created for cans and boxes. The result is a full lineup of beers, each with its own design that is unique while still clearly a member of the Bridger Brewing brand.
The longest line you’ll see comes from a reel.
Big ideas are best discussed on the back of a pickup.
“I can’t say enough good things about the ownership and staff at Hardy. We went to them with branding and marketing needs, and they were not satisfied with simply giving us what we asked for. Instead, they challenged us, got us out of our comfort zone and ultimately delivered results that exceeded our expectations. I would not hesitate to recommend Hardy to anyone looking to focus and improve their company’s image.”
