Becoming the first brewers on Brewer Street

For almost five years, Don't be Shy HQ was situated on Brewer Street.

Despite the name, Brewer Street had never been home to any actual beer-brewers. What a missed opportunity!

So before we moved to neighbouring Stevenson Square, we created something we could raise a glass of in our new home. The perfect way to celebrate over half a decade in the can? A beer in a bottle. An employee passion project that’d let us have some fun with the brand. And conveniently, one that aligned surprisingly well with the marketing process.

Here are the top notes:

• Step 1: Pint-sized insights & strategy
• Step 2: Doing the brewing
• Step 3: Styling ShyPA
• Step 4: The Beta Brew
• Step 5: Go to market

The project has done what we do best: big, bold thinking across our specialisms, devotion, deft little touches, and a showstopper to show for it at the end.

 

Step 1: Pint-sized insights and strategy

How in the Camden Hells do you make a beer? First, you need to know your audience. And we’re all about the insights.

This called for a tasting session. From humble Amstel to Brewdog’s Punk IPA, we put our favourite pints through their paces. All in the name of market research, of course.

Taste sheets helped us focus on what we liked and didn’t like about each beer. Having picked apart the pain points of our lucky target audience – yours truly – we had our shortlist.

The output from these audience workshops? We were looking for a citrusy zing that leaves a long-lasting impression. That little bit of something. Nothing brash, but bold enough that you know it’s there.

Step 2: Doing the brewing

We collabed with Steven and Alex at the local Temperance Street Brewery, Beer Nouveau. And Manchester’s soft water is perfect for a hazy pale ale, helping us create a citrusy, pretty full-on 4.7%. Certainly nothing Shy about it.

Step 3: Styling ShyPA

We then set to work on copy and creative for the bottle’s labels. ‘Shy’ translated into Super Hazy Yellow. ‘Craft and graft’ emphasised all the work that had gone into it, and summarised our values quite nicely as well.

Pulling through the personalisation that’s a staple of our campaigns, we printed die-cut stickers so every drinker could make their bottle design unique.

Step 4: The Beta Brew

We took a two-pronged launch approach. First, the beta brew was tested on the team, with taste sheets provided to structure the feedback, and identify strengths and weaknesses.

Step 5: Go to market

You know what they say about sequels, but the definitive edition of ShyPA seriously showed up. The project has done what we do best: big, bold thinking across our specialisms, devotion, deft little touches, and a showstopper to show for it at the end.

We think all that deserves a beer, don’t you? Get in touch to request a bottle – or even, you know, talk to us about B2B marketing. Not your thing? We’re moving on to kombucha next.