Silver American Advertising Awards, Northwest
Gold, American Advertising Awards, Northwest

Willie's Distillery

This small batch distillery, based in Ennis, Montana, was one of the first of its kind to pop up in Montana. Willie’s quickly gained local popularity, becoming a leader in the distillery movement. Renowned for their Western-inspired spirits, every Willie’s product is made from natural, local ingredients — Montana grains, honey and native berries, along with a good dose of heart and soul.

Scope

Brand Exploration
Brand Assets
Campaign Development
Imagery & Taglines
Packaging
Copywriting

Location

Ennis, Montana

awards
GOLD

Packaging — Denver International Spirits Packaging Awards, 2017

GOLD

Illustration — American Advertising Awards MT, 2016

BEST OF SHOW

Packaging — American Advertising Awards MT, 2015

GOLD

Campaign — American Advertising Awards MT, 2015

Result

A small Montana-born brand, ready to take on the American West.

Riverhouse event photography showing a couple eating BBQ togetherRiverhouse homepage mockup on an ipadRiverhouse Montana drivers license branded artwork with logo seal
three versions of the Security Title Co logo side-by-side
An image showing several of Security Title Co's brand book pages
Security Title Co merchandise and business set design
Image with the headline "we eliminate risk" above an illustration of two people putting items into a giant safeAn image of a mother and child with the Security Title Co logo in the corner
Challenge

We needed to find a fresh take on “Western”, one of the most over-played genres in North American marketing. We also sought to steer away from tropes of contemporary micro-distilleries, which often speak through the language and imagery of “hipsters”.

goal

The ultimate goal was to position Willie’s as of equal quality as national, non-craft brands. Willie’s needed the branding assets to convey a clear image of their product and the mountain culture it sought to represent. The brand needed thoughtful, cohesive materials to reach a national scale of play.

approach

The visual elements selected for Willie’s entire product line reflect the natural and local values of their distilling process along with an authentic Western heritage. We chose images of wildlife, cowboys, and gritty type and paired these crisp images of mixed drinks and bottles.

Brand Launch

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.

Packaging

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.

Reason no. 8

The longest line you’ll see comes from a reel.

reason no. 12

Big ideas are best discussed on the back of a pickup.

Custom icon set done for the Riverhouse brand
Riverhouse BBQ food photography showing a BBQ sandwich and fries
low-contrast Riverhouse logo on blue backgroundRiverhouse BBQ menu designslow-contrast Riverhouse logo on brown background
examples of Security Title Co's website pages
Gif of various custom illustrations done for the Security Title Co brandA grid of the Security Title Co team members at community eventsCustom icon set done for Security Title Co
“We’ve worked with Hardy for more than two years. In that time, they’ve helped us rebrand in every way, developing all our new bottle designs and creating all new campaigns for our products. Their approach is top-notch and I would recommend them to any company looking for a fresh creative direction.”
Les Terrell
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Willie's Distillery
Photo of riverhouse meat with tagline "It's a Smokin' Good Time" overlaid
An illustration of two people in front of a For Sale sign next to Security Title Co's tagline Grounded in Montana Rooted in Community

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