Mac’s beer is introducing new products, and the entire range has got some striking new label designs, thanks to the experts at Dow Design agency.
Mac’s trail-blazed the birth of craft beer in New Zealand, back in 1981. While Mac’s has continued quietly making good beer, and consistently winning awards, a new generation of brands was vying for the spotlight.
Mac’s sparked a brewing revolution over 30 years ago by being an original, so it needed to get back to what it does best… creativity and innovation. Mac’s sought a bold approach that would introduce the new generation of Mac’s beers and ciders with a bang, while also restating its history, and the award-winning quality of its existing range.
There are plenty of well made, intriguing and interesting tasting brews within the Mac’s range. The challenge was to tell the burgeoning ranks of discerning and mindful beer drinkers more about what makes each of these brews so great. But this couldn’t be some made-up, slick, marketing schtick, it needed to be authentic, and true to the experience of enjoying Mac’s. And to retain the straight-up, ground breaking visual simplicity of the brand, bottle and unique pull cap.
Working with Dave Pearce and the Mac’s team, Dow translated Mac’s unique character and brewing experience onto pack. As Dow Design Director Tony Masterantonio explains “We reinforced Mac’s iconic brand on bottle by creating the very ownable shield shaped label. Then we provided very clear navigation of the different beers in the range by giving each of them a unique icon, with a little twist, which echoes Mac’s inventive brewing process”.
There are other quirky tweaks, reinterpreting the Mac’s logo with a hat tip to the iconic pull cap in the name, and flavour scales on the labels and cartons to help drinkers navigate the range. Mac’s devotees will be pleased to know that the signature ribbed neck bottle and rip cap still remain. Also to be released in 568mL rib necked bottles, is an all new range of ciders.
“The redesign process has been a balancing act” Dave Pearce admits. “Making the necessary confident changes to better reflect Mac’s true brewing credentials, whilst retaining the core brand elements that have made it such an icon. Dow, through their incredibly detailed and strategic approach, have been mindful of this, and you can see this in all the small, clever details they’ve introduced …. I’m expecting beer drinkers are going to enjoy discovering the new heroes just as much as rediscovering the Mac’s classics”.
The new look is in market now on the two new beers, Three Wolves and Green Beret, there are also four new ciders, and they will be rolling out across the existing range over the next month. Check the Mac’s website for more information: www.macs.co.nz
