Anheuser-Busch has produced a rare craft edition of its Hertog Jan brand in the Netherlands, as the beer maker continues its challenge on the country’s traditional “big three” brewers.
The brand is already the Netherlands’ fourth largest in terms of volume, falling behind major Dutch brewers Heineken, Grolsch and Amstel. It has now launched a craft beer called Ongekend – or “unknown” – in a select number of retail locations, featuring a bold image from brand design agency Osborne Pike.
“With all the major brewers in the process of responding to the craft beer revolution with NPD or acquisitions, this was an ideal opportunity for us to demonstrate our strategic branding skills,” said Steve Osborne, director of strategy for Osborne Pike.
“With Hertog Jan already thought of as the most crafted of the mainstream brands in the Netherlands, you could say we were pushing on an open door, but there were still plenty of challenges in this brief.”
These included a price point of €15, which made Ongekend one of the most expensive beers to be launched in the Dutch market – at more than five times the price of Hertog Jan’s flagship premium craft beer, Grand Prestige. But the brand claimed that the limited edition brew’s rarity justified such a high price; the beer is made using only one kettle, which has turned out a production run of 20,000 bottles in total.
And initial figures for the beer’s retail performance do not appear to reflect its unusually high price: beer specialist Mitra ordered extra stock after selling out of its allocation “very quickly”; and supermarket chain Jan Linders, who originally expressed concern about Ongekend’s price, increased its order of 700 bottles to 4,700 bottles by midday on the day of its launch.
The beer – featuring a copper-coloured bottleneck label and retaining the black pottery bottle of previous Hertog Jan special editions – manages to pump up the experiential value of the latest limited-edition release by keeping the beer style a secret from consumers until after purchase. The aim, the UK-based agency said, “was to give buyers enough information to intrigue, whilst keeping the full story out of sight”.
Osborne Pike design director Jim Seviour said: “We did this by iconising the bottle, presenting it minimally labelled and framed in a simple cardboard outer. A small compartment to hide the brewer’s note (explaining the full story of the beer) was created underneath the bottle. The label itself is full of information about batch codes, brewing and bottling date… but of course nothing which reveals the identity of the beer itself. A subtle piece of branding uses a kettle symbol in the Hertog Jan shield device, and the entire label is printed in metallic copper to reinforce the brewing method.”
Osborne Pike has also worked with Hertog Jan on a relaunch of the wider brand, resulting in a new brand mark, packaging design system and visual identity guidelines.
Hertog Jan marketing manager Erik Soeteman added: “The Ongekend brew has really struck a chord with Dutch beer fans. We made it available at a few select places, including our own brewery shop, and the response has been fantastic. We’ve had people queuing to get their hands on it, and praise from craft beer bloggers, all of which has boosted Hertog Jan’s reputation as the brand that really cares about beer. ‘For the love of beer’ is more than just a strapline for us.
“Osborne Pike have really helped us to bring the brand story alive, not just with Ongekend but in their work for the rest of our range and for the brand’s visual identity.”
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