Blue Moon is a well-known brand, but its stories are not. As their 20th anniversary approached, Blue Moon invited Trinity Brand Group to help them find ways to not only celebrate this milestone but to share the story of their beginnings with consumers in a personal and local way that could work on a national scale.

Blue Moon has always celebrated the idea that brewing is an art. Trinity Brand Group recognized the potential to leverage the brand’s Artfully Crafted positioning in a new way, and create anticipation with consumers new and old – not an easy task in a fiercely growing segment. We conceived the “Rising Moon Artist Series” wherein 20 up-and-coming artists from 20 US cities would develop unique pieces of art for 20 Belgian White labels. The artists were commissioned to use the label as their canvas with the freedom to tell their own Blue Moon-inspired story. The only requirement: feature a blue-colored moon somewhere in their piece.

Artists were strategically selected from an initial group of over 500 from 20 Blue Moon markets around the US based on their label concept, artist statement and unique story. We curated the final collection to purposefully showcase a diverse array of personalities, artistic styles and themes, representing the diverse, creative expression of the beer itself and its broad mix of fans. The 20 bottle labels were randomly packed in limited-edition 20th Anniversary 12-packs to highlight the collectable nature of the bottles and encourage local fans to find and support their home town artist.

The campaign was extended beyond packaging, to events with the artists, a micro site with artist bios, artist statements and process images, and a Facebook voting component where consumers could help select 10 finalists eligible to win a $20k grant from Blue Moon. The limited edition artwork paired with the 20 home-town artists fueled a desire within craft beer lovers to collect limited edition bottles and sent tens of thousands of fans to a Facebook voting poll before bottles even hit the shelves.

The 20th Anniversary campaign solidified and expanded the brand’s Artfully Crafted position and pegged it as a brand to watch in craft beer. The campaign made a national splash but also did what craft beer does best – connected with fans on a local and personal level – in a way that fit with the brand’s personality. All participating artists were compensated and were able to gain valuable local and national exposure through social media, press and local market programming.