Brand Strategy
Meridian Hive:
Creating Buzz for Canned Mead
After conquering their local market, Austin-based meadery Meridian Hive came to us with a goal to expand into greater Texas and beyond with their canned mead. Wanting to challenge the perceived position of mead (a honey wine often enjoyed at renaissance festivals) we identified the needs of their potential audience and positioned mead as an easy-drinking alternative to beer or seltzer.
Clear messaging themes around “pure honey, real fruit,” paired with lush imagery of bees, honey, and the great outdoors positioned mead as a fruity, fresh drink option for curious sippers.
Our strategy focused on conquering key Texas markets before expanding nationally with a mix of creative concepts that targeted new fans at different parts of the awareness marketing funnel. At the top of the funnel, we introduced mead in the context of natural, fruit-forward scenes to show the freshness and purity of the ingredients. A UGC campaign celebrated moments out in nature and around the city, creating a sense of place and establishing the occasion to drink (anywhere, anytime). And for those who were still unsure, we paired the full flavor lineup with rave reviews that proved love at first sip really does exist.
The results
With a clear path forward to achieve brand awareness online and IRL, Meridian Hive enjoyed a 25% sales increase just one year after implementing our work. And a new distributor means they will continue to expand their reach in key markets, leaning on our successful messaging and campaign ideas to grow their fanbase in new markets in Texas and beyond.
We were selling out almost faster than we could keep up. Now, we’re set to run at double speed and double our monthly volume, so we're guns blazing for the next several—and hopefully more—months to keep up.
— Cayce Rivers, CEO
