Art by E. Bonart
NOAA x Silver Branch Brewing x Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is the US government agency tasked with monitoring the condition of the world’s oceans and atmosphere, including the health of the ecosystems and vital species. Silver Branch Brewing is craft brewery located in Downtown Silver Spring Maryland focused on producing European-inspired lagers and ales and hosting unique private events. The National Museum of Natural History is located on the National Mall and administered by the Smithsonian Institute.
Though many NOAA employees regularly visited Silver Branch’s flagship taproom, the brewery sought to cultivate a stronger relationship with the organization to increase visitation and private event bookings. After a short discovery meeting with representatives from the Oceanic subagency, the participants conveyed a desire to increase awareness of the 50th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act (ESA 50). They recently launched a multi-faceted campaign that included a website, live events, and an upcoming symposium at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.
As the brewery’s Art Director and packaging designer, I suggested a label art competition. Participants could choose one of three endangered species to illustrate and submit their designs through the Silver Branch website. A design from each category would be selected by a jury made up of NOAA scientists and Silver Branch staff, then featured on a special rice lager and featured at the Smithsonian’s endangered species symposium. I worked closely with NOAA’s communications team for copy approvals and spread awareness of the competition, as well as coordinated with Silver Branch’s wholesaler Craft Coalition to deliver the products to the Smithsonian’s symposium.
The competition gathered over 200 entries and generated immediate buzz on social media.. For NOAA, the competition drove traffic to the ESA 50 website and garnered over 10,000 views on social media. For Silver Branch, word of mouth spread throughout NOAA, resulting in an 18% increase in happy revenue (according to GoTab POS data) and increased private event bookings from the agency by over 300%, from one per quarter to more than one per month. Qualitatively, the packaging was a smash hit at the Smithsonian symposium, where guests collected cans to bring back to their colleagues and senior officials.
CLIENTS: NOAA, Silver Branch Brewing | ROLE: Creative Director, Project Manager, Graphic Designer | YEAR: 2024