Creative in the Mundane: Making Something Old Feel New Again

Making the old feel new is something Cory Smith tells Brewer that his brewery, Twin Oast, tries to do in its brand as a whole.

Everyone — OK, almost everyone — in the country makes an IPA with a variety of tap handles. Most breweries may have food, trivia, or an event. For some consumers, it may all feel the same. That’s where being creative in the mundane matters most.

“If you look at our kitchen, it is easy to say we serve bar food, but we always try to have a unique, quirky twist to make items feel they are ours,” Smith said. “The same is true with events, too.”

There are plenty of breweries that have 5k runs as part of their annual event lineup, but why not take the best parts of a 5k and make them more fun, Smith said.

“That’s how we came up with our Apritrot 0.5k run that kicks off our Apricot Festival,” he said. The brewery has chip-timed badges, a full truss starting line, wacky outfits, and “the whole nine yards.”

“Going over the top is what people love about it,” he said, adding they always ask, “How can we make this fun?” and “Would we want to do/buy this?”

MadTree‘s staff tried to watch a Masterclass presentation a few times a month as a team over lunch to find new ideas that are old.

“There is a group chat on Instagram where we send each other inspiration or ideas from other brands we like —​ ​both in and outside​​ of the industry​ —​ as well as just looking around at what’s going on in the world​,” said Marketing Manager Trevor Self. “[Finding] how we can creatively connect with our followers through it and be a part of their story.​”​

​The MadTree marketing team takes quarterly trips to visit other companies to hear from them, see their work, and discuss current projects the Cincinnati brewery is working on.

“It’s a good way to stay relevant, hear other’s perspectives, and have fun along the way,” Self said.

Added Jeff Smith, co-founder at LUKI Brewery, you absolutely need to consume the media or ideas that are already out there.

“There’s nothing wrong with taking various ideas, even if tired, and mashing them together in new ways,” he said. “We’re following a lot of hashtags of out-of-state/out-of-market beer and breweries to see what inspirations arise so that we can put our own LUKI spin on it.”