Indie Beer is a new campaign to help drinkers easily identify independent beer in pubs, bars and retail.

As the popularity of beer from independent breweries increases and reaches pre-covid levels, consumers are being misled about what is and isn’t independent.

SIBA, and their 750+ independent brewery members, needed a brand, campaign and common symbol that would become effective shorthand for drinkers.

“The Indie Beer mark will become the recognisable standard for high quality craft and cask beer, brewed across the UK, by truly independent breweries.”
Neil Walker, SIBA Head of Comms & Marketing

Indie Beer wants to help more people choose independent, often local, more interesting beer. That generates more wealth for the local economy, and imbues a sense of local pride in those that make it.

At its heart, independent beer is about a passion for brewing great beer with a commitment to quality and variety.

That insight inspired the core creative idea: to hero and celebrate the UK’s variety of beer styes, flavours and producers.

The idea is captured in the hand holding the beer glass aloft, as a giant ‘cheers!’ to indie beer.

Different arms holding different glassware with different beers, celebrate the variety and diversity of styles and flavours that indie beer customers enjoy.

The half tone design adds an indie attitude with an extra dose of energy and vitality from the handmade styling.

SIBAs research highlighted a powerful connection for consumers between independent and locally produced goods.

SIBA members brew fantastic beer all over the UK. The campaign dials up this truth and allows brewers to personalise their activations. Branded social assets with consistent messages and point of sale materials for pubs, bars and taprooms make it easy for campaign supporters to share their version of the same message, wherever they are.

The campaign kicked off with a coordinated social launch with over 200 members sharing the same messages and assets, to a combined audience of hundreds of thousands.

Producing a campaign that hundreds of individual businesses choose to support is no mean feat and one we’re very proud of.

Knowing the beer market and understanding the stakeholders, we also knew the Indie Beer mark needed to be restrained and clear; and capable of sitting effectively alongside any kind of beer brand.

Phase one is rolling out across thousands of touchpoints enabling independent breweries to collectively, mobilise an army of fans, to help drinkers make the choice they want, more easily.

Away from social media, indie breweries run over 2000 pubs, bars and tap rooms between them.

With welcoming window stickers on the outside and posters, bar bar runners and keg badges on the inside, it’ll be easy to see what is (and isn’t) indie beer.