Author: AGAdmin

Verve Rebrand

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Verve Rebrand

Great coffee, even better packaging!

The Dieline

Ask any devoted packaging nerd and they will tell you about their favorite articles from The Dieline. So naturally when we opened our inboxes to see their report on the Verve packaging update, we pinned this article on our ‘inspo’ boards faster thanyou can say “damn that’s a good cup of joe!”

Over a decade into their story, Verve founders Ryan and Colby decided to approach their brand aesthetic from a different perspective. “We worked to create a communication strategy and color palette that felt true to the brand, while at the same time building a visual language that was purposeful and easy to understand.” This sentiment is one that ripples across all brands and agencies in the CPG market: they want to find the perfect intersection where consumer interest and the brand meets.

There’s no hiding our Affinity for coffee, and when it comes to the packaging that holds our precious goods we’re more than ready to get into a heated debate on which brand is truly the best. But if there’s one thing we all agree on aside from the classic “does this smell more like Ethiopia or Colombian blends?” debate, it’s our love for the Verve coffee rebrand.

We delved into this article pretty hard, and we hope that you enjoy it as much as we did (and preferably over a nice cup of La Patepluma pourover).

People don’t buy beer online

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People don’t buy beer online

But they can! There’s just not enough options out there, and we’re here to unpack that concept

You may be shocked to find out that only a small fraction of retail sales happened online last year, and even though we can buy just about everything from toilet paper to oversized sushi throw pillows (no, but actually) we still don’t see some of the staples that people love to buy large amounts of at the grocery store: beer! And why is that?

Food & Wine reported on this issue earlier this month, commenting on the restrictions that the United States places on alcohol sales and the oh-so socialized “three tier system” that has acted as the glass ceiling for small businesses in the digital world ever since eCommerce really took off in the mid-2000s. But this still doesn’t answer the question as to why some wineries are able to do this (and they do it well, might I add).

“There’s going to be a big push by [Amazon] to make their life simple, and to order as simple as they can, to stock as simple as they can, and to distribute in one trip to the distributor,” suggested den Elzen. Chris Steffanci, president of Columbia Distributing in Washington, agreed about Amazon’s ability to disrupt the current system. “Amazon is here to stay, and they absolutely want to be in beverage alcohol,” he said. “I believe, if anything, they are going to fundamentally change the way the three-tier system looks over the next 10 years.”

As breweries find more ways to move and promote their product retailers and online wholesalers will lobby for distribution rights and drive more consumers online to get what they really want (and no, it’s not that giant sushi pillow).

Affinity Takes Best in Show

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Affinity Takes Best in Show

Affinity Creative Group was well represented at last night’s West Coast POP Show in San Francisco. An annual in-store marketing and display event, the show provides an opportunity for agencies and display companies to come together and share their most creative retail marketing work. Affinity Retail Division entered several unique displays showcasing our range of creative talent and production expertise, including Smoking Loon Canoe, Sutter Home Spring Window, Flowers “Give Her The Gift She Really Wants”, Bota Box Spring Adventure Backpack, Red Diamond “Day of the Red”, and the Ménage À Trois Ferris Wheel Display. In this highly competitive category of Floorstand Display/Non-Permanent (Wine, Beer & Spirits), the Ménage À TroisFerris Wheel was highly awarded with honors of Gold in Category, Best Structural Design, and, the most coveted award of the evening: Best of Show.

Project Background

Trinchero Family Estates designer Jerry Braccia came to Affinity Creative Group for production expertise in bringing his ferris wheel design vision to life. From concept sketches and discussion, Affinity Creative Group collaborated with the client to create a spectacular and eye-catching display. Constructed out of wire/tubing and sheet metal, this large ferris wheel themed pole topper display was helpful in securing 40–50 case stackings of wine on the floor of major grocery retailers while capturing the essence of the brand—approachable, fun, and good for any occasion. Two-sided, this display could be used as an island or endcap display in any store and created an exciting and fun retail experience for the consumer.

The Nielsen Design Impact Award

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The Nielsen Design Impact Award

Designing with your audience’s mind! (I mean, with your audience in mind).

Dieline Awards

Companies know that market research and brand success go hand-in-hand, and whether that project is for a brand refresh or a product launch the folks at Nielsen understand how agencies like us need this data to quantify and validate our design success. This is the exact necessity to which The Nielsen Design Impact Award took hold last year, and since its launch it has attracted agencies of all sizes to submit their data and packaging designs for the competition.

The Dieline article goes more in-depth in terms of how winners are selected based on several consumer-focused categories, all of which rely heavily on “exploring how people consume content and uncovering what attracts them to make a purchase.”

Affinity has worked with Nielsen on a number of projects, and this year we have the opportunity to submit both our King Estate 25th Anniversary design and our Robert Mondavi Private Selection label into the competition. We will continue to post updates to our blog as the winners are announced!


QFTWG — with Kristin Yeh

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We’re starting something new here at Affinity. It’s a quirky way for you to get to know us a little better and it’s called “Questions from the Wine Goblet”. We choose one team member and ask them to pick three questions at random from a large wine glass and respond to those questions on video. Walking the inaugural plank is our most recent hire, graphic designer Kristin Yeh. (insert applause)