LONEWOLF GIN

THE CHALLENGE

No other spirits category has grown like gin in recent years. With the market saturated and competition fierce, BrewDog needed a brand identity for their flagship spirit that would lead, not follow. 

Looking to cut through in a market centred around delicate floral expressions, BrewDog wanted to break away with an identity that brought LoneWolf’s juniper-forward bite to life.

OUR RESPONSE

We hit the brief head on. As a symbol of wisdom, strength and guile the world over, the wolf was always going to be the star. Our approach was to commission an illustrator who could twin the true character of the beast with the contents of the bottle.

We worked with California-based illustrator BIOWORKZ to bring LoneWolf to life. His intricate style complemented the gin’s craft and character perfectly. Bristling with texture and depth, the hyper-detailed label artwork speaks to BrewDog’s uncompromising approach to distilling.

A growing pack

The relaunch of LoneWolf was soon followed by several line extensions, with many more in the works. We made sure the wolf’s head emblem could be adapted for different colourways without losing any of its impact, resulting in distinctive yet familiar identities for the Cloudy Lemon and Gunpowder variants. The original wolf makes a striking appearance on the RTD LoneWolf and tonic. 

The result

Alive and impactful, the LoneWolf bottle delivers up close and at distance, helping it grab attention on-shelf and on the back bar.

The rebrand drove a huge confidence increase among major retailers. Compared to just two listings before the relaunch, LoneWolf was stocked by Waitrose, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Asda, Morrisons, Co-op and Wholefoods. Tesco, who had previously delisted LoneWolf, cited “brand transformation” as the main reason for relisting the brand. In the 24 weeks after launch, total ROI increased 4.5x on a like-for-like basis.

MERCH

Merch requests were an early indication that the rebrand had been successful. The LoneWolf look can now be seen across a range of T-shirts, hoodies, stickers, badges and posters for those who love gin with bite.