When do beer labels need a facelift? (Beer Thoughts) - Sales Class

I was reading one of my beer books the other day, Beer Quest West by John C. Stott, and came across a picture of a brewer that I know standing in front of the logo of the brewery he worked at. I thought to myself “Hey that brewery’s logo has changed since that picture was taken.”  Then I got to thinking, “I wonder how many breweries have changed their logos over the years?”  After some online searching I was actually surprised as to how often Budweiser has changed their logo over the years. Say what you like about their beer but their label has grown and shifted to fit the times. Check it out here.

Sure big breweries have the money and capital to be able to change their look every decade or so but what about craft breweries? I thought about which BC breweries that have changed their logos (& subsequently labels & packaging). Here are the ones that I can recall off the top of my head (and yes, I realize that I likely missed a few) from BC:

• Howe Sound Brewing Company (Squamish)
• Lighthouse Brewing Company (Victoria)
• Fernie Brewing Company (Fernie)
• Tin Whistle Brewing (Penticton)
• Tree Brewing Company (Kelowna) [Only a slight logo change)
• Mission Springs Brewing Company (Mission)
• Old Yale Brewing (Chilliwack)

The evolution of Howe Sound Brewing's Logo. I've seen a picture of the top logo as part of a sign. I confess that I've never been there so I can't say if it's in front of the brewery. The pictures I got from an image search. 

Then I realized that some Alberta breweries have made some visual changes as well such as:

• Big Rock Brewing (Calgary)
• Wild Rose Brewery (Calgary) [Not their logo but their packaging has changed)
• Jasper Brewing Company (Jasper)

Wild Rose Brewery has undergone a packaging change but no logo change. How come? 

So what prompted these changes? Were sales dropping off? Were customer surveys conducted and beer drinkers said “You’re label is lame! Change it or I’m not buying your beer anymore!”

For Howe Sound Brewing (a personal favorite of mine), I know they have been open since 1989. That means they have had three different logo iterations in 25 years. So should a brewery be changing their label every 10 years in order to stay “hip”?  I like Howe Sound’s recent logo change but I’m not sure I’m sold on their bottle labels (that would be a different blog post).  Does the logo influence people how they purchase product? I would say it does, otherwise why undergo the change? I noticed that Howe Sound, Fernie, Jasper Brewing & Tin Whistle all had more “old fashioned” style fonts in their logo and later switched to a more contemporary look.

Other musings and questions I have:

• What other factors would cause a logo or packaging change? Management or ownership change? I know that Old Yale Brewing in Chilliwack changed hands in 2014 and now they have a different packaging and logo look – coincidence?
• Change in packaging suppliers? Maybe a graphic design company gave a better deal on a new logo or packaging look compared to the old supplier. Maybe getting an order of certain boxes for bottles or cans cost more with the current suppliers and the brewery has gone with a different supplier that is cheaper, hence the new logo.
• Wouldn't a brewery have to change all their merchandise if they altered their logo? Think of all the t-shirts, stationary, glassware, and other items that would need to be changed. Do breweries wait until a given merchandise stock level is low before doing so? I’m curious as to what the financial setbacks are for this sort of change (business card reprints, repainting the company car, new storefront signage, the list goes on). Would the brewery not have to resubmit their logo to various beerfests and the like that showcase their logo? Is such an arduous task? 
• What about digital & online presence? I noticed Lighthouse brewery has a different logo on their Twitter feed. Obviously changing all the social media stuff is easy but an old fashioned use of a search engine can’t eliminate pictures people have taken of the old logo. Would having old logos or the like still online make a difference? (Not that such can really be done about it) Sure I may be grasping at straws here. 
• How much does a logo change alter brand identity? I know that I’ve run into challenges when suggesting beers to people that there can be differences in packaging. I also encounter scenarios when someone asks me if I’ve had “Such-and-such” beer. They can't remember the name but describe the label to me. If the logo and label have changed, you can imagine how frustrating (or I guess entertaining) this can be. 

• I know that Wild Rose Brewery expanded their production so much that they moved to another facility. Did they change the packaging before they move? After? Would expanding into a new facility precipitate a change? 

At the end of the day, it's about what is in the bottle, not so much what is on it. Some of you may be gasping (particularly those affiliated with sales, marketing, graphic design and the like) at how can speak such blasphemies. One of my favorite breweries is Brouwerij De Molen in the Netherlands. Their beers are fantastic and their labels are super simple (there graphic design office must be a sweat shop [Don't trip on the sarcasm there])

I would love to visit De Molen and tell the guys and gals there how much their labels rock. Seriously! 

I may revisit this topic later but more from a packaging perspective (We'll see). What do you, the reader, think of all this? Am I way off base? Am I missing something? Is it a trend? Please comment below (be nice)

Regardless, thanks for reading.

BL