What is 7 Rivers?
7 Rivers Brewing Co. was just an idea months before 3rd September 2020. This is what we did know though – it was the giants in alco-beverage (AB InBev) and the market of hospitality (IHCL – Taj Group of Hotels) joining forces to launch a brewpub (first of many). Not just any brewpub, but one that was rooted in the local, had an authentic story to tell, and differentiated itself from the rest with expertise in both food and beverage.
While you would find many brewing companies, 7 Rivers is a Community; and this is our story.
The Challenge
While 7 Rivers Brewing Co. had already made its foray into the craft beer industry in late 2019 through their two retail offerings – Veere and Maccha, the brand in March 2020 found itself in the crux of an evolution. 7 Rivers was all ready to expand its adventure in the craft market via microbreweries. While the retail wing already had a presence on social media, it was imperative for us to develop a philosophy and distinguish ourselves from the existing narrative of the local that existed.
Our client partners were certain about one thing – we didn’t want to be another animal of the craft zoos (really look it up- monkeys, rhinos, owls, lions) that occupied the market space today.
Speaking of, there was another gigantic elephant in the room: COVID-19 going on 20.
We had also found ourselves in a rather peculiar situation: we were to become the first brewpub in Bengaluru to open up in a time where we were living with a pandemic amidst us – we were planning for an all-inclusive community in times of extreme uncertainty.
(which worked out for us in the future when we launched because the community finally had a way to enjoy the 7 Rivers experience at the brewpub while safe and sound)
Co-creating a Philosophy
It was always going to be about the people.
While every other brewpub or a bar had its loyalists, we identified that there was this one thing that bound people together and kept bringing them back to that one place – and that was a community.
Deep-diving and researching into what some of the best brewers in the country were up to – helped us identify the core tenets of community building:
- one that fosters pride in ownership,
- the passion in affiliation and
- the familiarity in being belonging
Helping us craft a philosophy that would make 7 Rivers stand out among the clutter; not JUST a brewing company, but instead, the curator of a 7 Rivers brewing community. Membership to a community automatically makes you its local. You don’t need to know the slang, the food, the tastes, or even your way around the city – you certainly don’t have to be a native to be a local at 7 Rivers! Our community is inclusive, welcoming, warm.
Our community is #BrewedInTheLocal
Building in this angle was integral to the 7 Rivers story for our client partner, who was certain that 7 Rivers stood for one thing strongly – authenticity. It was going to be a brewpub for folks who are uninhibited and spirited – who are unafraid to experiment and follow their hearts and go after exactly what they want. And what better way than root this journey in the very local?
Objectives
- To build a strong IP for 7 Rivers Brewpub on social
- Thoroughly COVID proof our launch strategy
- Stay true to the local story
The Cornerstones of Our Social Content Strategy
- Storytelling: multiple stakeholder collaborations to curate key content always backed by a compelling story for all social content pegs
- Identifying key heroes: allocating prime real-estate to beer, its makers, and the ones that who run the show as the first members of the 7 Rivers community
- Authenticity: the visuals, the language, the process are as close to real as it can be, and there’s always a takeaway
A Launch in the Time of COVID-19
With multiple stakeholder teams all working together, but remotely, we were tasked with developing a dynamic launch strategy – one that was malleable and adaptable to a socio-political climate that was changing by the week. Which was a true test of how dependable the philosophy that we had cracked was – would community be a sustainable concept?
6 months in, multiple unlockdowns later we finally launched our Instagram handle on:
3rd September 2020.
A testament to the fact that we had cracked the insight, the concept, and our overarching thought so thoroughly that it had indeed stood the many tests of stress that it was put through in all its shapes and forms over the many months.
The Digital Launch Journey
STEP 1: WELCOME TO 7 RIVERS
What you see before you is a product of months of deliberation, planning, replanning, strategizing and re-strategizing which finally boiled down to 7 Rivers the brewpub. This is the heart of the 7 Rivers – that sets the whole place into motion – where the brewing happens, the magic happens.
STEP 2: WHO ARE WE?
Establishing our ethos – loud and clear.
STEP 3: INTRODUCING THE MAKERS OF THE HEROES
Our heroes, actually the makers of the Heroes: the brewers, the ones who are at the core of bringing this community together.
STEP 4: THERE’S ALWAYS A TAKE AWAY
Our philosophy of it all being about the community isn’t just about engaging, but also educating. The craft brewing community is one of passion. We leveraged this insight as an opportunity to educate our community about the actual brewing process that gives them that sweet sweet taste (technically kinda bitter) of our beers on tap. All while retaining our visual language of artistic and aesthetic.
Offline Community Assets
Our team handled the entire end-to-end influencer management, while also conceptualizing and creating the influencer kits that were specifically curated for the launch – a bunch of offline asset creation involved the making of the growler box designs, the neck tags, and even safety masks (cause isn’t that the need of the hour)!
The Community at the Brewpub and on Social:
A staggered launch that opened its doors to the friends of the brewing community first, spilling over to the food and beverage influencers of the city and ultimately opening up to the public. We covered the event in real-time to ensure the ones that were watching from home and couldn’t make it – successfully COVID-proofing the launch event.
Oktoberfest: The Perfect Kind Of Spillover
Maybe the delayed launch wasn’t the worst thing to happen after all! After all, it gave us the perfect opportunity to club a series of launch events that spilled over to the biggest beer festival of the year: Oktoberfest
We launched a digital Oktoberfest on our Instagram handle – by recreating an online festival for our followers. The strategy for launching an online Oktoberfest involved closing the loop from online to offline via a 15 grid, a gorgeous illustration of the 7 Rivers Oktoberfest!
Mechanism of the Grid:
You swipe to enjoy the digital recreation of a festival (yet another strategy to COVID proof our activities). The grid basically, had it all.
- History of Oktoberfest
- Glimpse into the 7 Rivers Oktoberfest
- Festival Games and Activities
- Specials of the Fest (Food and Beverage)
The idea was simple – if you could make it to 7 Rivers, you were in for a treat. If you couldn’t, you could always from the comfort of your home – enjoy a digital Oktoberfest – ensuring that one way or the other you could enjoy the festival.
Conclusion
There was a challenge, no doubt. However, when in doubt, a community always, ALWAYS comes together. That’s just what we did, #CreatedASchbang like we always do.
Check it all out @7RiversBrewing on Instagram and Facebook, and follow the pages to see more cool stuff we have planned and in motion!
So, welcome to 7 Rivers. Cheers!
