A. Guy Studio Asked to Speak at Darden School of Business-UVA Wine Beer & Spirits Symposium

Recently, Allan Guy was contacted by Jennifer Drapisch, of the University of Virginia's Darden School of Business, to speak on the creative challenges of packaging and branding for the beer, wines and spirits markets. This request, initiated by the Virginia Wine Board Marketing Office, was gladly accepted.

His talk was to be given as a part of Darden's first annual Wine, Beer and Spirits MBA Conference. The conference included a round table with such participants as Folio, international wine marketer for Mondavi Wines, Brown-Forman International and Anheuser Busch.

As the only artist and designer specializing in the development of premium goods speaking at this symposium, Allan Guy discussed the development of visual brand worlds for companies large and small.

His talk included a case study contrasting two very different spirits brands he developed: Bacardi Limon, the largest selling new product of the decade and George Washington Rye and Colonial Rum Spirits. Bacardi Limon is important for it's role in revovating the entire Bacardi brand world while George Washington Rye Whiskey comes from the small, influential Mount Vernon Distillery, which has a specialized audience and therefore unique communication needs.

Creative solutions used for these projects were explored, providing practical explanations of how to successfully create a visual presence on shelf, how to create in relation to the marketplace and how to develop an expandable brand world that anticipates future marketing changes.

The challenges of creating a new "wine world" was discussed, using Potomac Point Vineyard & Winery as an example. This successful winery, branded by A. Guy Studio, was a totally new business and therefore had no visual identity. The value of various branding elements, such adaptable logotypes, packaging, signage and an easily identifiable "RBU," (a proprietary, stand alone brand icon) was discussed.

Kudos to Jennifer Drapisch, the primary event organizer, as well as Annette Boyd and Amy Ciaramentaro of the Virginia Wine Board Marketing Office for their help and hospitality.