Leading Welsh brewer S A Brain unveils its new look this week at the Great British Beer Festival in London’s Earls Court exhibition centre, crafted by brand design specialists Blue Marlin. The essence of the new look is the Welsh dragon’s tail.Brains embarked on a major rebrand of its cask ales portfolio as part of a wider plan to grow sales and market share throughout the UK a year ago, after identifying that brand design would become an even more important factor in its future success. Blue Marlin’s brief was to evolve its brands, modernise the look, and create a unique design; with the aim of engaging with new consumers and appealing to a wider demographic.

Brains sales and marketing director Richard Davies explains, “Cask ale is growing its share of the total beer market and the development of our range of cask beers is a key element of our growth strategy going forward, both within Wales and across the UK. Our previous cask design had been in market since 2002 so, with more interest and competition in the category, we felt the time was right to modernise.”

Chris Hart, creative director of Blue Marlin Bath says, “We looked at Brains’ heritage and what Welshness means today. The Welsh dragon is really important so we wanted to find a modern, contemporary way of representing it that is stylish, adaptable and ownable. What we came up with is a massive step away from the usual cask ale territory that reawakens the legend of Brains.”

The new look, which makes its debut on pump clips and will also be rolled out through the off trade later this year, is a simplified and distinctive design, featuring clear product descriptors and a unique dragon’s tail, which becomes a design device Brains can own as much as Nike owns its swoosh.

Blue Marlin global business development director, Simon Jones said, “Cask ale is now seen as the discerning choice in the drinks market, as people appreciate its provenance and heritage. It is becoming more popular with the 18-25s age category and so Brains wanted to ensure that its image remains contemporary. It is an exciting time to be working with one of the best independent brewers in the UK.”

The rebrand will be supported by national advertising in the Daily Telegraph throughout the Rugby World Cup in September.