Hops & Barley

The Hops and Barley group: Halls Drinks and Beerscellars, are wholesale alcohol and soft-drink suppliers providing a beverage portfolio of beers, wines and spirits to trade outlets across Liverpool, Merseyside, North West England & Wales.

Hops and Barley were trading under a number of different trading names in the digital marketplace, although they have a limited digital footprint and their social media output was not consistent or regular. There was no provision for eCommerce on any of the subsidiary websites and customers were not aware that the subsidiary brands were all part of the parent company.

To rectify this, Castle was asked to completely rebrand the organisation, promoting a one-voice message across all the company’s trading arms.

The first challenge was to establish Hops and Barley as a customer-facing brand in their own right. We created a full rebrand package, including logos, stationery, and sales brochures in both online and printed formats, as sales collateral to support the sales team. We then instigated a targeted email campaign, reintroducing the clients of the subsidiary brands to Hops and Barley and creating a dialogue where they were now fully engaged with the rebranded company.

Castle worked closely with Hops and Barley to gain a full understanding of their business, aims and targeted markets for growth. From this, we were able to create a marketing strategy, with targeted campaigns planned for the 12 months following the brand relaunch. Using targeted e-mail and postal marketing campaigns, we reached out to all current clients, as well as targeting key decision-makers and potential customers within the industry. We also planned and managed a number of PR events and social media campaigns to enhance the profile of the brand and create new networking opportunities.

Castle then created a fully functional but user-friendly eCommerce website, reflecting the new brand identity, to allow trade orders to be placed quickly, with full product descriptions and quantity information, providing a new, distinct revenue stream alongside the traditional phone order system. To enhance the sales process we delivered bespoke brochures, in both online and hard copy formats, to support the sales team, allowing them to upsell and increase their rates of conversion.

After implementing the new branding, and following a number of successful campaigns, Hops and Barley is now a recognised brand in its own right, with a distinct corporate identity. The client bases of the subsidiary companies have been consolidated and the customer base expanded, driving increased sales revenue, with the eCommerce website showing a large uptake and providing a new, fully-optimised revenue stream.