Comprehensive Branding of a Classic

The distillation of a startup’s brand image and personality.

Manatawny Still Works

Pottstown, PA

The independent craft distillery movement followed wineries and breweries but are no less competitive for customers’ discretionary entertainment dollars. VFC collaborated with local investors to launch a start-up distillery in 2013 and the branding results have yielded sustained success.

VFC named this suburban Philadelphia distillery after exhaustive research and presentation of a comprehensive naming brief that included multiple suitable choices exhibited with speculative creative that help the client make the selection. Manatawny Still Works is named after an 18.2-mile-long tributary of the mighty Schuylkill River that cuts through Philadelphia’s northwestern suburban countryside and has become home to the independent distillery. First named by the Lenape Indians Man’en’tau’wata’wik, Manatawny literally and appropriately means “the place we meet to drink.”

The start-up opportunity afforded VFC the development of the Manatawny Still Works story, personality and image. Custom themes were created and supported to launch the brand, build-out premium packaging solutions and go to market with professional and competitive marketing that included an easy to manage website, point of purchase campaigns and deep sales support. The entire MSW effort was executed extremely economically and quickly.

Elements

Strategic Planning
Naming
Corporate Identity System
Brand Standards
Packaging & POP
Sales & Marketing Collateral
Apparel & Premiums
Website & Ecommerce
Email Blast Campaigns
Signage & Environmental Graphics
Event Promotion
Operational Support
Public Relations & Copywriting
Social Media Management
Social Campaigns

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Craft Distillery Branding, Design and Marketing

Independent, craft spirits must convey a special feeling of quality to the target audience and the product must equal the quality of the creative.

This startup required everything from naming and the development of a meaningful and memorable backstory to consulting on the brand integration and labeling system for the client’s custom designed bottle.

From start-up to entrance into multiple state markets, the Manatawny Still Works effort presented a classic and classy retro sensibility that reverberates into everything from the tasting room decor to off site promotions.

”VFC was instrumental in crafting Manatawny Still Works' brand presence. Through their tireless work, they were able to effectively develop and represent our brand through our initial launch and multiple product releases—capturing our culture and personalities to develop message points across multiple platforms in order to communicate to consumers.
Randy McKinleyVP / Sales & Marketing