Australian breweries and their marketers and designers have once again tasted success at the Craft Beer Marketing Awards (CBMA) that recognise the creative side of the global brewing industry.
Announced at the Craft Brewers Conference in Nashville, Tennessee, entrants from Australia won a total of 17 CBMA awards – or “Crushies” – which was the second largest return of any country behind the US. All winning entries can be viewed here.
Global Crushies are rated as the CBMA’s most coveted award as they symbolise being the best entrant globally, and are followed by the regionally awarded Platinum and Gold Crushies respectively.
Global Crushies went to:
Wayward Brewing Best Can Design/Best Beer Series, Best Packaging Design/For Cans and Best Merchandise Design/Most Creative Line – all three for their Adventure series. For their W Seltzer sub-brand, Wayward Brewing Co also won a Platinum Crushie in the Best Can or Bottle Design/Hard Seltzer (all sizes) category.
Blackflag Brewing Best Can Design/237 – 444ml for their Affinity Pale Ale and Best Original Video/Series for their Astro Punk XPA campaign with production by Z.Cumberbatch Productions.
Clint Weaver AKA Pocketbeagles Best Can Design/Best Beer Series for CoConspirators Brewing‘s Usual Suspects series (pictured).
Sobah/The Good Beer Co Best Can Design/Collaboration (all sizes) for their Tropical Lager Coral’ation in collaboration with ArtDisrupt and Coral Sea Foundation. Sobah and The Good Beer Co also won Platinum Crushies for the same beer in the Best Can Design/ Non-Alcoholic Craft Beverage (all sizes) category and the Bigger Than Beer: Cause-Related Beer Project or Campaign (Non-Breweries) category.
Triple-1-Three/Otherside Brewing Best Live Entertainment Stage or Setting.
After three wins last year, Brick Lane Brewing won five Platinum and one Gold Crushies. They won Platinums for: their Trilogy of Fear Imperial Stout series (Best Can Design/Best Beer Series); their Loud & Proud campaign in partnership with Endeavour Drinks (Bigger Than Beer: Cause-Related Beer Project or Campaign – Breweries); Hi-Fi Dry Zero Carb Japanese Lager (Best Can Design/237 – 444ml); One Love Pale Ale (Best Brand Identity/Best All Around Marketing Story); and the Sage It Ain’t So candle (Best Merchandise Design/Sustainable or Innovative). Their Gold came care of their Sidewinder sub-brand’s non-alc XPA Fruits (Best Can Design/Non-Alcoholic Craft Beverage).
CBMA co-founder Jim McCune said: “We were so impressed by the sheer creativity, innovation and calibre of marketing displayed in entries from around the world in every category. More than 600 industry professional judges from around the world had their work cut out for them this year”.
This year the CBMA also started the Show Us Your Favorite Tattoo charity fundraiser category which raised US $6,000 to benefit the Michael J Jackson Foundation that funds scholarships for black, indigenous and people of colour within the brewing and distilling trades. The winning tattoo was entered by Chris Jacobs from Beer Zombies Brewing Company in Las Vegas and was drawn by tattoo artist Aaron Jackman from Ghost Tattoo.