The Opportunity:
The Buntin Group asked KDM to help them convey the story of their client, American Born Moonshine (ABM). Born and raised in Tennessee, the new spirits beverage launch needed to convey a rough and rustic, grassroots American heritage. Thus, the campaign theme: “The smooth side of a rough history”. Everything about their moonshine, including the packaging, is made in America. The launch required the cumulative efforts of all the divisions within KDM; POP Printing, KDM Retail, Merchandising and Branding, bringing it all together, on time and on budget.
The Solution:
KDM P.O.P. Solutions Group was able to provide our client an ease of doing business with more custom POP solutions from one provider.
Our KDM Branding division was charged with selecting and securing American Born Moonshine branded promotional products for the ABM sales team. Kits included branded flasks, bottle openers, Mason jars, mini shot glass jars, USBs, wrist bands, and stadium cups – American made, of course.
Our KDM Retail division worked in tandem with our Screen and Digital Printing facilities to engineer and manufacture multiple custom elements of the campaign to include: wooden crates, shed fixtures, merchandise displays and POP signage.
250 custom POP merchandise displays (pictured right) consisted of a great deal of detail to achieve the desired look. The 26”x60”signage panels, made of galvanized, corrugated steel that KDM treated with muriatic acid to give it a rustic patina, then water cut the holes to accommodate the shelves. The shelves are constructed of rough sawn lumber and sprayed with a black dye for a flat, worn look. The lettering on the front of the shelving is hand stenciled in white paint. And, lastly, the 4-color graphic was digitally printed on a clear vinyl and hand applied with heat in order to adhere to the uneven corrugated surface. The end product has storage area in the back for re-stocking product. Each of these displays took approximately 2 hrs to construct and involved a lot of prototyping up front.
25 wood crates (pictured left) were custom made to hold jars of product, as well as 35 smaller versions to support sales kit items.
9 custom “sheds” were made to display product and function as a kiosk for in-store tastings. The sheds were constructed of cedar posts that were hand tooled to look worn. Banners were digitally printed on canvas and hung on both sides of the shed. Corrugated steel graphic panels completed the look; made in the same fashion as the POP displays.
125 each of both an ABM logo sign and a Tennessee state shaped sign were hand routed out of wood. The graphics on all these wood elements were screenprinted at KDM headquarters due to the texture. After all the wood elements were completed, KDM’s craftspeople used actual mud to hand stain them, giving them a worn, rustic appeal. (Talk about a dirty job.)
Lastly, 250 corrugated metal ABM logo signs, 20”x12”, were made using the same technique as the displays.
The Result:
KDM was able to execute everything our client had imagined to bring their vision for the brand to life. “KDM has a lot of resources under one umbrella. We had difficult time frames and a tight budget. KDM had my back and kept calm and cool, said Nancy Gullette, Sr. Print Production Manager, The Buntin Group. The Buntin Group went on to win a prestigious “Overall Best Of Show” creative award at the 2014 Nashville American Advertising Awards for American Born Moonshine. There are tentative plans to roll out the moonshine into 14 states in the near future.