Seymourpowell reinvigorates iconic global beer brand Miller Genuine Draft with identity and packaging refresh

Strategic design and innovation agency Seymourpowell can reveal the details of its global rebrand for the Molson Coors beer brand, Miller Genuine Draft, which sees the beer company unveil a revitalised identity and a more premium offering for one of the United States’ most popular beers. The new livery is launching across 50 global markets, featuring a redesign across both its primary bottles and cans, plus its secondary and tertiary packaging, refreshing its appeal to a younger market whilst maintaining its identity as one of America’s most famous heritage beer brands.

Seymourpowell drew upon Miller Genuine Draft’s rich heritage as inspiration for the new brand image, seeking to combine this with a sense of enhanced premium quality, positioning Miller Genuine Draft as the ideal easy drinking beer and bringing more consistency to its global presence. 

The Seymourpowell team began by amplifying key assets that best reflect the company’s image as a premium brewer, simplifying the eagle crest and enlarging it to present a more iconic and confident presence for the brand. The increased dominance of the parent brand, Miller Brewing Company, on the neck label further enhances the brand’s authentic brewing credentials. To further raise the premium feel across the new look, “4 x filtered for exceptional smoothness” has been added to the packaging to reinforce the beer’s quality assurance.

Allison Spence, Creative Director at Seymourpowell, comments, “Our strategy was to simplify and amplify by identifying which visual assets were relevant and which we could lose. It was key to take a purposely sympathetic approach to the refinement and crafting of the intrinsic brand assets, recognising that these are core to the brand’s authenticity and would resonate most with our target audience.”

Miller Genuine Draft’s provenance has been reasserted through the introduction of founder Frederick Miller’s signature to both primary and secondary packaging, assuring the consumer of the brand’s quality and consistency. A rich black background was introduced to all secondary packaging with gold accents to encourage the premium interpretation of the Miller Genuine Draft brand, while maximising impact and differentiation in the easy drinking category. 

Angelique Kuiper, Director Global Miller Brands, comments, “Creating one global premium design for the Miller Genuine Draft brand presented many challenges.  Seymourpowell unpicked the strategic complexity and delivered a fantastic design across the brand’s product portfolio.  From insightful strategy to brilliant creative through to production expertise to launch it globally, Seymourpowell surpassed expectations. They are true partners that we fully trust and they are a pleasure to work with.”

Source: Seymourpowell

  Allison Spence, Angelique Kuiper, Beer, Design, Molson Coors, Seymourpowell, Visual Identity