Podcast
All killer, no filler ~30 minute conversations between CODO Design Co-founders, Isaac Arthur and Cody Fague, on the art and science of building compelling brewery and Bev Alc brands.
Recurring themes include brand strategy and positioning, brand architecture, behavioral economics, portfolio management, creative process management and the occasional dad joke.
118 – Building the Small Beer brand (feat. Mason Robinson of Small Beer)
Isaac sits down with Mason Robinson to discuss how he's building the Small Beer brand.
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117 – How to Revive a Legacy Beer Brand (+8.2%) feat. Rob Day of Wachusett Brewing
Cody and Isaac sit down with Rob Day, VP or Marketing at Barrel One Collective to discuss how Wachus…
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116 – A conversation with Firestone Walker
Isaac sits down with Firestone Walker's CMO, Dustin Hinz, to discuss how Firestone Walker has built…
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115 – The surprising power of nostalgia in beer branding
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss the surprising power of nostalgia in beer branding.
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114 – Rethinking Hard Tea: How Big Ditch Brewing built Jest, a brand with a clear point of view
Cody and Isaac sit down with Matt Kahn from Big Ditch Brewing (Buffalo, NY) to discuss how we collab…
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113 – The Half & Half opportunity
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss the Half & Half opportunity they see in craft beer right now.
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112 – The case for — and against — hyper provenance
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss the case(s) for — and against — hyper provenance-based positionin…
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111 – Welcome to Function 2.0
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss what they're calling Function 2.0.
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110 – The rise — and risk — of light flagship extensions
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss the rise — and risk — of light flagship extensions.
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109 – The hidden risk of launching an NA brand
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss the hidden risk of launching your next NA brand.
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108 – The evolving role of beer style names in brand positioning
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss the evolving role of beer style names in brand positioning.
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107 – Small Beer, big opportunity?
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss why they believe mid-strength beers are an exciting potential gro…
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106 – CODO’s 2026 Beer Branding Trends Overview
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss CODO's 2026 Beer Branding Trends report.
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105 – How CODO Rebranded Countermeasures
Cody and Isaac sit down with Austin Sawyer to discuss why Countermeasures is one of the most importa…
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104 – What to do when your brewery’s brand name doesn’t travel
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss a few ways you can get around esoteric brand names.
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103 – Rebranding one of Ontario’s largest breweries (feat. Natasha and Hannah of Cowbell Brewing)
Cody and Isaac sit down with Natasha and Hannah of Cowbell Brewing to unpack their recent rebrand —…
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102 – Sub Brand Use Cases for your Brewery
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss the different ways we're seeing breweries use Sub Brands to scale…
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101 – Q&A: Rebrand for new markets? Templates vs. custom art? Keep (or fire) your OG designer? Plus, tangents!
Cody and Isaac sit down to answer audience questions from their recent brewers conference presentati…
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100 – Repositioning your parent brand (for better or worse)
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss the (many) downsides and (few) upsides to inadvertently repositio…
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099 – Bump Williams Consulting on beer pricing tiers, ABV math and how to navigate the new Bev Alc landscape
Isaac sits down with Dave and Bump Williams from Bump Williams Consulting to discuss shifting beer p…
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098 – How we Refreshed MAP Brewing’s Brand (feat. Loy & PK from MAP)
Cody and Isaac sit down with Loy & PK from MAP Brewing to discuss their recent brand refresh. Why no…
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097 – Acquired: Working Through Real Branding Challenges from the Front Lines of Brewery M&A
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss real-world challenges (and common problems) we've seen on the fro…
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096 – Acquired: So You Bought a Brewery. Now What?
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss what goes into integrating a new brewery acquisition after the de…
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095 – Introducing – Acquired: Your branding playbook for craft beer M&A
Cody and Isaac sit down to introduce the new Beer Branding Trends Newsletter summer series, Acquired…
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094 – How to de-risk your brewery’s rebrand
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss several ways you can de-risk your brewery's rebrand ahead of the…
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093 – Are fancifully named beers Sub Brands?
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss a few questions from our CBC seminar on Brand Architecture, inclu…
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092 – Branding Comma, a mindful Cannabis beer (feat. Kevin Waltermire)
Cody and Isaac sit down to interview Kevin Waltermire of Comma Brewing about his new cannabis NA bee…
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091 – Brand Architecture for newer, and smaller, breweries
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss how newer breweries can use Brand Architecture to shape their por…
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090 – Can you Line Extend to a different style?
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss whether or not a brewery can (or should) Line Extend to a differe…
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089 – 2025 BBT Review Q&A
Cody and Isaac sit down to field audience-submitted questions from this year's annual Beer Branding…
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088 – How Legacy Breweries can sell more beer
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss the unique headwinds facing Regional and Legacy Breweries (and ho…
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087 – Should your brewery launch a cannabis beverage?
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss when it could (or could not) make sense for your brewery to launc…
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086 – How soon should your brewery jump on a trend?
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss how early (or late) your brewery should consider jumping on a tre…
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085 – How to future proof your flagships
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss how your brewery can future proof your flagships.
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084 – CODO’s 2025 Beer Branding Trends Report Overview
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss CODO Design's 2025 Beer Branding Trend Review.
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083 – How we rebranded Wachusett Brewing (Feat. Rob Day)
Cody and Isaac sit down with Rob Day to discuss how CODO rebranded the Massachusetts legacy brand, W…
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082 – How to Dial In Your Packaging Hierarchy
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss how to organize and prioritize different info types on your brewe…
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081 – How CODO refreshed Malibu’s Packaging (feat. Ryan and Jill Ahrens)
Cody and Isaac sit down with Jill and Ryan Ahrens to discuss Malibu Brewing's recent package refresh…
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080 – Refreshing one of Virginia’s largest brewery brands (feat. Michael from Alewerks)
Cody and Isaac sit down with Michael Claar to discuss Alewerks Brewing Co.'s recent brand and packag…
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079 – Endorsed Brand vs. a New Standalone Brand
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss when it makes sense to launch an Endorsed Brand vs. an entirely n…
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078 – Why brand your taproom brewery?
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss why branding is important for a taproom-focused brewery, even if…
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077 – How to Tame Rotation Nation
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss how a brewery that releases hundreds of new beers each year can b…
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076 – A Designer & A Lawyer Walk into a Brewery (Intellectual Property feat. Matthew McLaughlin)
Isaac sits down with Matthew McLaughlin to discuss all thing brewery Intellectual Property.
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075 – How CODO helped AleSmith Brewing launch a Hard Cider brand (feat. AleSmith)
Isaac sits down with Brandon Richards and Kristen Ballinger of AleSmith Brewing to discuss their new…
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074 – How to Successfully Refresh Your Brewery’s Packaging
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss a handful of best practices CODO has learned after handling sever…
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073 – Package Refreshes vs. Brand Refreshes (vs. Rebrands)
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss the key differences between package refreshes, brand refreshes an…
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072 – Introducing: The Package Refresh Series
Cody and Isaac sit down to introduce CODO's new summer BBT newsletter series: The Package Refresh Se…
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071 – Make Your Brand Strategy Actionable
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss Brand Essences and how they help to make your Brand Strategy acti…
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070 – What we got wrong in the Beyond Beer Handbook
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss what they've learned about Brand Architecture in the two years si…
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069 – When to Jettison Your Brand Equity
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss when it can make sense to jettison your visual & Brand Equity.
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068 – CODO’s 2024 CBC Recap
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss their experience at the 2024 Craft Brewers Conference.
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067 – 2024 Branding Trends Report Q&A
Cody and Isaac sit down to field subscriber-submitted questions on our 2024 Beer Branding Trends rev…
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066 – The Year of Craft Lager? (The Year of Craft Lager!)
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss craft lager and how your brewery can nail this positioning challe…
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065 – A Quick & Dirty Guide Co-branding
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss Co-branding in craft beer, and why this is such a fun strategy ri…
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064 – Rebranding NoDa Brewing (feat. Jacob Virgil)
Cody and Isaac sit down with Jacob Virgil to discuss their recent rebranding project with NoDa Brewi…
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063 – The Regional Brewery Playbook
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss what they're seeing in their Regional Brewery branding work.
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062 – Defining Your Brand Equity: Fast & Slow Podcast
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss how to actually frame your visual and Brand Equity
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061 – 2024 Beer Branding Trends Report Overview
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss CODO's 2024 Beer Branding Trends review.
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060 – Let’s talk Hard Cider
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss all things Hard Cider.
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059 – How We Built the ‘Cold Drinking Beer’ Brand (feat. Virginia Beer Co.)
Cody and Isaac sit down with The Virginia Beer Co. to discuss their recent collab: Cold Drinking Bee…
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058 – Can you rebrand in-house? Plus, what do we think about the BA’s independent seal
Cody and Isaac sit down to field our latest round of listener-submitted questions.
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057 – All Rebrands Should Lead to Growth
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss qualitative and quantitive reasons for rebranding a brewery, and…
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056 – In Defense of the Branded House
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss the merits of a Branded House Brand and why this could be an impo…
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055 – Rebrands vs. Brand Refreshes, Revisited
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss the nuances between a rebrand and a brand refresh (and why your i…
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054 – Year End Action Items
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss action items to set yourself up for a strong 2024.
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053 – What is a Legacy Brewery?
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss Legacy Breweries: What are they and what unique challenges do the…
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052 – Embracing the Staggered Rebrand Launch
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss why the way we help our clients launch their rebrands has shifted…
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051 – How to Design Better Merch
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss how to design better merch and merch programs and make millions o…
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050 – Designer Q&A!
Cody and Isaac sit down to field questions from in-house designers, freelancers and marketing pros f…
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How to Future Proof Your Brand
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss timeless brands. What makes a brand timeless and what lessons can…
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Managing the In-House / External Agency Dynamic
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss best practices for getting the most out of your in-house team and…
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Best Practices for Remote Work with a Branding Firm
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss best practices for remote work with a branding agency that might…
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046 – How to Scale the Sub Brand Ladder (Sub Brand Summer Ep. 03)
Cody and Isaac sit down to introduce their "Sub Brand Ladder" framework. Are you interested in build…
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045 – Sub Brands vs. Endorsed Brands (Sub Brand Summer Ep. 02)
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss the subtle (but important) differences between Sub Brands and End…
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044 – Why Are Sub Brands So Hot Right Now? (Sub Brand Summer Ep. 01)
Cody and Isaac sit down to introduce CODO's Sub Brand Summer Series and answer the question: "Why ar…
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When to Refresh Your Packaging
When (and why) should a brewery consider a package refresh?
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042 – Refreshing Fernson’s Packaging (feat. Fernson Brewing)
Cody and Isaac sit down with Fernson Brewing to discuss their shiny new package refresh.
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041 – What are Modular Identity Systems?
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss Modular Identity Systems.
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040 – 2023 Beer Branding Trends Q&A
Cody and Isaac sit down to field community-submitted questions on CODO's 2023 Beer Branding Trends r…
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039 – Alcohol & Minors: What is our Responsibility as Designers?
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss an important, looming issue in the Bev Alc world. (Won't someone…
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038 – Paths to Market for Startup Breweries in 2023
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss what we're seeing in our brewery in planning and startup branding…
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037 – 2023 Beer Branding Trends Report Overview
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss CODO's 2023 Beer Branding Trends Review.
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036 – How do you differentiate a “boring” brewery?
Cody and Isaac sit down to field some Q&A, including how to brand and position a seemingly "boring"…
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035 – What Are Brand Guidelines?
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss brand guidelines. What are they, why are they valuable and why do…
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034 – Q&A: Are Brand Archetypes Complete Bullshit? And How is Craft Beer Adapting to a More Diverse Audience?
Cody and Isaac sit down for some Q&A on the topic of audience definition within the beer and beverag…
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033 – Rebranding one of New Zealand’s Largest Breweries (feat. Damon from Good George Brewing)
Cody sits down to discuss the CODO's recent rebrand for Good George Brewing out of New Zealand.
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032 – Let’s Talk About Project Timelines
Cody and Isaac sit down for a frank, somewhat productive(?) conversation on project timelines.
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031 – Naming & Branding a Brewery (Feat. Andy & Rocco from Birdsmouth Beer)
Cody sits down with the team at Birdsmouth Beer Co. to discuss what went into naming and branding th…
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030 – Hop Water: The Next Big Beyond Beer Trend?
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss the Hop Water category, and why they believe it could be a big tr…
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029 – Ontario Craft Brewers Conference AAR
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss their recent trip to speak at the Ontario Craft Brewers Conferenc…
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028 – Were We Wrong About Brand Launches?
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss the importance of a perfect (re)brand rollout in a post-pandemic…
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027 – Q&A: Branding a Boot Strapped Brewery, Book Recommendations & How to Tell a Client Their Idea is Bad
Cody and Isaac sit down to field Beer Branding Trends Newsletter subscriber-submitted questions.
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026 – So You Bought a Brewery. To Rebrand or Not To Rebrand?
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss some options for how to handle a brewery's brand post acquisition…
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025 – Beyond Beer Handbook Q&A!
Cody and Isaac sit down for some Q&A on Brand Architecture and The Beyond Beer Handbook.
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024 – 14 Questions to Ask As You Launch A New Beyond Beer Brand (the B.E.A.T.)
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss the Beverage Extension Assessment Tool (B.E.A.T.).
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023 – 4 Essential Strategies for Branding Your Next Beyond Beer Beverage
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss the Beverage Brand Architecture Continuum.
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022 – The Role of the Parent Brand in Brand Architecture
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss the role of the parent brand in Brand Architecture.
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021 – Introducing The Beyond Beer Handbook!
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss CODO’s new book, The Beyond Beer Handbook.
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020 – Rebranding an Iconic San Diego Brewery (feat. Dan from Mission Brewing)
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss CODO’s recent rebranding project with Mission Brewing + a convers…
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019 – Reflecting on 13 Years of Craft Beer Branding
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss CODO's 13th anniversary, and how the beer industry has evolved al…
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How to Name a Craft Brewery
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss what makes for a great brewery name and how to actually find one.
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Defining Your Brewery’s Mission and Vision
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss the differences between a brewery’s Mission and Vision, why this…
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Defining Your Brewery’s Audience
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss audience segmentation, customer personas, and why you don’t see m…
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2022 Beer Branding Trends Q&A
Cody and Isaac sit down to answer ten hard hitting questions from subscribers on this year's Beer Br…
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2022 Beer Branding Trends Overview
Cody and Isaac sit down and discuss everything covered in this year's Beer Branding Trends review.
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Goal Setting During a Brewery Rebrand
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss the common goals we see breweries set at the start of their rebra…
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How to be a Great Client (and Give Great Feedback)
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss how you can be the best client your design firm has ever had.
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What Does a Branding Project Kickoff Look Like?
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss what a branding project kickoff looks like. Plus, art direction h…
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How to Hire a Design Firm for your Branding Project
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss how your brewery should vet and hire a design firm for your rebra…
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How to Find the Perfect Branding Firm for your Brewery’s Rebrand
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss the different types of creative partners a brewery can hire to ha…
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How to Launch Your Brewery’s Rebrand
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss the finer points of announcing your brewery’s rebrand.
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A Formal Introduction to CODO Design
Cody and Isaac sit down to introduce themselves and CODO Design… 7 episodes in?
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Defining your Brewery’s Brand Personality, Voice and Essence
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss Brand Essences—what they are and what role it plays in the brandi…
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Organizing Your Internal Team Ahead of a Rebrand
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss the various people and stakeholders groups you’ll need to organiz…
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How to Position Your Brewery
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss how to position a craft brewery.
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Defining Your Core Brand Values
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss the various types of brand values a brewery can have (Core, Pay-t…
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Brewery Rebrand vs. Refresh (Evolution vs. Revolution)
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss the subtle differences between a brand refresh and a craft brewer…
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When (and When Not) to Rebrand Your Brewery
Cody and Isaac sit down to discuss when (and when not) to rebrand a brewery.
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2021 Craft Beer Branding Trends AMA
Fielding community submitted questions on CODO’s 2021 Craft Beer Branding Trends article.
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