High-Proof Creative

Over four years ago, we launched Women in Distilling as a platform for women and non-binary people in the industry to connect.

What came of that was a map with now over 250 woman-led distilleries and products. More importantly, we saw a need for the stories of BIPOC, LGBTQIA+ and Veterans to be told.

Through our editorial style features and our map, we've been connecting marginalized folks in the industry for many years. Check it out at distillingwomen.com

Behind every great branding agency are furry friends!

Here’s to our furry friends:
1. Jo, our founder’s pup
2. Rexigon, our content strategist, Clare Sivits’ kitty
3. Arwen, designer Olivia Toiber’s kitty
4. Gus, designer CJ’s pup
5. Jasmine, CJ’s cats
6, 7 and 8, CJ’s horses, Vesper, Luna and Mira

Hooray! We got our ® – we’ve been trademarked and registered!

If you’re getting ready to launch something, get that sucker registered as soon as you can (like before you launch unlike us 🙃 )! If you’re not sure where to start, we know a thing or two about it. Book a consultation with us at the link in our bio.

How do you win at Google? A good SEO strategy will help your brand show up on the first page of search results and get more people to your site – to discover your spirits. It’s a tricky formula that involves working popular searches into your content and building your website to answer your customers’ most common questions.

We’ve built powerful SEO strategies for several of our clients, helping them drive more traffic from Google and other search engines. If you’re looking for an expert, hit us up! https://meetings.hubspot.com/highproofcreative

Like treasure maps? You can create your very own and share it with your consumers. But this map will lead them to a real treasure: your spirits!

Our award-winning Small-Batch Maps app allows you to easily add all your retailers and locations to a single map that customers can find on your website any time of day. Learn more: https://beveragemaps.com/

A small mistake is all it takes to make those labels you designed and printed completely worthless. Rather than throw all that time and money you spent right into the trash, make sure you’re collaborating with your printer to get all those details ironed out!

We shared a few tips on what questions to ask your printer with our friends at MEDiAHEAD. https://mymediahead.com/insight-from-high-proof-creative-questions-to-ask-before-printing-your-labels/

We’re on a mission to cover the globe with Distilling Women – or at least map them! Help us find the woman-run, woman-owned and woman-operated distilleries worldwide.
Know of an amazing woman-led distillery? Tell us about it at the link in our bio.

For all of our friends in the Carolinas, we want you to stock up on delicious gin from woman-run and woman-led distilleries in your own states. We found 7 – and you can check them all out.

Great Wagon Road Distilling Co. NoDa, Liberty and Plenty Distillery, Twelve 33 Distillery, Durham Distillery featuring Conniption Gins, Beyond Distilling Company, Striped Pig Distillery and Rotten Little Bastard Distillery are all woman-operated and crafting tasty gin so you should check them out.

https://www.distillingwomen.com/blog/7-woman-run-gin-distilleries-in-the-carolinas

The world of alcohol marketing is an intricate and complicated one! But we’ve got some experience navigating all the weird twists and turns.

In fact, our founder Karen Locke walked Digital HQ through it all on a recent episode of The Social Complex podcast. Go to the link in our bio to listen in!

In Kari Vodka, “unloved” potatoes become an impressive and distinctive spirit. Kudos to Virunga Mountain Spirits for crafting this beverage from locally sourced ingredients – grown in Rwanda. W

e had the pleasure of designing the bottle and logo for Kari Vodka and it’s so exciting to see it arrive into the world!

Back in the day, As Seen on TV™ was the golden stamp of approval for consumers.

In 2024, an effective PR plan needs to include traditional media placement (even local television!) in additional to influencer content coordination.

To get in front of your customers, you need a PR plan that helps create trust. We’ve gotten coverage for our clients in Wine & Spirits Magazine, Wine Enthusiast, The Manual, InsideHook, BevNET.com, CRAFT SPIRITS magazine and so many others.

Let us help you work with the media and influencers to gain modern day street cred.

Every single month, we’re sharing our best alcohol branding and marketing tips directly with our email subscribers! In our next newsletter, we’ll delve into the TTB labeling process, social media laws for spirits brands and more. 📨

Subscribe at the link in our bio and you’ll find us in your inbox very soon!

Everyone knows psychics don’t use crystal balls! 🔮While you could rely on an expert to predict when sales will increase or customers will walk through your door, we prefer a local SEO strategy.

Local SEO means:
🔮Building your website to emphasize your location
🔮Managing locally focused platforms to surface your business
🔮Considering keywords your neighbors search for

We can’t look into the future, but we can look into the past and give you a free SEO analysis. Set up an SEO “reading” today. https://meetings.hubspot.com/highproofcreative

It’s more than just a mixer. It’s a cocktail booster and a better alternative – one that tastes like the Pacific NW in a can!

We collaborated with Dappled Tonic to design this can – a package that looks at home next to a fancy cocktail or just in your hand. It’s a thrill to see it out in the world!

76% of social media users purchased something they saw on their feed. That’s why investing in paid social media advertising can help you sell more product.

We’ve seen the power of these ads ourselves! In our case study with Bull in China , we drove 350 add-to-cart actions in a single month with just Facebook ads.

Let us help you invest in the right blend of social media advertising and organic content to sell more of your products. Click the link in our bio to set up a consultation.

Nothing better than a vodka cocktail poolside in this heat! But skip that mass-made jumbo bottle at the liquor store and find something locally crafted and made by women.

Women in Distilling mapped out 10 woman-owned vodka distilleries in the midwest. Tour them all to taste the incredible products they’re producing. Kennay Farms Distilling, Boot Hill Distillery, Ethanology Distillation, Journeyman Distillery, Norseman Distillery, Skaalvenn Distillery, Vikre Distillery, Pinckney Bend Distillery, R/Farm Distillery and Restless Spirits Distilling all have what we're looking for.

Explore them all: https://www.distillingwomen.com/blog/woman-owned-vodka-distillers-midwest

Our favorite part of this job is working with talented people – like New Dawn Distilling founder Dawn O’Neal, PhD.

On Juneteenth, Dawn launched her six-year New York Bourbon Whiskey and we’re supporting the release with our product marketing services. Honestly, it’s an easy job with such an amazing product, distilled in collaboration with Alton Distillery.

Releasing a new product? We can help! Book an appointment so we can get started. https://meetings.hubspot.com/highproofcreative

Nothing better than a vodka cocktail poolside in this heat! But skip that mass-made jumbo bottle at the liquor store and find something locally crafted and made by women.

Women in Distilling mapped out 10 woman-owned vodka distilleries in the Midwest. Tour them all to taste the incredible products they’re producing. Try vodkas from Kennay Farms Distilling, Boot Hill Distillery, Ethanology Distillation, Journeyman Distillery, Norseman Distillery, Skaalvenn Distillery, Vikre Distillery, Pinckney Bend Distillery, R/Farm Distillery & Restless Spirits Distilling.

Read more: https://www.distillingwomen.com/blog/woman-owned-vodka-distillers-midwest

Sure, you’ve got Facebook and Instagram and you’re already engaging with customers there. It might seem tedious to have to build out a whole website for the brand too.

But it’s important to have a destination that you are in full control of when it comes to introducing your customers to your spirits.

A few ways to use your website:
📍 Share the story behind your brand and each of your products.
📍 Publish cocktail recipes and beverage inspiration.
📍 Answer common questions with an FAQs page.

If you need help building out a website for your brand, book a consultation with us. We can help! https://meetings.hubspot.com/highproofcreative

Over the moon to see our label design for As Above, So Below Distillery take home double gold from Barleycorn Awards. We worked in collaboration with one of their team members, Lindsay Payton.

That metallic hue perfectly complements the branding you see on the bottle too. We can’t stop staring!

The thrill of winning an award is next level! When we’ve accepted medals or statues for the work we’ve done, it’s been so humbling but also a cause for celebration.

Once all the confetti lands, it’s time to figure out what to do with that shiny new award. You might tell the press, plaster it across your website or maybe put it on your packaging.

If you need more advice on what to do with that award, read our blog post on the topic: https://highproofcreative.com/award-winning-marketing/

When you need a full-service alcohol marketing agency, High-Proof Creative has everything you need.

As a woman-owned and woman-led agency, we bring a perspective you don’t find elsewhere along with more than a decade of experience in the industry. We’re an agency with an edge that will set your brand apart from all of your competitors.

Tap the link in our bio to read more about why you should entrust us with your alcohol marketing needs. https://highproofcreative.com/what-sets-high-proof-creative-apart-from-other-marketing-agencies/

Working with an experienced and talented photographer is the best way to get product photos that fully represent your brand and your spirits.

To get the most out of a partnership with your chosen photographer, here are a few tips ahead of your photo shoot.
📸 Share examples of photography you love
📸 Give them a brand guide or guidelines
📸 Discuss the budget around props
📸 Ask about usage rights (e.g. can you use these photos in print?)

Our founder recently discussed working with photographers on an American Distilling Institute webinar. She has some experience in the area.

What product are you launching next? Whatever it is, you need a marketing plan that gets it in front of your target consumers. It should include social media, design, photography, sell sheets and messaging. Our talented team builds marketing plans for successful product launches.

If you need a hand crafting a plan that takes your product to market, we can help! Book a consultation with us now: https://meetings.hubspot.com/highproofcreative

As if working with John Lee Ho**er’s family wasn’t enough of a thrill, we also earned platinum from ASCOT Awards for the bottles we designed!

We’re so proud of the work that we did in collaboration with John Lee Ho**er Legacy Spirits and excited to see it on the shelf.

What turns someone into a gin fan? Distilling gin! That’s what worked for Rachel Hall of Lighthouse Gin who made history as the first female head distiller in New Zealand.

Read the Distilling Women interview at the link in our bio.

📸: Foley Family Wines

Every time we design a label, we get excited to collaborate with talented distillers, create a look for a fine beverage and deliver a package we’re proud of. When we earn an ASCOT Awards Double Platinum, it just takes the whole experience to the next level!

Big thanks to Wild Revival for entrusting us with their canned cocktails. We can’t wait to work with them again!