DR. DIESEL

DS1 branding has developed an identity for new DR. DIESEL beers

The design is based on conciseness, premium quality and geometricity that meet the values of the target audience.

The Russian division of the HEINEKEN brewing company turned to DS1 branding for updating the visual identity of the Dr. Diesel brand. The agency was tasked with developing a design for 3 SKUs: classic lager, lime-flavored lager and non-alcoholic beer.

HEINEKEN is a Dutch brewing company dating back to 1864. Today HEINEKEN is the number one brewing company in Europe, and worldwide ranks third in terms of its sales.

HEINEKEN has been operating on the Russian market since 2002 and at the moment there are more than 30 international, national and regional brands in the portfolio of the Russian division of the company. One of them is the Dr. Diesel brand, whose history dates back to the 1990s, when it belonged to the PIT brewing company.

For more than 20 years of its existence, the Dr. Diesel brand has experienced several global updates. Initially, the brand had the positioning of brutal men’s beer. The product itself was stronger than the classic beer, which corresponded to the positioning and, in general, to the trend of the 1990s for high-strength beer. And the core of the brand’s target audience were rockers and bikers.

After the brand was bought out by HEINEKEN in the 2000s, major changes took place. First of all, the product itself has changed: a light lager has replaced the strong beer, which is losing its former popularity. In this format, the brand has existed for quite a long time.

In 2020, the brand was relaunched in the fruit beer category – a new line of three unusual flavors appeared. The brand has become more vibrant and youthful.

And 2 years later, in 2022, the HEINEKEN team decided to add a drink with a more classic taste – premium light lager – to the audience’s favorite fruit beer. Another sub-task was the need to take the place of Miller beer on the shelf, which left the Russian market in February of the same year. This required a new positioning of Dr. Diesel and the corresponding identity.

TASK

The task of DS1 branding was to develop the visual identity of 3 new SKUs: classic light lager, lime-flavored lager and non-alcoholic beer. It was necessary to develop a design that would help distinguish Dr. Diesel from competitors, was close to the target audience and looked premium.

DECISION

The strategic department of DS1 branding conducted market analysis and audit of the current brand. Given the nature of the new SKUs, it became obvious that the target audience of the new Dr. Diesel is young people who are active, open to new things, follow trends, and therefore want to feel style in what they touch.

Based on this, the DS1 branding team put forward several hypotheses about the future visual identity. First of all, it became obvious that the packaging should not be flashy. Its design, on the contrary, should be concise, imaginative and democratically premium.

To preserve this minimalistic premium, the DS1 branding design department suggested using no more than three colors for each SKU. To emphasize the product segment, it was decided to use the gold color characteristic of it, but to do it carefully and without bombast. Shades specific to the specifics of each SKU were used as additional colors.

The trend urban geometricism was chosen as the main pattern. Such a pattern is not typical for the competitive environment of the brand, and therefore attracts the attention and arouses the interest of the target audience. It looks stylish and minimalistic at the same time, thus responding to the emotional needs of the target audience.

RESULT

At the moment, the updated Dr. Diesel beer has already hit the shelves in stores.