Cotton Club Cocktails

THE BRIEF

The innovative and vibrant flavours and character of each of these new single-serve cocktails meant each packaging SKU rightly deserved its own strong identity, while still being part of an overall ‘club’ – a facet of this brief we embraced with both hands.

Backbar was tasked with building the masterbrand story and then creating a cohesive yet strong individual story for each SKU, allowing the ever-growing range to live confidently as a collection or as individual products. The high ABV and beautiful flavours also needed celebrating with personality and premium cues.

From branding and packaging design to art direction, line extensions and print production, Backbar has partnered with The Cotton Club team to build the brand and its cohort of fun and complex characters.

A bullseye target audience of Millennials and Gen Z seeking quality, experience, convenience and fun was key in driving a solution that feels desirable and crafted, fashionable and seamless. It feels fun, easy and inspiring, with great ‘table talkability’ at parties or for gifting.

THE APPROACH

Drawing on references from Art Deco aesthetics and surrealist art, we created a masterbrand that nods to the core brand story while still having a modern, premium feel.

Illustrative storytelling elevates the entire idea into a bold and modern solution – inspired by heritage but wholly fresh and arresting on shelf. This surrealism is balanced by a strong, consistent design system that creates a sense of collection.

A perfect balance of the wild and the mild, some might say.

THE RESULT

The dynamic can designs, simple yet cohesive structures and fashionable colour theory have resulted in an evocative and tempting ‘pick-me-up’ retail collection.

The result allows us to hero each unique release and flavour profile as they emerge, with personality and punch, while still remaining true to the overall club.

A very strong solution has led naturally into comms and social platforms that cut through the norm and evoke an instant reaction.