This existence—it is fleeting. We are tasked with the lifelong burden of finding ways to seize the most minuscule of minutes, the most inconsequential seconds—the smallest fractions of time that add up to a tapestry woven of laughter, failure, deceit, forgiveness, awareness, and losing our way just to find it again.
We may just as well have a beer while we do it.
That’s the story that will greet you at any Burial Beer location across North Carolina. Renowned for their intricate, creative brews that each deliver their own distinct taste and experience, Burial has become equally well-regarded as a place to drink great beer—yes—but to do it among even better company. A place to rest weary at the door and sit openly in self-perception, contemplation, and damn near existential conversation.
Brewing up the story life’s best moments.
That’s the spirit that needed to be captured in a succinct positioning + messaging strategy: jovial, but irreverent. Preposterous, but poetic. Wayward, but grounded in passion.
With a strategic approach that branded Burial as the storyteller—the archetype lauded as the living bridge between the conscious and the subconscious—I crafted owned positioning statements, brand language, and a tone of voice that brought the deep humanity of Burial to the forefront.
Paying homage to the brewery’s greatest inspiration, New Orleans’ jazz funerals (a tradition I’m intimately familiar with as a New Orleans resident), Burial Beer’s new positioning was deeply rooted in their connection to community, and their uncanny ability to create space that both nurtures connection and celebrated individuality on all its forms. Best paired with a full-bodied lager steeped in tradition.
The Burial team was able to use this strategy as a foundation for executing website copy, event marketing, email, and all other brand communications.
*Agency: Paper Tiger
Director of Content: Bridget Dougherty
Work
Brand Positioning
Messaging Strategy
Website UX Strategy
Visual Content Strategy
