Little Creatures’ Furphy Refreshing Ale brand by braincells takes hold in Victoria

After a few short months on tap in Geelong, Furphy Refreshing Ale has now launched in pack and continues impressive growth in the Victorian market. It is a unique beer made by the Lion-owned Little Creatures Brewery in Geelong.

Perth agency braincells and the Lion development team worked closely on the brand positioning strategy, brand engagement strategy at the Geelong Brewery and the launch into the Geelong community. The visual identity for the new brand was developed by braincells, Little Creatures’ marketing partner since its inception in 2000.

braincells Managing Partner, Jeff Champtaloup, said the brand identity developed pays tribute to Furphy’s Victorian essence.

“The coat of arms including use of the ‘V’ icon, malt and hopps illustrations honour Furphy’s 100% Victorian ingredients. Designed for maximum tap and shelf presence, the Furphy brand mark powerfully positions Furphy Refreshing Ale as gateway beer in the Little Creatures craft brand portfolio. We also worked with the Furphy development team and the Owens Illinois glass company to produce a unique bottle with excellent in-hand feel.  braincells have a long and successful history with the Little Creatures brand and this new work is testament to our intrinsic understanding of the beer market and exemplifies the skills of our Design Director, Steve Boros.”   

Furphy takes its name and pays tribute to the Furphy family of Shepparton, Victoria who for over a century have produced water tanks. During World War I, Furphy water carts delivered fresh water supplies to Australian Army personnel. Marked with their trademark ‘J. Furphy & Sons’, the tanks became popular gathering points where soldiers exchanged stories, gossip and rumours – much like today’s water cooler conversations.

Troops who gathered around the water carts would swap stories, in a similar way that today, some may swap stories over a beer, except that many of which would become exaggerated along the way and eventually had no basis in fact. These embellished or improbable stories became known as a furphy. The relationship between the two Furphy’s goes beyond just a name, with J. Furphy & Sons supplying the beer tanks at the Little Creatures Brewery used to brew Furphy, the beer.

“The extent that the Geelong community has embraced Furphy on tap has surpassed our expectations,” said Little Creatures Brand Manager, Ash Cranston. “While its early days, the launch of Furphy in pack is mirroring the success of the tap journey to date. Our team at the brewery and our partners at braincells have done a fantastic job to create Furphy Refreshing Ale and we are very excited about being part of a new beer for the people of Geelong and Victoria.”