Agency:
Method1
Client
Evan Willams Bourbon / Heaven Hill
Team Members
CD: David Muldoon
ACD: Jess Bennett
AD: Romik Mita
Evan Williams Bourbon launched a multi-year partnership with Learfield, a media and technology company tied to over 1,200 collegiate programs. The collaboration positioned Evan Williams as one of the first bourbon brands to partner with major athletic programs, including Florida, Syracuse, TCU, Ohio State, and Alabama.
Our goal was to introduce Evan Williams into the college sports arena with creative that felt bold, timeless, and true to the brand’s heritage.
The main challenge was developing a cohesive visual style that worked across both print and digital. Because the print files were large, we had to source high-resolution stock imagery that looked sharp in full-size prints and small digital banners. The bottle visuals were CGI, which added another layer of complexity and limited our background options, especially for the basketball creative.
My Role
Working with the Evan Williams team at Method1, I collaborated with the art director, ACD/head of copy, and partners from Heaven Hill and Learfield to create campaign assets for football and basketball seasons.
Deliverables
Print case cards, social media graphics, website visuals, email newsletters, digital ads, and video end cards—all designed to capture the energy of college sports while honoring Evan Williams’ craftsmanship.
1x1 social Football
The final creative direction was determined after internal review and feedback from both the EW Team and Learfield. We eliminated the helmet options because achieving accurate visual representation across all respective teams proved challenging. Instead, we selected the football asset for better consistency. We also proactively dismissed the lighter version on the right side of the image to ensure maximum clarity and prevent any visual clash with text overlays and brand logos.
Presented here are examples illustrating the visual execution of the social media content, highlighting the successful application of the master lockup alongside the individual team branding.
We produced a full animated banner set designed for deployment across multiple output channels. Although the production involved developing assets for two teams concurrently, this example showcases the final execution for one team, highlighting the scale and consistency of the deliverables.
This visual represents the final case card asset, which is strategically displayed on cases of Evan Williams bottles at the point of purchase to influence consumer decisions.
We designed and produced a series of newsletters in the Evan Williams style, strategically utilizing the new assets we created. This approach was essential for maintaining high brand recognition and ensuring visual coherence across all communications.
e created a specialized video end card to cap off existing video content. This new visual asset was developed to serve as a high-impact promotional tool for announcing and supporting the new partnership.
Applying key learnings from the football campaign, we developed a similar set of assets for basketball. This presented a unique design challenge: carefully balancing the background, copy, and basketball elements to ensure the imagery remained clear and instantly recognizable as basketball content across all required output sizes and placements.
We developed a series of social assets designed to track team performance and announce results throughout the season. This included creating feed posts and complementary Stories (in a similar design style) to highlight the winner of matchups and share related team announcements, ensuring consistent engagement as the season progressed.
This visual represents the final case card asset, which is strategically displayed on cases of Evan Williams bottles at the point of purchase to influence consumer decisions.
We designed and produced a series of newsletters in the Evan Williams style, strategically utilizing the new assets we created. This approach was essential for maintaining high brand recognition and ensuring visual coherence across all communications.
To generate audience interaction, we developed a cocktail bracket challenge. This was deployed through strategic social media posts and Stories featuring a voting mechanism, resulting in a community-chosen winner. The full campaign was integrated onto the website, establishing a clear path for fans to engage with the brand.