Caboose Branding Guide

Communications Strategy Updated August 11, 2017

BRAND KEYWORDS

Thoughtful. Elevated. Sincere.

FONTS

To increase readability, sans-serif fonts (Blair and Calibri) are preferred for text read on a screen, or headings for physically printed text. Serif fonts are preferred for digitally consumed headings and body copy in printed text. Fonts besides the four listed below should be avoided to increase brand recognition and consistency across platforms. Exceptions can be made for fonts turned into art (ex. pint glass design where text is used as an outline of a figure).

Primary font (logo), used only in lowercase: potama Secondary font (logo), used only in uppercase: Blair (Family) Body font: American Typewriter Tertiary/web font: Calibri

LOGO USAGE RULES 1) When updating the logo, ensure that each new design is saved in both a black and white version as .ai, .eps, .png, .pdf and .jpg versions. Black logos should additionally be duplicated with white backgrounds in a separate folder.

2) Our logos should be either black or white, with few exceptions made.

3) The circles should maintain the same thickness and distance between each other when resized or scaled. Only use the highest quality logo available for the image to avoid distortion.

4) Only the most updated logos should be used, with the appropriate mark added, such as a trademark or registration mark.

The most up-to-date logos are below. Only black logos are displayed as this document has a white background.

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GOOD LOGO USAGE EXAMPLES

Horizontal Caboose logo:

Vertical Caboose logo:

Caboose train tracks:

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BAD LOGO USAGE EXAMPLES

Logo text and train tracks distorted:

Train tracks, circles and text distorted:

Circles distorted:

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BRAND COLORS

#b83535

#ffbd4a

#dd5700

Warm colors, specifically terracotta, golden yellow, and burgundy are perfect for our restaurant. This conveys that we are community-oriented and sophisticated, but not pretentious or standoffish; for this reason, navy is appropriate but other shades of blue and green should be avoided. This color scheme also helps customers stay longer in our actual restaurant, which is especially appropriate as a drinking establishment as people often like to pair food and alcohol.

TRANSPARENCY

We present our messages with an enthusiastic attitude, but are honest and transparent in the information we share. As a restaurant, trustworthiness and transparency are all the more important as people are well aware that what they eat directly impacts they health and wellbeing. People are also cautious to financially support organizations that they feel do not better their lives as well as communities.

We do not attempt to silence negative commenters or followers, barring genuine spam posts/accounts. Rather, we respond and offer our ear as well as represent our brand in a positive light. If possible, we raise concerns to the appropriate party and attempt change if necessary. This especially applies to reviews, where we respond publicly if four stars or below or the review highlights a negative experience. In this case, whether or not Caboose is actually

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at fault does not matter as perception is reality in the world of public relations. When responding to negative comments, we do the following: 1. Apologize, taking responsibility 2. Express sympathy regarding the situation, ensuring customer feels genuinely heard 3. Ensure situation will not re-occur, and if possible, takes steps towards corrective action

ENGAGEMENT

Interaction should be encouraged, as engagement drives customer relationships and loyal customers are not only more likely to make more purchases, but to share this information with others that value their opinion and provide business for months and years to come. Engagement with our stakeholders is the best way to ensure longterm reputation management, despite the traditional one-way “push” model public relations professionals used to employ up until recent years. We should establish that Caboose values the insight of our customers and stakeholders, and use our content (especially content we produce ourselves) as a way to encourage followership, which naturally is exponential with this theory. If our content does not genuinely add value to a customer’s life, we should not post it.

TRADITIONAL MEDIA

People are most motivated to consume information in form of a story. Caboose should be thoroughly engaged with local journalists, who use their storytelling abilities to project the Caboose brand onto a larger, more trusted platform that is also reached by a large audience.

Interactions with the media should pay special attention to the reader value a story we pitch might add, and should respect the ways of life and workplace standards that journalists have.

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Best practices: •

Use our standardized press release template when producing a press release (see appendix).

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The focus of any interaction should be on the individual journalist. Journalists “score” by publishing a story first, or being the first to take an interesting angle on a story. A way to target this need is to read a journalist’s work before considering them as a potential contact, and to make sure that your story would fit their beat. o

The next step is to make sure that they are aware that they are the first person you are contacting. Emails sent in lists or without any personal touch are totally discarded, as public relations practitioners bombard journalist inboxes all day, and this behavior is perceived negatively by journalists.

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Press releases should be kept under two pages, and feature no puffery. While writing the entire story for a journalist takes away the purpose of their work (and they will become more likely to not use your information at all), journalists will also dislike a source from whom they feel information would be better used in a paid advertisement.

Information dissemination: •

Time of day: o The best time of day to send a press release is 8 am on a Monday or Tuesday morning, preferably Tuesday as the journalist has had time to read through weekend emails. News sent later than those times are often considered “old” as the reporter has generally already decided what they are going to write about in that given week and is unlikely to start on a new research project later in the week.

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Press releases should be included in the body of an email rather than as an attachment. Attachments are usually not opened from unknown sources, especially for journalists as they are often at risk for blackmail and hacking due to the nature of their research.

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CABOOSE GENERAL AUDIENCE

Age: People ages 25-64 make up most of our consumer base, as they are legally able to drink, more likely to have established careers and therefore disposable income to spend on both beer and food.

Economic status: Our customers are some of the wealthiest people in the United States, however craft beer drinkers often pride themselves as being down to earth yet sophisticated in their tastes. They greatly enjoy our rustic industrial atmosphere. While they may be very financially well-off, they are often also very socially powerful, as they live in a suburb of the United States capitol, and are frequently private about their work. They are often parents, especially of relatively young children, and enjoy their community-oriented suburban life.

Gender: Men make up the slight majority of craft beer drinkers, so we want to keep our communications gender neutral but not masculine because Northern Virginia has an extremely educated population and educated people are more likely to be perceptive of gender bias in advertising. We want to ensure people know we are socially responsible leaders in the beer industry, including in our advertising, and anything that is perceived as otherwise could also potentially tarnish our reputation.

CABOOSE SOCIAL MEDIA GENERAL MISSION

Above all else, we value consumer engagement, which is more likely to increase brand loyalty and purchases made, as well as improve image compared to simply valuing reach or impressions. All social media posts should serve one of the following purposes, with the general mission of establishing a loyal, positive Caboose brand following and an increase in sales:

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1. Information 2. Entertainment 3. Assistance 4. Analysis

Our content should be 80% informational and 20% promotional overall.

POST CONTENT FREQUENCY BY PLATFORM

If we do not have enough content (like reposts or owned photos) we will maintain our post frequency by disseminating “filler” posts, such as graphics about holidays, Caboose-related phrases (ex. beer), days of the week, months, and similar content types.

Instagram: three posts per day. One post is a repost, one post is a graphic, and one post is a photo.

Facebook: two posts per day.

Twitter: two or more posts per day.

CONTENT MANAGEMENT PLATFORMS

We currently manage our social media using Buffer and Schedugram. The Marketing Team currently has access to these and produces the content for these platforms.

PLATFORM ANALYSIS

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Instagram: Our primary Instagram audience is young people (ages 18 through 44, most frequently 25-34), who are more enticed by the brewery atmosphere and brews themselves than the gourmet food. They have less disposable income than an older group of consumers and are interested in the farm-to-table concept but cannot

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currently afford it, or do not prioritize eating food with their drinks. However, there are more fans from Washington DC on our Instagram than on other platforms, signifying their willingness to travel here and our potential to market ourselves as being near DC. They are likely to appreciate messages about environmental sustainability, conscious purchase making (for example, attending happy hours that benefit nonprofits), innovative/”hipster” updates to our building and patio, and socializing with other young people. o

FIRST COMMENT HASHTAGS: #beer #farmtotable #organic #caboosebrewingco #caboosebrewsnova #vabeer #craftbeer #viennava #craftbeerlove #instabeer #hops #drinklocal #cheers #washingtondc #novabreweries #foodandbrew #foodandbeer #breweryview #vacraftbeer #eatlocal #craftnotcrap #dcbeer #vacraftbeer

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Twitter: Our primary Twitter audience is primarily men (in fact, 72% men) who earn over $150,000 per year and are interested in business/news, politics and beer. They loyally buy from premium brands and prioritize buying fresh foods. They are quite worldly and are our most likely audience to buy food, as well as show significant interest in the development of our Mosaic district location. They are additionally interested in the production of our beer and enjoy Caboose’s “foodie” reputation.

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Facebook: Facebook has slightly female-dominant ratio, and as a result they are also more likely to actually engage with our posts. The fans are almost exclusively from the area, though sadly we cannot see age or income with Facebook’s current analytic capabilities. Judging by their past interactions with our page, they are a more middleaged group, though as our primary social media platform we have fans of all ages. These fans are more likely to express their happiness with our service or brand, and especially appreciate being featured or tagged on this platform. This is a platform best for acknowledging people as they share them immediately with all of their friends.

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WORDING

Tone: Our current tone is sincere and bubbly. As a brewery, especially one that attracts a very educated, left-leaning audience, we can expand to include a dry humor to our posts as people want to visit our establishment to have fun, but still value that we’re a “cut above the rest” and do take ourselves seriously.

Stylistic: •

AP style is the preferred style as it is most respected by the media and signals that we are familiar with how they operate.

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Posts should end with a period or with a question mark. Avoid usage of exclamation points and sentences in mixed letter cases to maintain professional image.

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Maintain an eighth grade reading level. People struggle to comprehend text they read on screens more than on paper, and often are distracted when reading social posts, so we must compensate. o

However, food posts should be descriptive and inviting. People can see food in a picture but can’t smell it, so we compensate for that lost sense with extra descriptive language. While maintaining AP style, food descriptions should match those on the actual menu.

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Break up paragraphs so they are no longer than three sentences each. Posts should be no longer than three paragraphs total, and the first sentence should either be an easily digestible hook or summary so that when the post is shown on a sidebar people will know its general message instantly.

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Use no more than two hashtags per post, and only use hashtags on Twitter. Hashtags on Instagram can be written in the first comment under the post.

Notes on punctuation: •

Use a colon and a space before a link.

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Avoid exclamation points unless necessary.

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Use an ellipsis (three periods, no spaces) to show where something has been omitted (as in a quote that’s been shortened).

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Em dashes can be used to set off various parts of a sentence, and help us appear thoughtful.

Writing about beer: When discussing beer, we go out to tenths with ABV percentages. For example, beers are written as 8.3% ABV and 6.0% ABV, not 8.3% ABV not 6% ABV.

GENERAL SOCIAL CONTENT TYPES

Content types: •

Try to evenly alternate types of media content posted, such as aiming to have 25% text, 25% image, 25% video and 25% link posts. While images and videos are overall the most engaging content types, Facebook will push your posts further down if you only post these content types. Text posts are the most uninteresting but think of them as palette cleansers for your engagement rates, and people are less likely to think of them as advertising-type posts anyway (in short, they are seen as more genuine).

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Shareable, snackable media is the best way to gain followers organically and make people feel engaged with your brand. While the Caboose brand should be featured in these types of posts so the name is associated with each subsequent share, it shouldn’t be so overwhelming that it comes off as an advertising push; rather, these posts should appear genuinely helpful or expressly created for customer entertainment.

Consistency: •

Use the same image styles, fonts and general appearance throughout posts. For example, if a stranger were to look through all of our recent posts compared to another brand, they should be able to distinguish a Caboose post from another brand’s without a logo.

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Campaigns and series-style posts should be used so customers feel a degree of familiarity with social content but are always seeing new items.

POST TIMES

Posts should be timed so they are live just before the most people are on social media. For us, cross-platform even, those times are generally just before 9 am and 9 pm every day. Repeating posts across platforms is fine, as long as they are generally spread out by at least 24-48 hours.

Posts for weekly events should go out the night before each event and the mornings of, though exceptions are made. Our current schedule is:

Sunday night: Trails and Ales on Facebook Monday morning: Trails and Ales on Twitter, Instagram Monday night: Burger Night on Facebook (share event made on Facebook) Tuesday morning: Burger Night on Twitter, Instagram Tuesday afternoon: Yoga on Twitter, Instagram Tuesday night: Yoga on Facebook Wednesday morning: DARTT on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram

Facebook: Facebook posts should be made 1-4 times a day. Ideally, one post at 8:30 am and one post at 3:30 pm is ideal. Afternoon posts are better for photos of and references to beer and socializing, as people are more interested in these things during this time of day, whereas in the morning posts about food are preferred as people have not eaten yet.

Twitter: Twitter posts (ideally) should be made 8-12 times a day. Currently, the best times are 12:15 pm and 8 pm. Given Twitter’s busy, short and timeline-oriented nature, it is

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perfectly acceptable to repost the same content, and put less effort into creative wording because people do not tend to more than glance at tweets.

Instagram: Instagram should have roughly two posts per day, and timing is less important because Instagram now organizes posts in viewer feeds by how many views, clicks and likes they receive. However, times that have gotten the most engagement for us historically have been 9 am and 8:30 pm.

INCREASING FACEBOOK FOLLOWERS

Once every few days, we go into Facebook business manager and click on who has liked posts.

From there, we click the invite button for all people who don’t already like our page.

RULES ON REPOSTS

Reposts are a fantastic way to increase engagement and demonstrate to customers that we value their loyalty and patronage. However, we have rules surrounding reposts that we must follow.

1. Ask in a comment or direct message if it is okay to repost a user’s photo. Most people love to be reposted, but some don’t.

2. Never repost any image without giving credit in as many forms as possible. For Instagram, we tag the poster in the image itself, as well as tag their username in the comment with the camera emoji and a colon before it or by writing out “repost.”

3. We can only use public images that customers intended for us to see by tagging our location, by tagging us in the photos themselves, or by tagging us in their caption.

Ideally, the more of these the better.

4. We can only repost photos to market the Caboose brand rather than specific items or businesses we partner with. For example, we cannot repost someone else’s image and create a caption encouraging them to come to Caboose using our Lyft code, because they may disagree with Lyft’s corporate philosophy. Another example is not posting an

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image of someone drinking our beer and writing a caption that encourages them to try a specific dish we have, because they may be vegetarian/vegan.

5. Only repost images that feature our current menu/beer selection. Some of our food changes weekly and we don’t want to advertise anything that isn’t available for purchase even if someone took a great photo.

6. Ensure that the people in the reposts are 21+ years of age if it appears they are in the possession of alcohol, even if they were not. Sometimes angles can create the illusion that beer sitting on a table in front of a different person’s plate is actually next to the other person in the picture.

7. Do not post unflattering photos or poke fun at any customers in captions.

8. People often caption their dog or baby photos with jokes that their dog/baby was drinking beer too. Use your best judgment to ensure that their captions truly come across as well-understood jokes if you choose to reuse them, as it is unacceptable to suggest that dogs or minors should be given alcohol.

9. Avoid posting pictures where children are easily identifiable or the photo may be embarrassing to a child later in life. Do not post pictures where children look unhappy and always ask the parents if it is okay to repost their photo of their child, even if their captions seem to suggest they want to be reposted.

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SOCIAL MEDIA EXAMPLES

Click link to expand and view posts.

FACEBOOK

This post is an example of a good informational post.

The photo is an action shot and it is clearly identifiable that some sort of planning is happening.

This is a good example of a video post, as video is the most engaging content type on Facebook. The video features many Caboose highlights, and displays Caboose very much as a community space to gather.

This is demonstrated through footage of Trails & Ales, customers and their pets gathering on the porch, and friends laughing. Staff looking friendly is also featured, as are events such as festivals.

Many people arrive by means of W&OD Caboose’s rustic industrial atmosphere is very prominent.

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This post is short, sweet, and funny, and while this saying could have been used as a graphic, text posts need to be thrown in on Facebook occasionally to shake up the algorithm. This post still has decent engagement, and is easily shareable.

This is a great example of how reposts can boost engagement, even on Facebook. Note how the people in the photo tagged their friends in excitement over being featured.

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This post truly highlights the importance of two-way communication. Caboose acknowledges the problem at hand, as perception is reality and people will hold a party accountable for a problem no matter if it is their fault if that’s how it is perceived. Caboose also blasted the problem for all to see, rather than attempt to save face, because it was discussed in a way that gave Caboose control and inspired perceptions of goodwill, true listening, and innovation. Caboose also responded to all of the comments in a way that acknowledged their feedback without becoming accusatory or defensive.

This is another example of how to address the parking situation. This post in particular offers corrective action, which is the correct apologia tactic here.

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INSTAGRAM

This is a good example of a repost.

People spend time and effort crafting their content and generally love to see it displayed towards a larger audience, especially a larger audience that is relevant. Dogs are also an extremely engaging subject to feature.

This is a good example of a Caboose-created graphic. While it took some time to create, the effort paid off in terms of increased engagement and people asking for And So It Gose because of its presence cross-platform.

This is an example of a photo taken of our beer that extra Caboose branding was added to in form of a logo. This post is engaging because it’s not only creative, but also because the rainbow of beer is visually pleasing.

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TWITTER

This is a useful informational post, but it’s still exciting to customers and fans. Discussing the opening of the second location ensures that Caboose is perceived as forward-thinking and highquality enough to warrant such attention and expansion.

This is an engaging text post. The call-to-action is clear: fans are supposed to click the link and attend Trails & Ales. Discussing events creates the perception that Caboose is a communityoriented space to gather and that people enjoy doing just that.

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EMAIL

Customers say that email is their favorite way that a brand can reach them, and a study by ExactTarget revealed that for every $1 spent on email marketing, a business gained nearly $44 in return. Email requires a high attention to copywriting detail, and an even more two-way relationship focus. Push marketing is unappreciated and email is the platform to use to cultivate a sense of appreciation for customers and to treat their inbox like their homes; we want to be extra delicate.

Content types: Photos and personally written letters/memos are appreciated, as well as general updates. This platform requires a more PR-type thinking frame than straight advertising. For example, we would follow more of an information and entertainment model, so the subscribers would believe our emails add value to their day. A lot of people who subscribe to these lists would be regular customers or people very local to the restaurant, whereas social media might draw some people who are interested in us but can’t make it to us all of the time. Therefore, email subscribers are very likely to make actual purchases.

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We could post updates about new merchandise, specials and any discounts, without the added “stop by” or “purchase this” type of language for this platform.

RESPONDING TO COMMENTS

As part of our engagement goals, we need to respond to comments and show our social media

fans that we value their input and the time they spent to give it to us. Like reviews, comments should be responded to within 24 hours, acknowledging the content of the comment and offering a thoughtful response.

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PHOTOGRAPHY

As a restaurant and brewery, photographs are a primary way we display what we have to offer, and they offer great engagement opportunities. In accordance with our brand, we want to display carefully crafted images that are thoughtful, elevated above the rest, and sincere.

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Close-ups of food, shot with a macro lens, demonstrate transparency and the focus on ingredients match our farm-to-table philosophy, expressing thoughtfulness.

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Restaurant should appear vibrant in and clean, and empty restaurant should only be shown as artistic effect or to highlight event space. o

Avoid showing the kitchen, blue glass bins, or stacked chairs in the backgrounds of photos so we appear to be open and in the middle of service. §

It’s acceptable and encouraged to appear to our social media fans that they are having a behind-the-scenes experience, but don’t show the nitty gritty unless it’s to make a point (ex. brewers brewing or chef making something).

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People that are featured need to sign our photograph usage consent form if their photos are forwarded to traditional media (see appendix).

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Food photographed and shared should be food that is currently on the menu and available for purchase.

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Food that appears raw, minced or otherwise incomplete should be displayed sparingly.

Specifically, food with small grains or dots/beads may trigger a negative reaction in some people, especially when displayed from up close.

VISUAL THEORY

Visual content produced for Caboose must reflect our brand words: thoughtful, elevated and sincere. We have an added goal of mimicking our rustic industrial atmosphere in graphics we produce ourselves, hence our heavy usage of the American Typewriter font.

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Best practices: •

If using our brand colors is not possible, use colors within the same color scheme or colors that are complementary to our colors.

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Avoid usage of reverse type.

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The most effective imagery is shaped in a Z, meaning the eye follows the leftmost tip of the Z through the bottom-right, where the most memorable content is placed. In most cases, this should be our logo.

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Circle shapes found in photographs or graphics are often preferable as it is reminiscent of our logo.

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With the idea that all of our content should be shareable, our brand should be present and recognizable in shareable imagery. If a logo is not present, a small sign that says Caboose or a menu with our train tracks on it in the background is acceptable in a photograph.

NEWSLETTERS

We currently produce a monthly newsletter, to be sent the first week of every month. This newsletter reaches several thousand Caboose customers, and its main purposes are as follows: A) To disseminate information surrounding Caboose updates and news B) To entice customers into visiting Caboose C) To further brand development and increase brand recognition

Content included: 1. Updates and news, especially regarding closure dates 2. Special events 3. Weekly community events: Trails and Ales, Yoga, DARTT 4. Upcoming festivals 5. Recent media mentions and links 6. Lyft codes and other parking updates 7. Employee spotlight

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8. New food and beer, including food nights such as Burger Nights

Content should be visually pleasing, organized, and hyperlinks should be used as often as possible (in images, text, and descriptions).

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APPENDIX

• Press release template • Photo release form

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Courtney Beazell, Marketing Manager 520 Mill Street NE, Vienna VA 22180 703-865-8580

info@caboosebrewing.com

Month date, year

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ALL CAPS TITLE ABOUT STORY Subtitle in sentence case capitalization

Vienna, Va. (Month date, year) — Write sentence in 35 words or less summarizing the who, what, where, why and how of your story in present tense.

Expand your story here by writing the most pertinent details, ensuring that this paragraph is no more than a few sentences and that the content is interesting to a potential reader. While this press release is written in Caboose’s own “house” style, make sure that you use AP style throughout for actual text.

The second body paragraph goes here. Like the first body paragraph, make sure this paragraph is left-justified without indenting the first sentence. Add more details to this paragraph, and as you write make them more and more specific.

“Insert meaningful quote here,” Caboose co-owner Matt Greer says.

This is paragraph is great for offering context. Make sure you are mentioning Caboose throughout the press release without becoming obnoxious. However, you can say for example Caboose Brewing Company partners with local farmers to source all food, self-differentiating

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from other brewing companies by its commitment to environmental sustainability. Caboose currently has one location in Vienna, Va., which opened in 2015.

This final paragraph should be one or two sentences max, and offer either follow-up details or contact information. For example, in an article about an event Caboose hosted, you can point the readers to the private events page of our website and recommend they visit it if they are interested in learning about how they can host their own event at Caboose. ### About Caboose Brewing Co. Caboose Brewing Company combines love and craftsmanship to produce fresh, authentic and locally sourced craft beer and culinary offerings. With a focus to sustainable sourcing, partnerships with local farmers and producers are a cornerstone of the Caboose menu. Its first location opened in Vienna, Va. in 2015, and a Mosaic location in Fairfax, Va., is currently in the works. For more information about Caboose, please visit www.caboosebrewing.com.

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Caboose Brewing Company 520 Mill St NE Vienna, VA 22180

caboose photo release form I hereby grant permission to the rights of my image, likeness and sound of my voice as recorded by photograph, audio or video. I understand that my image may be edited, copied, exhibited, published or distributed and waive the right to inspect or approve the finished product wherein my likeness appears. Additionally, I waive any right to royalties or other compensation arising or related to the use of my image or recording. By signing this form, I am also confirming that if I pose with alcoholic beverages that I am 21 years of age or older.

Photographic, audio or video recordings may be used for the following purposes: • Social media • Advertising efforts, including printed marketing material • Caboose Brewing Company website By signing this release, I understand this permission signifies that photographic or video recordings of me may be electronically displayed via the Internet or in a public setting. I will be consulted about the use of the photographs or video recording for any purpose other than those listed above. There is no time limit on the validity of this release nor is there any geographic limitation on where these materials may be distributed.

This release applies to photographic, audio or video recordings collected as part of the sessions listed on this document only. By signing this form I acknowledge that I have completely read and fully understand the above release and agree to be bound thereby. I hereby release any and all claims against any person or organization utilizing this material for educational purposes.

Full Name___________________________________________________ Street Address/P.O. Box________________________________________ City ________________________________________________________ Prov/Postal Code/Zip Code______________________________________ Phone _________________________ Email _______________________________________ Signature____________________________

Date____________________________

If this release is obtained from a presenter under the age of 18, then the signature of that presenter’s parent or legal guardian is also required.

Parent’s Signature_____________________ Date____________________________ Caboose employee signoff: ________________________________________________________

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