Creative agency launches its own beer

A East Midlands creative agency has launched its own beer as part of a marketing drive to promote creativity.

Born Agency – with offices in Retford and Radcliffe – has launched its first batch of limited-edition ale after seeing a study that found that small amounts of alcohol improve creativity.

Founders of the agency Shaun Cole and Ben Trafford said that they came across the research in a Psychology Today study that said that small amounts of alcohol improve creativity – so they took the recommendations to heart and decided to launch their first batch of limited-edition ale.

“Creativity is at the heart of what we do in developing campaigns and producing everything from websites and marketing material to exhibition stands – and the challenge is always to help our clients to stand out from the crowd,” said Cole. “And anything that helps that process is a good thing – even in small amounts, such as a bottle of beer.

“I saw the article in Psychology Today by Alexander Blum, and the headline was ‘think of the brew as a psychic technology fostering communication as well as relaxation’. That just set Ben and I off on a train of thought about how we could help to increase the creative communication with our clients to produce better work.

“We’re well known for our Born Doughnuts and using a sugar fix as part of our creative process, but Born Beer takes this to a new level. The fact that it has proven to be a talking point of its own with clients is a great starting point for marketing or creative campaigns.”

Once they’d got the idea for Born Beer, the duo approached Newark-based Milestone brewery and asked them to brew up their first batch – for which they designed their own label.

Trafford added that it was a proud moment to see Born Beer come to life – and, more importantly, taste it. He said: “When we founded Born Agency to provide a full complement of marketing and design services, we never thought that two years on we’d have our own beer.”