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9A. Creating, Introducing & Implementing
BAVARIAN'S "NEW LOOK"
THE NEED FOR A "NEW LOOK"

Due to litigation between Bavarian Brewing Co. and G. Heileman Brewing Co, Bavarian agreed to rename its Bavarian's Old Style Beer in 1955 - as explained in period 9. Turnaround Efforts. Louis L. Schott, who was serving as Secretary/Treasurer, was named Marketing Director in June of 1956. He was charged with obtaining a new name and design for Bavarian's Old Style Beer and developing a new advertising campaign and packaging program around this image. More information about Louis is provided on the side.

 

To proceed with developing the ad and package programs, Louis hired someone under his supervision experienced with marketing, Larry Rinck, who became Bavarian's Advertising Manager. Rather than use local agencies, they decided to hire a couple of the premier firms of their time located in New York City.  (Think Mad Men.)  They learned about an executive in one of the prestigious deign firms in New York, David K. Osler with Lippincott & Margulies (L&M), who was originally from Cincinnati.  He had previously worked with Kroger in packaged goods. Bavarian engaged L&M and worked mostly with Osler in his capacity as an Account Design Director. However, occasionally the meetings and designs involved the founding principal, J. Gordon Lippincott. Bavarian also hired one of the premier national advertising firms in January, 1957, Calkins & Holden, co-founded by the "Dean of Advertising Men," Earnest E. Calkins.  One of the first and most important steps was selecting a new name and creating a design that complemented the name. To do so, market research was conducted, as discussed below.

About Louis L. Schott

Throughout this website, Will Schott's brother has been referred to as Lou and his son (Louis L.) referred to as Louis. This consistency will continue, but a clarification between these two men is warranted at this point. Both actually had the same first names of Louis, and both were often called Lou. To differentiate these two men, Louis L. Schott was sometimes referred to as "Big Lou" since he was 6'3" in height. He was taller than his other family members and most of the men at the brewery back in the 1950s. Louis was also 42 years younger than his Uncle Lou. Since Louis was in charge of Bavarian's "New Look," a brief background about him is given as follows.

 

Louis was born in 1921. He graduated from Western Hills High School in Cincinnati in 1940, six years after his brother, William R. Schott (Bill). Louis attended Dartmouth College beginning in 1940, leaving college after two years to serve in WWII. After returning from the war, he married his high school sweetheart, Virginia Erhardt. They lived together at Dartmouth while he completed his college degree. The couple returned to Cincinnati in 1948 and had a son a year later, Louis Ried Schott (Ried). Louis began working for Bavarian as a truck driver, and over several years was promoted to Assistant Secretary & Treasurer, Secretary, and then both Secretary & Treasurer by 1955. In the late 1950s, Louis built a family home next to his brother's family and their father's home, called Pine Meer, on the west side of Cincinnati.

SELECTING A NEW NAME & DESIGN

Research by the design firm of Lippincott and Marguilies (L&M) revealed that Bavarian's had a loyal group of consumers, but that their beer was not appealing to many new beer drinkers. According to their investigations, the image for Bavarian, as depicted by part of its name and trademark, was "old." L&M believed the new name and design for Bavarian's beer needed to be more contemporary and colorful, while still having some connection to the past to retain their faithful and older customers. As shown by the accompanying collage, numerous designs were and names were created and considered. Of these, the names and designs were narrowed to the three below; Bavarian's Star Bright Beer, Bavarian's Mellow Beer and Bavarian's Select Beer.

Labels1.jpg

In developing the design for this "select" beer, certain elements and illustrations were considered. The final design took the form of an oval shape with three colorful flags, and a different symbol and meaning within each flag, as shown in the illustration above on the far right. The symbols included; an hourglass (for Time), a crown (for Tradition) and a hand with grain (for Skill). The contemporary, colorful design was intended to attract younger consumers, while elements connected to both quality and tradition helped to retain Bavarian's older and existing customers. From a design perspective, according to L&M, the use off three triangles was a powerful and symmetric feature that drew interest to the logo. Of equal importance, this new design could be used on all types of packages, displays and point-of-sale items, as well as in limited color variations.

 

In modifying the name of Bavarian's Old Style Beer, there may have been some historical precedence. For those familiar with Bavarian's beer names before and shortly after Prohibition, one formerly well-known brand name is Riedlin's Select Beer. So, the previous use of "Select" from this former name may have been a factor shaping the final decision. The new name and design may also have been influenced by insights from focus groups. Louis even asked his wife and eight-year old son which design the liked best. They both preferred the most colorful one with three flags, which happened to be the one finally chosen. (They may not have actually influenced the final decision, but they liked to think they did!)  Perhaps due to a combination of these factors, the final name chosen was Bavarian's Select Beer. Even though the brand name of the beer was slightly modified, the most important part of the new name was that there would be no change in the way people commonly asked for the beer – as Bavarian's. However, occasionally this brand name was also displayed as Bavarian/s. By replacing the comma with a forward slash, it may have been a way to refer to "Select" which was also part of the beer's full name, while leaving the sound of the name unchanged.

DEVELOPING A PACKAGING PROGRAM

Deciding on the new name and motif was only one step in creating a new image for Bavarian's Select Beer. The next step was for the design firm of Lippincott & Margulies (L&M) to create a packaging program. 

Labels, Cases and Cartons:  Specific labels for different-size bottles with different alcohol content were needed, along with the development of new cans. The crates and cartons containing the bottles and cans would also need to be reworked. To do so, designs were first sourced from L&M before Bavarian unveiled its new brand image and began advertising it. The images below were supplied and approved by Louis and others at Bavarian, and they went into production as this new look and image was being introduced.

1957. Shown above are bottles, a case, a carton and cans with the "New Look" of Bavarian/s.  Source: Louis L. Schott from slides supplied to him by Lippincott & Margulies.

Crowns / Bottle Caps & Keg Caps: As part of the bottle packaging program, it was necessary to create new crowns or bottle caps. Because Bavarian primarily sold their beer in Ohio and Kentucky, they needed to comply with the regulations for each state when developing crowns. Each required that their state seal be placed on the bottle caps. Further, the colors of the crowns needed to vary depending upon the alcoholic content and size of the bottles with the amount of tax paid for each bottle printed on the side of the label. (See Crowns.) The design of the crowns was coordinated between L. E. Baker, the Production Manager at Bavarian, Dave Osler with L&M and a firm that made the crowns, Bond Crown Co., as mentioned in a letter that can be viewed here.  The crowns shown below were those provided to Louis, and given to his son, Ried.

1957-1959. Three Ohio crowns (bottle caps) are on the left and two Kentucky Crown are in the center, above. The last three images are keg caps, which were actually a few times larger than crowns. The different colors of the crowns and caps helped distinguish the alcoholic content of the beer and the state tax paid.

INTRODUCING BAVARIAN'S SELECT BEER

By early 1957 Bavarian needed a comprehensive plan to consider the various elements that needed to be coordinated in order to introduce their "New Look." Around January in 1957, Calkins & Holden drew up a detailed letter which outlined their plan for providing such an introduction to Bavarian's sales associates and employees. Afterwards, a more detailed outline needed to successfully launch their new look was prepared by Louis L. Schott, with input and approval from other management personnel.

 

Notices and Coordination: Once the packaging and design had been developed and approved by Bavarian's management, it was necessary to prepare letters and arrange meetings that would inform employees, retail accounts, distributors and the general public about Bavarian's "New Look." (For examples of the letters, along with newly designed stationery, see one for retail accounts and another to the general public.)  (Also, see Stationary.) However, up until this point, Bavarian had wanted to keep the rebranding efforts private from their competitors. They were successful in doing so. Another important concern regarding the introduction of the new Bavarian's Select Beer was the necessity for salesmen-drivers and distributors to sell out their stock of Bavarian's Old Style Beer first. They informed their distributors that they would not be providing credit for their Old Style beer in a letter on May 6, 1957, along with a helpful reminder handout the distributors could supply to their drivers (shown on the side).

The Sales Meeting:  To begin sharing the new image, a meeting for key Bavarian salesmen and distributors was held on May 18, 1957 at the Sinton Hotel. This Sales Meeting was held  between 9am and 4pm and attended by 40 people. Lunch included a German buffet (see the menu) and each attendee received a T-shirt with the new 3-flag logo. The welcoming address was provided by Bill Schott (President), followed by more detailed presentations by Louis L. Schott (Marketing Director and Sec./Treas.), Larry Rinck (Advertising Manager), the ad firm of C & H (Bob Morgan and John Held), and the design firm of L & M (David Osler). Of course, Bavarian’s Select Beer was served during a social gathering after the meeting.

At the Sales Meeting, the primary packaging for Bavarian's Select in bottles and cans, as well as some promotional materials, were presented for the first time. Shown above at the Sales Meeting is Louis L. Schott addressing the attendees. Photos of the packaging provided by L&M to Bavarian are shown below, along with a picture of the t-shirt that was provided to all at the meeting. Rather than always using the three different colors together on the labels, it was sometimes necessary to use only one color or two colors. Those colors were often red and yellow (with the blue and green in two of the flags omitted), as shown by the beer case and the t-shirt in the photos below. The Sales Meeting was also similar to a number of image-revealing meetings held for Bavarian's employees and retail accounts.

1957. Source: First two images are slides from Louis L. Schott who obtained them from Lippincott & Margulies.  The last photo is from Gary Schmeh.

After the meetings held to introduce Bavarian's New Look, follow-up inquiries occurred in late May. Managers were sent a card that allowed comments to be made on Bavarian's New Look, shown below. Bavarian was pleased that the transition from their Old Style beer to their new Select beer went well. To emphasize their commitment in releasing their New Look to retail accounts, distributors and employees, Bavarian coined a phrase - Bavarian's Means Business - to help convey their competitive commitment. In addition, they supported their new image with television commercials on WLW-T (shown lower left). Cards were sent to all businesses who possessed alcohol permits in the Cincinnati area.  Bavarian also composed and provided a letter that accompanied the TV announcement to the salesmen. Most importantly, there was a new, multifaceted advertising campaign using various media, as explained later in this section. However, it was also necessary for Bavarian to have more design work completed.

CREATING A NEW ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN

To support their new image and look, Bavarian needed to launch a coordinated advertising campaign. The firm of Calkins and Holden (C&H) developed advertising from the designs created by Lippincott & Magulies (L&M). It was probably easy for both firms to coordinate this work, as they were both located only a couple blocks from one another on Park Avenue in New York City. Even though Bavarian was located almost a thousand miles away from these firms, and was working long before emails and text messages, the location differences didn't seem to pose much of an issue. Sometimes Bavarian and the ad men would meet in New York, and occasionally the NYC firms would visit Bavarian in Kentucky.

...brewed nature's way

The slogan for Bavarian's Old Style Beer had been "...Flavor at its finest" in 1956 and early 1957, before it was replaced by the theme "...brewed nature's way" for the new label. Because of the seasonality of beer sales, the new ad campaign was deliberately released in advance of the summer months, when sales reached their highest levels. The first ad for Bavarian's Select Beer with its new look came out in May, 1957, on the right.

The ad emphasized the "Beautiful new bottle (/label) ... and "the same natural goodness." It's noteworthy that the ad did not claim it had the same taste (even though it did.) A photo of the "Ideal Display" is also shown on the far right above. Because of the new design, there were concerns whether consumers would also think Bavarian was selling an entirely different beer and that it would have a new taste. There was a deliberate effort to try to skirt this issue and let customers decide for themselves. A series of artworks followed in 1957 with different scenes that, in addition to the new slogan, featured different adjectives for the beer - lively, refreshing, frosty, mellow and smooth. These illustrations are shown below. They were colored and are an exhibit in the Kenton Co. Gov't Center.

1957.  The brewed natures way slogan is on the Bavarian billboard at Crosley Field above on the left. A cartoon style ad featuring the German word Unglaublich (Incredible) is in the middle. Bavarian's receptionist, Grace Robinson, and the assistant Brewmaster, Henry Wetzel, shown with the new bottles of Bavarian/s, are on the right.

THE BAVARIAN GIRL

Having a young lady to serve as an ambassadress for Bavarian, to be known as the Bavarian Girl, was part of the strategy of the Bavarian Brewing Co.'s ad agency, Calkins & Holden. It was also supported by their design firm, Lippincott & Margulies. Both were well known in their fields and based in New York City. To find the Bavarian Girl, Bavarian Brewing Co. launched a search for a local young and wholesome lady to represent Bavarian's Select Beer in late 1957. The winner would visit Germany with photo sessions used in ads to help promote the beer locally. The winner and Bavarian Girl of the Year was Brenda Cotter.

Brenda

The Bavarian Girl was from Dayton, Ohio, and had graduated from Julienne High School in 1956. Previously, Brenda did some modeling and entered some beauty pageants. She was crowned Azalea Queen of Montgomery Co., OH in 1955. After high school, she worked at Cypress Gardens in 1956 and was crowned Grapefruit Queen later that year. In 1957, Brenda returned to Dayton to be involved in a few Dance Party shows on WLW-D.  Late that year she was selected to be Bavarian Girl of the Year - for the following year. To help publicize Bavarian, arrangements were made for Brenda to travel to different locations in Germany beginning in early 1958. She was also accompanied by her mother. According to Brenda's daughter, May, this was a fabulous trip for both her mother and grandmother, which created fond and lasting memories for them. 

Some photos of the trip retained by Brenda's family, were shared by her daughter May and shown below. There were numerous ads that featured Brenda for Bavarian/s beginning in November 1957 through June of 1958. The first three pictures were featured in some of the ads. Please visit Ads: Brenda. In viewing these ads that are presented in chronological order by date, a change in the slogans can be observed, as described under Slogan Changes, below.

To reduce their costs with this promotion, Bavarian collaborated with some companies involved in Brenda's trip. This probably explains why some ads referenced the airline Brenda used for traveling (SAS) and a local department store (Shilito's) for furnishing her wardrobe on the trip. Complications arose for the Bavarian Girl and her sponsor not long after she arrived in Germany. Some brewers in Bavaria felt as though her photo shoots may have been promoting Bavarian/s too closely in association with their own beers. An example of this may be in the first photo above. It shows Brenda and others drinking from a stein for Liebhard Brewery, located in Aying Germany, situated a short distance southeast of Munich. 

The name on this stein wasn't noticeable in the low resolution ads; only in the higher resolution photo. Still, it is understandable that the brewers in Bavaria were likely not excited about having an implied and unwarranted relationship with an American beer. After some negotiations and assurances, the photo shoots for Bavarian/s avoided any direct or implied associations with German breweries and their beers. The Bavarian Girl finalized her journey and returned back home, albeit with some additional publicity surrounding this somewhat controversial situation. Undoubtedly, the brewer’s objections were not in C&H’s original game plan when they came up with the idea of having an ambassadress for Bavarian's tour Germany. However, the saying “there is no such thing as bad publicity” held true in this case. The overall Bavarian Girl campaign still succeeded in spreading awareness of the brewery and its new image. Even so, it required some changes to Bavarian's marketing and slogans, as mentioned below. The explanation for this change is discussed under Slogan Changes, below.

After her position with Bavarian, in late 1958, Brenda became a model in New York City with some well-known agencies for a couple of years. She appeared in shampoo and soap commercials and on a couple of CBS shows. She was also a beauty pageant contestant during the 1961 Summer Festival in NYC, which included celebrity judges like Dick Van Dyke, Henry Fonda and Gig Young. She returned to Dayton by the early 1960s, and being an enterprising lady, opened Brenda Cotter Models.

SLOGAN CHANGES
Brewed the Old-World Way

According to a letter from Louis Schott to C&H, there was an interest in modifying the original "brewed nature's way" slogan. Along with Bavarian/s new look, it appears Louis expressed an interest in using the term "Old-World" in the slogan for this beer. This helped connect the Bavarian's Girl to the "old country" she was visiting, as previously mentioned.   Therefore, in the winter of 1957-58, the original slogan "brewed nature’s way" was modified to "brewed the old- world way...nature’s way." However, beginning in early 1958, and about a year after this slogan was introduced, the saying "nature’s way" was dropped,

The new slogan became "brewed the old-world way..." This was addressed in a conference report for a meeting held on January 8, 1958 at the offices of C&H, 247 Park Avenue, NYC. It was attended by personnel from this agency as well as from L&M and Bavarian. An example of a couple signs using this revised slogan are shown below. This allowed the slogan to emphasize the "Old-World." It was also similar to "Old Style," which had previously been part of Bavarian's name. So, this may have been a subtle effort to provide some connection between the new image of Bavarian/s and its old name, along with its new symbols connected to the past of Time, Tradition & Skill. Below are some signs featuring this new slogan. The first one was obtained through Brenda's daughter, May, and the backlit sign was courtesy of the Behringer-Crawford museum.  

Enjoy Old-World Quality...American Style

In late 1958, Bavarian/s slogan was slightly modified again, as previously mentioned. To alleviate any outstanding concerns by brewers in Bavaria after Brenda's visit, Bavarian/s clarified its saying with an "American Style" - while still retaining the term "old-world".  It also included an old-style German stoneware stein and alpine-style home, along with a sleek glass featuring Bavarian/s contemporary new logo. Please view and click the accompanying image promoting this slogan.  According to correspondence, it appears these glasses were made for Bavarian by Libbey Glass, located in Toledo, OH - a city known as the "Glass City” because of the concentration of the glass industry there. It should be noted that the aforesaid slogan was Bavarian's last before it merged with International Breweries Inc. (IBI) in the spring of 1959.

ADDITIONAL L&M DESIGN WORK

After Bavarian introduced their Bavarian/s Select Beer in the spring of 1957, the initial design phase with Lippincott & Margulies (L&M) was completed. However, Bavarian still needed some additional designs. One of these was for a new packaging concept featuring a case with six quarts, as shown below. Other designs were needed for Bavarian's fleet of delivery trucks, new lighted signs and point-of-sale material. Further, they were considering painting certain building areas that would integrate signage and their new colors. Consequently, on a retainer basis, Bavarian continued to maintain their relationship with L & M into 1958, as discussed in the following.

The Big Six Case Design

In addition a case for 12 ounce bottles and cartons for cans, Bavarian was interested in identifying a new way to package quarts. So, another item addressed was the creation of a carton that would hold six quarts. L&M presented a proposal for design modifications of a fibre carry-out returnable case for of this size made by Container Corporation. They proceeded on the assignment, but encountered various challenges, as discussed in a letter to David Osler with L&M sent to  Louis Schott on August 23, 1957.  These challenges were overcome and an ad and photo of "the Big Six" for Bavarian/s  are shown.

c. 1958.  Source: May Hammer. 

c. 1958.  Source: Gary Schmeh.

Truck Designs

Bavarian had a fleet of about 50 delivery trucks. It was necessary to repaint the entire fleet to reflect Bavarian’s modified name and its new logo. L&M assisted in this process by recommending colors and creating drawings for the lettering and decals for each type of delivery vehicle. A letter addressing this project was sent to Hughie Johannes with Bavarian from David Osler on July 23, 1957. Bavarian's had three variations of trucks. Shown below is their most common style of truck, the "closed van, and also the "A-Frame" truck.  In addition to these vehicles, designs were needed for the trailers and what was known as a "worksaver" vehicle. Decals were used on all the noted vehicles, except for the trailers, which needed to be hand-painted. The name “Bavarian/s” was originally intended to be painted gold on the trucks; however, for better visibility, the lettering on the front and back of the trucks was changed to red instead.

c. 1958. On the left is a "closed van" and an "A-frame" van is on the right.  Source: Behringer - Crawford Museum.

An Early Bavarian/s Tavern Sign

There was a need to replace many tavern signs with the new Bavarian/s logo and modified name. It is believed one of the first signs may have been rather long (six feet) and narrow. A photo of the prototype for this sign provided by L&M to Bavarian via Louis L. Schott is shown below. A color version of this sign is next to it.

1957. The first image was obtained from a photo supplied by L & M to Louis Schott, and passed down to his son.  The color photo of this sign is courtesy of Gary Schmeh.

Point-of-Sale and Advertising Integration

There also needed to be coordination between the various point-of-sale material L&M was designing and the advertisements that were being prepared by C&H. To address these concerns, a meeting was held on August 14, 1957, at the Calkins & Holden offices in NYC, with personnel from L & M and Bavarian in attendance. This event was noted in a conference report dated a few days later.  Different types of point-of-sale (POS) advertising presented by Bavarian's Advertising Manager, Larry Rinck, were discussed. Such items included "shelf talkers,” appliques that would fit on shelf aprons used in supermarkets. An example of a shelf talker is shown on the right above, supplied by L&M to Louis L. Schott. Different variations are shown in the photo directly below it, along with its use in a display.

Refinement of Illuminated Tavern Signs

In a meeting held a Bavarian on November 11, 1957, with Louis Schott and Larry Rinck from Bavarian, and David Osler with L&M, a conference report indicated that two types of tavern signs were explored. One was a neon sign that included Bavarian's name in red, three flags in white and "On Tap" in yellow, as shown by the image below. Another type of sign was referred to as fluorescent plastic in the noted report, however, it can also be referred to as a backlit sign. A possible design that was referred to in the report is shown below. There are other variations of this sign that can be viewed at  Signs: Backlit.

Architectural Design Phase

On June 7th 1958, a meeting was held at the Bavarian Brewery between Bill and Louis Schott from Bavarian and David Osler and Dante Biencivengo from L&M. They met to address a plan for the future painting of the brew house’s interior, as well as other areas and the exterior. (Click here for the meeting summary.)  Shortly thereafter, on June 12th, Dante sent a follow up letter to Louis proposing what was termed as an "architectural design phase."  The proposal called for two stages; the first was for the most immediate interior painting needs. The goal would be to impart a strong corporate image, using signage to particularly enhance areas that could shape public relations, such as the entrance. The second stage was a five-year exterior painting plan that would complement the corporate image program. The completion of this second phase was intended to coincide with the completion of Interstate 75 next to the brewery, which was expected to be finished within five years. (As it turned out, the section of Interstate with ramps next to the brewery, which crossed the river into Cincinnati via the Brent Spence Bridge, was opened on November 25, 1963, about a year after the expected five-year completion date.) It is believed that the exterior sign shown was painted as part of this program, which existed on the Bavarian Brewery for many years. When the image of the exterior sign is enlarged, it can be seen that it was painted by Gus Holthaus. (His descendants now operate the Holthaus Lackner Sign Co. in Cincinnati.) The image below it shows the repainting of this sign in 2019 on the 12th Street side of the Kenton County Government Building, to recognize some of the building's history.

RECOGNITION OF BAVARIAN/S NEW LOOK

Both Bavarian and their design firm, Lippincott & Margulies, were very pleased with the re-design of the Bavarian beer label and the brewer's new brandmark. L&M considered it to be their best work of the year, and submitted it to Industrial Design Magazine's "Annual Review" of the best designs created in America. This was conveyed to Louis Schott by L&M's Public Relations Director, Madelon Bedell, in a letter on October 2, 1957. Considering that L&M created such designs as the Betty Crocker spoon, the ribbon mark for Coca-Cola, the three-star design for USS Steel (later used by the Pittsburgh Steelers), among others, there was certainly some elation and satisfaction in the results L&M achieved for Bavarian.

 

In addition, in the early fall of 1957, L&M submitted Bavarian/s label design in the brewers' label contest at the 17th annual convention of the Brewer's Association of America. Out of more than 100 submissions, Bavarian/s label was a finalist, receiving second place.

A microbrewery in the same city where the Bavarian Brewery was located, Covington, KY, recently began offering Bavarian Style Select Lager, using the identical three-flag design made for Bavarian/s Select Beer around 2018. The reuse of this design 50 years after it was created, in some way, indicates the success that went into this design. However, this micro-brewery is also reusing a design - originally created for the Bavarian Brewing Co., Inc. it is believed some acknowledgement and homage is warranted to those individuals and firms that were involved in the development of Bavarian/s logo as presented in this section, particularly Louis L. Schott, Bavarian's Marketing Director, and of course the design firm of Lippincott & Margulies.

​SOURCES:

Newspapers.com and Cincinnati Enquirer

Schott, Louis L., correspondence, letters artifacts and recollections, passed on to a descendant.

Schott Family Collection, Behringer Crawford Museum

 

The background image was an Ideal Display Setup for the introduction of the new label for Bavarian's Select Beer.

This photo was obtained from Bavarian's design firm, Lippincott & Marguilles and the files of Louis L. Schott.

Trademark from Tray B in B.png

 
The Historic and Former
 
 
Bavarian Brewery

 
In Covington, Kentucky

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