That Was Rad: #Riverbend10

That Was Rad is a series that tells the stories of projects and campaigns that we’ve crafted for our RadCraft partners. This installment was inspired when Laura Lodge asked me (Emily Hutto) about the most complex project we’ve done to-date when I was the Featured Contributor for the November 2023 Resource Group Session.

My answer is Riverbend 10.

Riverbend Malt House is the first craft maltster in the Southeast that’s among a short list of those to credit for the Craft Maltsters Guild and the craft malt movement’s momentum in general. They came to us a few years back looking for communications support celebrating their 10 year harvest with a video storytelling campaign.

“Their story is massive,” I told the resource group. “And somewhat abstract to the general consumer. There was an education element; And there was a long- format and long-term storytelling element that we were just jumping in on, them having been in business for more than a decade already. We had to learn their brand on the fly, and integrate what they had already done with what we were doing, and have a lot of conversations to collaborate.”

Then I point out the budget. Video production is extremely expensive in relation to the typical craft malt house and beer or spirits brand marketing budget, but it’s also so important for a small brand because it efficiently tells that story in such an engaging, visual format.

So how do you make a video for a well established but abstract brand on a budget?

“Tell me you shot it on your cell phone,” said Laura.

Yep. I loaded up my dog in my trusty Subaru camper named Dolores and drove to North Carolina to ask brewers and homebrew supply shop owners why they chose to invest in local malt.

I had help from the talented Kevin Green, who accompanied me to interview some of Riverbend's earliest adopters and most enthusiastic supporters: Asheville Brewers Supply, DSSOLVR, Fonta Flora Brewery, and Fullsteam Brewery. Thank them for going down memory lane with us.

More thanks are in order to the creative Shelby Martin, who edited these interviews into the ebullient short film that became a focal point for the #Riverbend10 campaign. The breweries in the film and twelve others crafted 10 Year Harvest beers to celebrate. Each beer in this stylistically diverse lineup was made with the Riverbend specialty 10 Year Anniversary Malt: Sunset Wheat. A couple homebrew supply shops even offered it in limited stock.

We debuted Riverbend 10 on YouTube as a finale to this campaign in April of 2022. The Riverbend team has looped the film on an iPad as part of their expo setup at several conferences since.

Watch Riverbend 10 here.

We’re very proud of all of its 11 minutes and 4 seconds; and glad to have spent the countless hours, engaged in the compelling conversations, and tackled the troubleshooting that took place behind the scenes.

There was one other complexity I didn’t mention to this resource group— when Dolores broke down and I had to stay in Asheville another week while three different mechanics failed to get her moving again. Stuck in Asheville is far from the worst place to be, and thanks to the Riverbend team I spent it in rad places with lovely people. The most memorable of those days was one touring the French Broad Chocolate Factory then drinking lagers while I read a book on the patio at Zillicoah Beer Co.

Storytelling is at the heart of our work at RadCraft. I am honored that the Riverbend team selected us to help them tell theirs. Cheers to that, and cheers to them!