Turn It Up Media 2026 Mid-Year Update
- 6 days ago
- 3 min read
Beverage is deep into the busy selling season, Memorial Day and 4th of July load-in sales have delivered important insight on how the 2026 annual business plan is tracking. Mid-year is when we're heads-down executing that plan while the early outline of the 2027 plan starts taking shape It's an intense time of year, hustling with end-of-summer efforts, dialing in Labor Day sales, prepping for Fall retail sets, and getting Holiday programs ready to execute.
In the middle of all that, we wanted to pause and share what we've been building alongside our clients so far this year. From award-winning packaging to a five-year brand milestone to launching one of the best-reviewed whiskeys in the country, our team has been heads-down doing what we love: building real brands for craft beverage, spirits, and outdoor companies who are putting something genuine into the world.
Here's a look back at some of our favorite work so far this year, organized the way we build every brand: Brand Development, Content Creation, Go-to-Market Strategy, and Media Relations.
Brand Development
Brand development is where every project starts - the story, the mission, the values, and the visual language that everything else gets built on.
We celebrated five years of Mainstage Brewing in Lyons, CO by looking back at the brand story and logo suite we built with founders Eric Kean and Sam Scruby from day one — two stage lights, two friends, and a mark that still anchors one of the busiest corners in town. Read the case study HERE.
And that same brand-first discipline paid off in a big way for Hoot + Howl Spirits, who took home three Excellence in Packaging awards at the 2026 ADI International Spirits Competition (including the Off-the-Shelf Packaging Champion Trophy) for the brand development and packaging system we built together. We're super proud of this brand as we've brought Cal's idea of a brand name to life on the shelf, and everything in between. See how we made it happen HERE.
Content Creation
A brand story only lands if you can see, hear, and feel it. Our content work this year kept the camera rolling from the farm field, brew deck, studio and lifestyle imagery with Hoot + Howl Spirits, Flower Union Edibles, Oskar Blues Brewery and Holidaily Brewing Co., capturing the vibe to fuel websites, sales tools, advertising and social presence.
Go-to-Market Strategy
Getting a brand in front of the right people, at the right time, through the right channels is where strategy meets execution. The Root Shoot Spirits whiskey launch is a great example of go-to-market in action — we built the sales tools, distributor and retailer materials, and communications calendar that turned a five-year passion project into a national spirit of the year. Read how we helped the world's best whiskey go to market.
Media Relations
Media relations is the megaphone, the part where a great brand story reaches the people who'll tell it for you. This year we have had a ton of fun working with 21st Amendment Brewing, Branch & Barrel, Evil Genius, Highland Brewing Co., High Rise Beverage Co., Hoot + Howl Spirits, Ratio Beerworks, Root Shoot Spirits and TailGate Brewing. Let's dig a little deeper into two of our efforts.
With the 2026 Craft Brewers Conference just a week out and set to land in their hometown, Evil Genius Beer Company turned to Turn It Up Media to help tell the most important story in the brewery's history: bringing 21st Amendment Brewery home. Grab a beer and get additional insight into the project HERE.
We reintroduced Ratio Beerworks to Colorado and national media ahead of their 11th year, aligning their RiNo arts roots and punk credibility with a fresh distribution push and a National launch of No Shade Pilsner, earning coverage across local, national, and industry press. Check out how we went to 11 with a punk rock brewery HERE.
It All Works Together
If there's one thing our first half of 2026 reinforced, it's that these four pillars don't work in isolation. We recently put that philosophy into words (and pictures) in a post rounding up the brand websites and full-suite campaigns we've built this year — Hoot + Howl, Root Shoot, Canndigenous, Grind City Brewing, and REEB Cycles — each one built on Brand Development, brought to life with Content Creation, put in front of the right audience with Go-to-Market Strategy, and amplified through Media Relations. See the full roundup HERE.
Here's to the back half of 2026. If your brand is ready to Turn It Up, let's talk.
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