Cracked Canoe is introducing a more premium look as it aims to better align itself with the light beer category through a redesign.

Its first design overhaul in five years, Moosehead’s low-cal, low-carb offering comes complete with a new smaller, more whimsical brand mark: a canoeist paddling a moose.

“We didn’t want to do something extremely literal, which could’ve been an easy decision to make with the brand, to have maybe a canoe cracked in half. But we also wanted to connect with Moosehead, which is why we created a new brand icon that’s unique,” says Jillian Edwards, brand manager of Moosehead Breweries.

Edwards adds that research highlighted an opportunity to better align with the light beer category.

“We have continued to see growth within the low-to-no-alcohol segment of beer across Canada, and we wanted to ensure that our packaging really highlighted our 100 calories and 3.5% ABV functional benefits,” she says.

The new packaging iteration dispenses with the term “lager,” opting instead for “ultra premium light” verbiage instead of “premium light,” with silver rather than black font, to make shoppers fully aware of the bold flavours and ultra-premium positioning. It’s also jettisoned the silver wrap at the bottom of the can, for a more cohesive top-to-bottom white.

The new design was developed by Conflict, Moosehead’s creative agency of record, which also handled the creative efforts and which supported the development and launch of Moosehead lager packaging, to ensure consistency across the portfolio.

To coincide with the rollout of its new packaging, Cracked Canoe is also launching an integrated campaign featuring digital video, social and OOH executions that promote the brand’s “Paddle Slower” philosophy, the “brand mantra” about taking things slow and prioritizing rest and relaxation.

In last couple of years, Edwards says the brand has focused on growing its millennial and Gen Z fanbase.

“This is why we’re advertising Cracked Canoe for the first time on TikTok,” Edwards says. “We strategically, [also] invested in office network digital placements, in major office elevator screens across Toronto as well as billboards in cottage country to share contextually relevant messaging to encourage fans to continue to pair Cracked Canoe with those relaxed moments in life.”

Edwards tells strategy that there is also going to be trade activity happening for the brand in store later this summer.

The campaign will run from June 24 to August 18 across Ontario, New Brunswick and Alberta. Media is being handled by Media Experts, with earned media support from Craft Public Relations. Edwards says the company has invested a lot into this rebrand to build awareness of its ultra-light positioning.