CASE STUDY
Blue Moon Case Study
Firebolt engineered a smart sign that illuminated Blue Moon’s iconic logo to match the actual phases of the moon each month.
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“Blue Moon: Craft Beer That’s out of this World
Blue Moon is a Belgian-style wheat beer that was first brewed in Denver, Colorado in 1995. It quickly gained popularity for its smooth, refreshing taste and unique blend of spices, including coriander and orange peel. Today, Blue Moon is one of the most popular craft beer brands in the US, and is known for its distinctive hazy appearance and bright, citrusy flavor profile.
Situation
Firebolt was invited to present our technology at a Miller Coors supplier advisory panel.
The brand manager requested that Firebolt make a digitally animated sign that would replicate the phases of the moon.
solution
A Bright Solution to Support In-Store Promotions
The Firebolt team leapt into action, collaborating with Blue Moon on design and prototyping for units with continuous animation cycles. During field testing, our engineers continued to refine the prototype so it could be set to match the phases of the moon with a real-time clock microchip, developed in house at Firebolt Labs.
The Blue Moon brand manager further challenged us by requesting that the 13 yearly full moons be programmed into the device in order to anchor in-store promotional events. This freed the brand from reliance on bartenders manually setting the device and ensured the success of the promotion. The team also added flexibility: Location managers can set the sign to show a static full moon, a continuous-cycle animation of each phase, or the actual real-time phases of the moon – as well as call out promotions on the chalkboard feature.
results
Perfectly Timed Success
Blue Moon initially placed a large order for a national rollout, and the signs were such a success that Firebolt continues to manufacture frequent reorders for this innovative product.
The response from the marketplace has been terrific. Users really appreciate the look, as well as the reliability of the programming: There’s no data push to worry about, no WI-FI or Bluetooth issues. The numbers show that it’s getting incredible feedback in the field.
BRIAN SCIACKITANO, FIREBOLT’S COO
