Permission

Case Study 06— Permission whiskey & service co

UNLOCKING A WELL-CRAFTED BRAND:
How we used storytelling, mystery and brand icons to help a Houston newcomer become an instant classic.

PROJECT FOCUS: FOOD & BEVERAGE

SCOPE

BACKGROUND

Of all the whiskey joints in Houston, none captures the spirit of a speakeasy so much as Permission Whiskey & Service Co. Fueled by their “No Past, No Future” mantra, they’ve created an inviting

place for Houstonians to stop in for a refreshment, a respite and a really great experience.

THE ASSIGNMENT

Mysterious, yet intriguingly approachable, this bar beckons patrons to celebrate the now with reckless abandon – and they wanted their branding to do the same. Armed with nothing more than a rose, a key and the beauty of a moment, they called on the Hierarchy team to make it happen.

STRATEGY

Build a “millionaires dive bar.” Permission is a modern day prohibition bar. Elegant, upscale, with boozy cocktails. Whether is your first time or your 100th, you’ll be treated as a friend.

Brand Identity

Caught somewhere between a who’s who of bartenders and bizarre activities (axe-throwing, we’re looking at you), there’s nothing subtle about Houston’s bar scene. Permission, by contrast, quietly and simply entered the field focused on offering more intimate, personalized service: appropriately represented by a single rose stem. Through Permission’s primary brand mark, designed by way of hand-drawn illustrations, Hierarchy conveyed the romanticism of life’s simpler pleasures – starting, of course, with a well-made drink.

Top Shelf Status Premier Membership

By its purest definition, a key represents access. Likewise, Permission’s secondary logo mark, in which the classic rose is exchanged for a key, grants invitation-only access to their premier membership customers. It makes its mark across specialized drinkware, secret menus, membership coins and website content. With it, guests enjoy admittance to a sought-after, reserved area of the bar complete with exclusive tastings and an impressively detailed experience.

Supporting Brand Elements

To make Permission’s branding an experience in and of itself, we carried through the rose and key emblems across various executions. Tied together with the red and gold brand colors and custom-created illustrations, each facet of the branding package is a wink to the Permission atmosphere and the service one can expect.

Photography

Our unofficial bar for food and drink photography is: Would we be enticed to eat or drink this? And when it comes to Permission Whiskey & Service Co., the answer is always a resounding yes. Through

intricate attention to the details of composition, lighting, styling and creativity, we regularly capture the Permission experience, frame by frame.

BUILDING DESIGN

Although it’s what’s on the inside that really counts, an equally striking exterior helps. By extending Permission’s effortlessly cool branding to the outside of their building, they’re able to begin establishing their ambience before customers ever even walk through the door.

MERCHANDISE

In the bar and foodservice industry, branded merchandise not only helps generate buzz and new business – it builds stronger customer loyalty. We packed all the punch of Permission’s branding into catchy t-shirt designs, sophisticated shot glasses and other merch that consumers wear and/or display with pride.

RESULTS

million
potential views

MEDIA OUTLETS

0 %

OPEN Rate

members rely
on the APP

REFINED SYSTEMS by the Numbers

Our Radianse Task-Scheduling App campaign delivered remarkable results with an audience upwards of 106 million via the press release, which led to spotlights in 140 media outlets. Radianse went on to be featured in leading industry publications like AiThority and The Industrial IoT Daily, as well as major news outlets including Yahoo! Finance, MarketWatch, Seeking Alpha and more.

The email campaign displayed impressive numbers, including up to an 18% open rate. One particular recipient was such a fan, he returned to the email over 20 times. On social media, Radianse enjoyed their strongest months ever – including an organic

engagement rate that surged over 10% at times, especially when their native content articles were shared. Throughout the campaign, we converted more than 2,000 visitors over 2,300+ sessions. On the Radianse website, the pages used as CTAs for email and social media remain their most visited. Since the campaign’s conclusion, users and sessions fell 38%.

Today, just a few short months later, more than 400 team members across 32 gyms rely on the Radianse Task-Scheduling App to smartly, safely and easily maintain cleaning standards at their gyms.

OUR NEXT STEP

Raise a glass: We recently launched a new website for Permission Whiskey & Service Co., bringing their signature branding into the digital realm. Soon, we’ll begin incorporating Easter egg-style

elements of their Top Shelf Status membership – for those who know to look for them.

Permission Whiskey & Service Co. may have a speakeasy vibe, but you don’t need a password to see their new site: PermissionWhiskey.com