Over the past several months, a common phrase that’s been heard at the pub at Round Guys Brewing Company and their music venue, The Underground, is “can I get a Bumblebee Wheat?” Since last June, Round Guys has been home to a beer called Stereotytans: Bumblebee Wheat Ale. This honey laced libation has since become a popular choice with the Lansdale beer crowd, but where did it originate?
Expanding on the theme of my last article, canned Stereotytans: Bumblebee Wheat Ale is a perfect example of how a collaborative branding venture can succeed. In 2018, the award winning “comic book rock” band and featured “WMMR Jaxon’s Local Shots Artists” from Philadelphia, Stereotytans, approached Round Guys Brewing Company about creating a beer that reflects the look, feel and sound of the band. The band’s most popular single, “Bumblebee Weed,” from their full length album, “Escape,” is the inspiration for the beer. The band had an inside joke about playing off the word “weed” and switching it to “wheat” if they ever created a beer. Well, the time came where that inside joke became a reality.
Round Guys went to work creating a beer specific to the band’s vision. The band’s bassist, Kronos, created the signature yellow label complete with a QR code to download the single “Bumblebee Weed” from their website. Yes, that is correct, the can label itself is a branding and marketing tool. The immediate growing popularity in the beer prompted Stereotytans comic creator James Comey—no, not the FBI guy—to immediately get to work to create an entire comic book featuring the band, Round Guys and the beer. It was a perfect marriage in marking and branding heaven.
The comic, which is now available at Comic Zen in Lansdale, has been a huge marketing and cross promotion tool for the brands. The beer can label, the QR download code, the comic book and the live show form an immersive and tangible experience that is a publicists dream! This collaborative effort to cross promote the music and comic book worlds are a first for the Lansdale beer scene.
Stereotytans are an integral part of the Philadelphia DIY scene. The collaborations, partnerships and merchandise ventures they’ve created have all been done as a team, including getting the beer featured on a podcast episode of Attack of the Brackets, hosted by WMMR’s Jaxon and Sarah. Just as Lansdale businesses operate with synergy, so does the internal structure of Stereotytans. Together they are greater than the sum of their separate parts. The DIY moves and partnerships are only the tip of the iceberg for this energy driven band.
Keep an eye and an ear out for their next moves in 2019!
For the latest events at The Underground by Round Guys Brewing Company, be sure to check out our website and social media. Upcoming events include a sold out “The Office” themed trivia night on Saturday night, hosted by Annie Christ, Jazz Night on February 20 and movie night featuring “Death Becomes Her” hosted by Annie Christ. The Underground is located at 408 West Main Street (lower level) Lansdale, PA 19446.
See also:
Sensory Branding In The Local Music Industry
Dead Milkmen, Live in Our Backyard
Annie Christ: Lansdale's Culture Queen
An 'Underground' Look at Entertainment in Lansdale
Deck the Walls Art Show Draws Crowd to Lansdale
