Crafting a Digital Brand: A Case Study on the Launch of Craft Cask
Crafting a Digital Brand: A Case Study on the Launch of Craft Cask
Crafting a Digital Brand: A Case Study on the Launch of Craft Cask
Author
Author
Romanos Boraine
Romanos Boraine
Category
Case Studies
Case Studies
Date
20 Jun 2025
20 Jun 2025
This case study documents the journey of building Craft Cask, a digital-first media brand, from the ground up.
This case study documents the journey of building Craft Cask, a digital-first media brand, from the ground up.
This case study documents the journey of building Craft Cask, a digital-first media brand, from the ground up.
It provides an inside look at the process of creating a startup brand identity, developing a content marketing strategy, and executing a vision in a competitive, passion-led market.
Craft Cask: Project At a Glance
Project | Building Craft Cask: A Digital Whisky Media Platform |
|---|---|
Role | Co-Founder and Brand Development Lead |
Core Skills | Brand Strategy, Website Design (Framer), Content Creation, Editorial Direction, Community Building, Social Media Management, Product Management. |
Objective | To establish the premier digital whisky media brand in the Southern Hemisphere by filling a gap in high-quality, narrative-driven content. |
Key Outcomes | Successful brand launch with 25,000 active users globally. Established a dominant organic search presence and a highly engaged audience in key markets. |
It provides an inside look at the process of creating a startup brand identity, developing a content marketing strategy, and executing a vision in a competitive, passion-led market.
Craft Cask: Project At a Glance
Project | Building Craft Cask: A Digital Whisky Media Platform |
|---|---|
Role | Co-Founder and Brand Development Lead |
Core Skills | Brand Strategy, Website Design (Framer), Content Creation, Editorial Direction, Community Building, Social Media Management, Product Management. |
Objective | To establish the premier digital whisky media brand in the Southern Hemisphere by filling a gap in high-quality, narrative-driven content. |
Key Outcomes | Successful brand launch with 25,000 active users globally. Established a dominant organic search presence and a highly engaged audience in key markets. |
It provides an inside look at the process of creating a startup brand identity, developing a content marketing strategy, and executing a vision in a competitive, passion-led market.
Craft Cask: Project At a Glance
Project | Building Craft Cask: A Digital Whisky Media Platform |
|---|---|
Role | Co-Founder and Brand Development Lead |
Core Skills | Brand Strategy, Website Design (Framer), Content Creation, Editorial Direction, Community Building, Social Media Management, Product Management. |
Objective | To establish the premier digital whisky media brand in the Southern Hemisphere by filling a gap in high-quality, narrative-driven content. |
Key Outcomes | Successful brand launch with 25,000 active users globally. Established a dominant organic search presence and a highly engaged audience in key markets. |
Defining The Startup's Brand Identity
Defining The Startup's Brand Identity
Defining The Startup's Brand Identity
We established Craft Cask to fill a distinct gap in digital whisky storytelling, particularly from a Southern Hemisphere perspective, seeing an opportunity for a brand that could celebrate global whisky culture while providing detailed, beautifully curated content for both seasoned enthusiasts and curious newcomers.
The goal was to move beyond simple reviews and create a more immersive, narrative-driven experience. We quickly realised that building a brand from the ground up was a significant undertaking that required a defined strategy and dedicated execution. A shared passion for whisky, combined with this distinct digital opportunity, formed the foundation of the venture.
We established Craft Cask to fill a distinct gap in digital whisky storytelling, particularly from a Southern Hemisphere perspective, seeing an opportunity for a brand that could celebrate global whisky culture while providing detailed, beautifully curated content for both seasoned enthusiasts and curious newcomers.
The goal was to move beyond simple reviews and create a more immersive, narrative-driven experience. We quickly realised that building a brand from the ground up was a significant undertaking that required a defined strategy and dedicated execution. A shared passion for whisky, combined with this distinct digital opportunity, formed the foundation of the venture.
We established Craft Cask to fill a distinct gap in digital whisky storytelling, particularly from a Southern Hemisphere perspective, seeing an opportunity for a brand that could celebrate global whisky culture while providing detailed, beautifully curated content for both seasoned enthusiasts and curious newcomers.
The goal was to move beyond simple reviews and create a more immersive, narrative-driven experience. We quickly realised that building a brand from the ground up was a significant undertaking that required a defined strategy and dedicated execution. A shared passion for whisky, combined with this distinct digital opportunity, formed the foundation of the venture.
Designing The Digital Platform And User Experience
Designing The Digital Platform And User Experience
Designing The Digital Platform And User Experience
We designed and built the entire Craft Cask website on Framer, a decision that allowed for rapid prototyping and a highly polished, editorially-driven user experience. This Framer website case study highlights the importance of choosing the right platform to match a brand's aesthetic and functional needs.
The primary objective was to create a clean, immersive interface optimised for content discovery and mobile-first accessibility. Every element—from typography to user flow—was crafted to evoke editorial elegance. This required a strong sense of creative direction to guide the user experience. The result is a digital space that feels less like a blog and more like a premium digital publication, where the design serves to amplify the stories we tell. A solid technical and aesthetic foundation was essential to ensure the site performed optimally from day one.
We designed and built the entire Craft Cask website on Framer, a decision that allowed for rapid prototyping and a highly polished, editorially-driven user experience. This Framer website case study highlights the importance of choosing the right platform to match a brand's aesthetic and functional needs.
The primary objective was to create a clean, immersive interface optimised for content discovery and mobile-first accessibility. Every element—from typography to user flow—was crafted to evoke editorial elegance. This required a strong sense of creative direction to guide the user experience. The result is a digital space that feels less like a blog and more like a premium digital publication, where the design serves to amplify the stories we tell. A solid technical and aesthetic foundation was essential to ensure the site performed optimally from day one.
We designed and built the entire Craft Cask website on Framer, a decision that allowed for rapid prototyping and a highly polished, editorially-driven user experience. This Framer website case study highlights the importance of choosing the right platform to match a brand's aesthetic and functional needs.
The primary objective was to create a clean, immersive interface optimised for content discovery and mobile-first accessibility. Every element—from typography to user flow—was crafted to evoke editorial elegance. This required a strong sense of creative direction to guide the user experience. The result is a digital space that feels less like a blog and more like a premium digital publication, where the design serves to amplify the stories we tell. A solid technical and aesthetic foundation was essential to ensure the site performed optimally from day one.
Executing The Content And Social Media Strategy
A core part of this project was developing and executing a comprehensive content marketing strategy. This initiative involved designing all brand assets, writing long-form whisky features, and establishing a unique and authoritative tone of voice. This case study on creating a brand voice shows that consistency and quality are essential to standing out.
An essential tactic has been to secure and feature high-profile names to build credibility. A notable highlight was our exclusive interview with the CEO of Brother’s Bond, the most followed whisky brand on Instagram. The success of this strategy is evident in our user acquisition, with organic search becoming the primary driver of new users. This process of defining a unique market position required a focused approach to Brand Positioning to clarify the brand's message and accelerate its growth.
Executing The Content And Social Media Strategy
A core part of this project was developing and executing a comprehensive content marketing strategy. This initiative involved designing all brand assets, writing long-form whisky features, and establishing a unique and authoritative tone of voice. This case study on creating a brand voice shows that consistency and quality are essential to standing out.
An essential tactic has been to secure and feature high-profile names to build credibility. A notable highlight was our exclusive interview with the CEO of Brother’s Bond, the most followed whisky brand on Instagram. The success of this strategy is evident in our user acquisition, with organic search becoming the primary driver of new users. This process of defining a unique market position required a focused approach to Brand Positioning to clarify the brand's message and accelerate its growth.
Executing The Content And Social Media Strategy
A core part of this project was developing and executing a comprehensive content marketing strategy. This initiative involved designing all brand assets, writing long-form whisky features, and establishing a unique and authoritative tone of voice. This case study on creating a brand voice shows that consistency and quality are essential to standing out.
An essential tactic has been to secure and feature high-profile names to build credibility. A notable highlight was our exclusive interview with the CEO of Brother’s Bond, the most followed whisky brand on Instagram. The success of this strategy is evident in our user acquisition, with organic search becoming the primary driver of new users. This process of defining a unique market position required a focused approach to Brand Positioning to clarify the brand's message and accelerate its growth.
Measuring Impact: Key Performance Metrics
Since its inception, Craft Cask has demonstrated significant growth and global reach, validating its strategic direction.
Global Audience Growth: The platform has attracted nearly 25,000 active users, with the United States emerging as the largest market (46%), followed by South Africa (23%) and the United Kingdom (11%). This proves the brand's international appeal beyond its initial Southern Hemisphere focus.
Dominant Organic Acquisition: The content strategy has been highly effective, with Organic Search accounting for over 13,000 new users—far surpassing all other acquisition channels. This highlights the power of targeted, high-quality content in building a sustainable audience.
Strong User Engagement: While the global average engagement time is over a minute, the South African user base is particularly engaged, with an average engagement time of 1 minute and 56 seconds. This demonstrates a strong product-market fit within our core local audience.
High-Performing Content: Key content pieces, such as our "Whiskey Tastings in the Western Cape" listicle, have achieved high click-through rates (over 6.6%) from search, indicating strong appeal and effective SEO.
Measuring Impact: Key Performance Metrics
Since its inception, Craft Cask has demonstrated significant growth and global reach, validating its strategic direction.
Global Audience Growth: The platform has attracted nearly 25,000 active users, with the United States emerging as the largest market (46%), followed by South Africa (23%) and the United Kingdom (11%). This proves the brand's international appeal beyond its initial Southern Hemisphere focus.
Dominant Organic Acquisition: The content strategy has been highly effective, with Organic Search accounting for over 13,000 new users—far surpassing all other acquisition channels. This highlights the power of targeted, high-quality content in building a sustainable audience.
Strong User Engagement: While the global average engagement time is over a minute, the South African user base is particularly engaged, with an average engagement time of 1 minute and 56 seconds. This demonstrates a strong product-market fit within our core local audience.
High-Performing Content: Key content pieces, such as our "Whiskey Tastings in the Western Cape" listicle, have achieved high click-through rates (over 6.6%) from search, indicating strong appeal and effective SEO.
Measuring Impact: Key Performance Metrics
Since its inception, Craft Cask has demonstrated significant growth and global reach, validating its strategic direction.
Global Audience Growth: The platform has attracted nearly 25,000 active users, with the United States emerging as the largest market (46%), followed by South Africa (23%) and the United Kingdom (11%). This proves the brand's international appeal beyond its initial Southern Hemisphere focus.
Dominant Organic Acquisition: The content strategy has been highly effective, with Organic Search accounting for over 13,000 new users—far surpassing all other acquisition channels. This highlights the power of targeted, high-quality content in building a sustainable audience.
Strong User Engagement: While the global average engagement time is over a minute, the South African user base is particularly engaged, with an average engagement time of 1 minute and 56 seconds. This demonstrates a strong product-market fit within our core local audience.
High-Performing Content: Key content pieces, such as our "Whiskey Tastings in the Western Cape" listicle, have achieved high click-through rates (over 6.6%) from search, indicating strong appeal and effective SEO.
Building A Niche Community Through Newsletters
Our weekly newsletter has been the cornerstone of our newsletter growth strategy and approach to niche community building. We write and curate each edition to provide genuine value, sharing carefully selected stories, behind-the-scenes perspectives, and platform updates.
This consistent, high-quality email content has been our most effective tool for driving engagement and converting casual visitors into a loyal community. Scaling this required optimising our content creation workflow. Exploring options like using AI in your workflow can identify opportunities for intelligent automation to streamline and accelerate such processes.
Building A Niche Community Through Newsletters
Our weekly newsletter has been the cornerstone of our newsletter growth strategy and approach to niche community building. We write and curate each edition to provide genuine value, sharing carefully selected stories, behind-the-scenes perspectives, and platform updates.
This consistent, high-quality email content has been our most effective tool for driving engagement and converting casual visitors into a loyal community. Scaling this required optimising our content creation workflow. Exploring options like using AI in your workflow can identify opportunities for intelligent automation to streamline and accelerate such processes.
Building A Niche Community Through Newsletters
Our weekly newsletter has been the cornerstone of our newsletter growth strategy and approach to niche community building. We write and curate each edition to provide genuine value, sharing carefully selected stories, behind-the-scenes perspectives, and platform updates.
This consistent, high-quality email content has been our most effective tool for driving engagement and converting casual visitors into a loyal community. Scaling this required optimising our content creation workflow. Exploring options like using AI in your workflow can identify opportunities for intelligent automation to streamline and accelerate such processes.
The Long-Term Vision: Scaling A Digital Media Brand
Our long-term content strategy for a luxury brand like Craft Cask involves expanding our ecosystem. The roadmap includes launching curated whisky events, opening an e-commerce store, and undertaking global tasting quests. Executing these complex plans requires disciplined execution, underpinned by solid Project Management. Craft Cask is still in its early stages, but our ambition is to become one of the most trusted digital whisky platforms globally.
See What We’re Pouring Next
Get exclusive stories, behind-the-scenes content, and the latest from our tasting quests delivered to your inbox.
The Long-Term Vision: Scaling A Digital Media Brand
Our long-term content strategy for a luxury brand like Craft Cask involves expanding our ecosystem. The roadmap includes launching curated whisky events, opening an e-commerce store, and undertaking global tasting quests. Executing these complex plans requires disciplined execution, underpinned by solid Project Management. Craft Cask is still in its early stages, but our ambition is to become one of the most trusted digital whisky platforms globally.
See What We’re Pouring Next
Get exclusive stories, behind-the-scenes content, and the latest from our tasting quests delivered to your inbox.
The Long-Term Vision: Scaling A Digital Media Brand
Our long-term content strategy for a luxury brand like Craft Cask involves expanding our ecosystem. The roadmap includes launching curated whisky events, opening an e-commerce store, and undertaking global tasting quests. Executing these complex plans requires disciplined execution, underpinned by solid Project Management. Craft Cask is still in its early stages, but our ambition is to become one of the most trusted digital whisky platforms globally.
See What We’re Pouring Next
Get exclusive stories, behind-the-scenes content, and the latest from our tasting quests delivered to your inbox.
Actionable Takeaways For Brand Builders
Actionable Takeaways For Brand Builders
Actionable Takeaways For Brand Builders
Developing Craft Cask offers several key takeaways into how to launch a digital media brand successfully:
Niche Focus is Powerful: Concentrating on a specific angle (Southern Hemisphere perspective) within a broad market (whisky) allowed us to establish a clear identity and attract a dedicated audience.
Brand and Content are Inseparable: A strong visual and editorial identity, executed through a consistent content strategy, is what builds trust and sets a premium brand apart.
Community is Built with Value: A newsletter or social media presence must consistently offer value to its audience. Engagement and loyalty are earned, not just captured.
This venture has been a significant milestone, blending design, storytelling, and brand-building in a passion-led space. It remains a work in progress, but with each feature we publish, we move closer to creating a platform that whisky fans across continents can enjoy.
Ready to Build Your Own Brand?
The journey of launching a digital brand like Craft Cask involves strategy, creativity, and disciplined execution. If this case study has inspired you to start your own venture or refine your existing brand, we can help.
Developing Craft Cask offers several key takeaways into how to launch a digital media brand successfully:
Niche Focus is Powerful: Concentrating on a specific angle (Southern Hemisphere perspective) within a broad market (whisky) allowed us to establish a clear identity and attract a dedicated audience.
Brand and Content are Inseparable: A strong visual and editorial identity, executed through a consistent content strategy, is what builds trust and sets a premium brand apart.
Community is Built with Value: A newsletter or social media presence must consistently offer value to its audience. Engagement and loyalty are earned, not just captured.
This venture has been a significant milestone, blending design, storytelling, and brand-building in a passion-led space. It remains a work in progress, but with each feature we publish, we move closer to creating a platform that whisky fans across continents can enjoy.
Ready to Build Your Own Brand?
The journey of launching a digital brand like Craft Cask involves strategy, creativity, and disciplined execution. If this case study has inspired you to start your own venture or refine your existing brand, we can help.
Developing Craft Cask offers several key takeaways into how to launch a digital media brand successfully:
Niche Focus is Powerful: Concentrating on a specific angle (Southern Hemisphere perspective) within a broad market (whisky) allowed us to establish a clear identity and attract a dedicated audience.
Brand and Content are Inseparable: A strong visual and editorial identity, executed through a consistent content strategy, is what builds trust and sets a premium brand apart.
Community is Built with Value: A newsletter or social media presence must consistently offer value to its audience. Engagement and loyalty are earned, not just captured.
This venture has been a significant milestone, blending design, storytelling, and brand-building in a passion-led space. It remains a work in progress, but with each feature we publish, we move closer to creating a platform that whisky fans across continents can enjoy.
Ready to Build Your Own Brand?
The journey of launching a digital brand like Craft Cask involves strategy, creativity, and disciplined execution. If this case study has inspired you to start your own venture or refine your existing brand, we can help.
Frequently Asked Questions about building a digital brand
Frequently Asked Questions about building a digital brand
Frequently Asked Questions about building a digital brand
1. What is the first step in building a startup brand from the ground up?
1. What is the first step in building a startup brand from the ground up?
1. What is the first step in building a startup brand from the ground up?
The foundational step is to define the startup brand identity by establishing a clear mission, identifying a target audience, and finding a unique market position. As this digital brand building case study shows, a strong concept rooted in a clear opportunity is essential before any design or content work begins.
2. How does a content marketing strategy help in creating a distinct brand voice?
2. How does a content marketing strategy help in creating a distinct brand voice?
2. How does a content marketing strategy help in creating a distinct brand voice?
A content marketing strategy is the practical application of a brand's identity. It translates the brand's values and personality into tangible content—articles, social media posts, and newsletters. This case study on creating a brand voice demonstrates that by consistently producing high-quality, authoritative content, a brand can establish trust and a memorable voice that sets it apart from competitors.
3. Why Is A Newsletter So Effective For Niche Community Building?
3. Why Is A Newsletter So Effective For Niche Community Building?
3. Why Is A Newsletter So Effective For Niche Community Building?
A well-executed newsletter growth strategy is effective because it creates a direct and personal line of communication with an audience. Unlike social media, it's an owned channel where you can consistently deliver value, as we did with Craft Cask. This approach is fundamental to niche community building because it nurtures casual readers into a loyal and engaged community who feel connected to the brand's mission.
4. What Are The Key Elements To Consider When Launching A New Digital Media Brand?
4. What Are The Key Elements To Consider When Launching A New Digital Media Brand?
4. What Are The Key Elements To Consider When Launching A New Digital Media Brand?
Knowing how to launch a a digital media brand involves several critical elements. First is a unique brand identity and a clear editorial mission. Second is a high-quality digital platform; our Framer website case study shows the importance of a well-designed, user-friendly site. Finally, an effective content marketing strategy and a plan for community engagement are necessary to attract and retain a dedicated audience.
Ready to Strengthen Your Impact?
Let’s talk. Book a free 20-minute discovery call with me, Romanos Boraine, to map out your brand, systems, or content gaps—and identify what we can fix, fast.
Romanos Boraine
Helping nonprofits, startups and social enterprises grow smarter through strategic positioning, creative direction, digital systems audits and workflow optimisation.
Services
Digital Tools
Ready to Strengthen Your Impact?
Let’s talk. Book a free 20-minute discovery call with me, Romanos Boraine, to map out your brand, systems, or content gaps—and identify what we can fix, fast.
Romanos Boraine
Helping nonprofits, startups and social enterprises grow smarter through strategic positioning, creative direction, digital systems audits and workflow optimisation.
Services
Digital Tools
Ready to Strengthen Your Impact?
Let’s talk. Book a free 20-minute discovery call with me, Romanos Boraine, to map out your brand, systems, or content gaps—and identify what we can fix, fast.
Romanos Boraine
Helping nonprofits, startups and social enterprises grow smarter through strategic positioning, creative direction, digital systems audits and workflow optimisation.
Services
Digital Tools