CREATING IS WHAT WE DO

THE WORK

Every project here started with a conversation — a brand challenge, a growth ambition, or a moment of change. What follows is a selection of some of the work we're proud of: the thinking behind it, the decisions made, and the results it delivered.

  1. WATERSHED GROUP

    BRAND WORLD DEVELOPMENT‍ ‍

Building a brand that could carry a business at scale.

Watershed Group is an independent Irish packaging manufacturer that had grown fast — through acquisitions, new sectors, and sites across Europe. The brand hadn't kept pace. They needed an identity that reflected the scale and confidence of the business, without losing the family-owned Irish character that made them trusted in the first place.

We ran stakeholder workshops to define positioning, then built a complete visual identity system — from the master marque and sub-brand lockups to colour, typography, imagery, and layout rules. Sustainability credentials were woven in as a genuine differentiator, not an afterthought.

A full digital reset was also needed so we acted as main agent from briefing stage , project brand design , copywriting , stakeholder management to full roll out with partner agency -The Zen Agency.

The result is a cohesive, scalable brand system ready for new markets, partner sites, and future acquisitions — a new multilingual website and an internal launch pack that can roll out to their partner sites across Europe.

  • Established in 1992 in Dublin, Watershed Group is an independent, Irish, family-owned packaging manufacturer with production sites across Europe.

    As a leading supplier of self-adhesive labels and packaging—serving customers at home and around the world—the business has seen rapid growth through strategic site acquisitions and expansion into new market sectors. The brand required a thoughtful refresh and a clear strategy to reflect this success while creating a strong, cohesive visual identity.

    • Workshops: Clarify brand positioning to communicate scale, quality and heritage without losing the family-owned, Irish identity.

    • Develop a brand story and translate this to a comms narrative and tone of voice that resonates with staff / partners and customers.

    • Create a versatile visual identity system that works across multiple markets, product types and touch points (packaging, digital, sales collateral, plant signage).

    • Develop a branding rollout advisory to support business development across partner sites.

    • Visual identity: Refresh the master marque with flexible sub-brands for marketing & media use.

    • Establish a colour palette that balances professional confidence with Irish heritage; including a versatile typography that reads well on company assets, labels and digital applications.

    • Product-facing design: Create visual and layout templates for company reports, & business collateral.

    • Sustainability positioning: Highlight responsible sourcing and production practices as a competitive differentiator—clear claims, icons and supporting proof points for clients.

    • Brand strategy document and messaging hierarchy.

    • Primary logo and site/product sub-brand lockups.

    • Full visual identity system: colour, typography, iconography, imagery style and layout rules.

    • Brand toolkit for production-print and digital ready files.

    • Sales and investor pitch templates; corporate brochure ( Sustainability Report) , business cards and template POS for future consideration.

    • Internal brand launch kit and employee comms advisory.

    • Strengthened market perception as a large-scale, premium packaging partner while retaining family-owned trust and Irish provenance.

    • Stakeholder consistency across HQ, leadership team and international sites.

    • Scalable identity system that supports future acquisitions and entry into adjacent markets.

2. POWERSCOURT DISTILLERY

STRATEGY + PREMIUM EXPERIENCE ‍ ‍

Creating a prestige tier for one of Ireland's most exciting distilleries.

Powerscourt Distillery had a compelling brand story and a remarkable location. The opportunity was to build a premium cask ownership programme that matched the five-star standards of Powerscourt Estate — and elevated the Fercullen brand's prestige in the process.

Following a full brand audit, we developed the Powerscourt Distillery Cask Estate — a luxury cask programme offering rare access to Ireland's most coveted whiskey casks. We led the development of all supporting collateral: premium brochure, bottle design, sales decks, cask certificates, and the refurbishment of an on-site tasting suite designed to host up to 16 guests.

A programme built not just to sell casks — but to build a community of discerning buyers and create a long-term halo effect around the Fercullen name

A collage of five images showing the process of making Irish whiskey: a bottle of Powerscourt Irish whiskey in the foreground, a whiskey distillery interior with shelves of bottles, a man holding a glass of whiskey, barrels stacked in a cellar, and a person using a metal tool on a barrel.
  • Consulting on long-term brand growth—identifying opportunities tied to the brand home and location, enhancing visibility, and supporting day-to-day brand activity as a creative partner to the Fercullen Whiskey team.

  • SHIOCH conducted a full brand audit of Powerscourt Distillery—evaluating marketing assets and positioning across both the master brand and its visitor experience.
    This led to a strategic evolution of the Fercullen portfolio, including the development of the luxury-tier Powerscourt Distillery Cask Estate—a premium cask program offering rare access to Ireland’s most coveted whiskey casks, while elevating the brand’s prestige and halo effect.

    SHIOCH also led the development of all supporting marketing collateral, including a premium brand brochure, prestige bottle design, and the refurbishment of an on-site luxury tasting suite at Powerscourt Estate, in partnership with Hedonic Drinks.

  • A prestige tasting suite, designed to host up to 16 guests, delivers bespoke whiskey experiences that match the five-star standards of Powerscourt Estate.

    A suite of marketing collateral including brochure, sales decks, photography, style guide, Cask Certificates and Cask Owner labels. Powerscourt Distillery Cask Estate was crafted to attract discerning buyers while nurturing a future-facing Fercullen community—offering exclusive access to new make spirit, single malt, and single pot still casks.

3. POWERSCOURT DISTILLERY BRAND GUIDELINES

‍ ‍ BRAND DEVELOPMENT‍ ‍

Giving a growing brand the tools to stay consistent.

As Powerscourt Distillery evolved, so did its need for a clear, living brand framework — something the whole team could use, not just a PDF that gathered dust.

We audited every element of the existing identity, then rebuilt the guidelines from the ground up: modular, accessible, and tailored to the real-world ways the brand shows up — from packaging and digital to events and trade. Throughout the process, we worked closely with the team to embed the new mission, vision and values across the business.

(Work in progress — evolving alongside the brand as new applications develop.)

Collection of brand and marketing materials for Powerscourt Distillery, including logos, signage, color palette, packaging, and promotional content.
  • Refresh and rebuild the Powerscourt Distillery brand guidelines to align with its evolving brand strategy and vision. (Work in progress as real-world applications continue to develop.)

  • Audit and evolve every element of the brand identity, delivering a clear, actionable brand document. Throughout the process, mentor and onboard the team—embedding the new mission, vision, and values across the business.

  • A living brand guideline system—modular, accessible, and tailored to each area of the business, designed for real-world use and long-term growth.

4.SPIRIT OF WICKLOW AWARDS 2024

MARKETING CAMPAIGN

An awards campaign that turned a county into a conversation.

The Spirit of Wicklow Awards celebrate what makes the Garden County what it is — community, enterprise, sustainability, sport, arts and culture. Hosted by the Fercullen team at Powerscourt Distillery, the brief was to create a bold, high-impact campaign that reached beyond the usual audience and brought the awards to life across ATL, TTL and BTL channels.

We built the campaign around one powerful key visual, supported by four themed category identities. Every asset — digital, print, OOH — was designed to feel local and proud, while reinforcing Powerscourt Distillery as the driving force behind the recognition.

The results spoke for themselves. Audience participation surged by over 80%. Social and media reach jumped 90% year on year. Nominations hit 1,213 — a 118% increase. The awards are now an annual fixture on the Wicklow calendar.

Collage of promotional materials for the Spirit of Wicklow Awards, including a large outdoor poster, a digital poster, and a smartphone screen, featuring images of smiling people, colorful mountain graphics, and texts encouraging nominations.

5.LAMBAY CASTLE PRESTIGE 20 YO SINGLE MALT

BRAND NPD + CAMPAIGN

Bringing a luxury Irish whiskey to the world — and telling the story only Lambay could tell.

During my time as Senior Brand Manager at Lambay Whiskey, I led the end-to-end development of the Lambay Castle Prestige 20 Year Old — a limited release of 8,000 bottles designed to position Lambay firmly in the luxury tier of Irish spirits on the international stage.

Lambay Irish Whiskey bottle and box with the text 'Unlock the Untold' and the Lambay Whiskey logo on a rugged outdoor background.
  • During tenure as Lambay Whiskey’s Senior Brand Manager,  I oversaw the end to end project of curating a luxury prestige 20 yr old whiskey to the market.

    This product had to connect & reflect the deep heritage of Lambay Island, Ireland, position Lambay Whiskey as an independent brand within the luxury tier of Irish spirits, inform on the process of crafting the liquid, and amplify the storytelling and marketing content to stimulate purchase.

  • .Lambay Island is a place of mystery—privately owned, steeped in untold stories, and rich with natural wonder.
    Inspired by its ley lines, family history and geological maps, these elements shaped the graphic patterns for the design and concepts of this release in collaboration with IPL Packaging.

    Campaign and hero visual creation was in partnership with London based Lewis Moberly . Additionally an artistic collaboration with Dublin photographer -David Norton, created a masterpiece of artwork that also formed the key visuals of the campaign and bespoke artwork for buyers.

    A dedicated microsite was created to bring the story to life, guiding whiskey lovers through three key immersive chapters:

    • Unlock the Prestige – Discover the collaboration behind the liquid, and the creation of Lambay Un-Earthed, the island’s first artwork by David Norton. Using volcanic Lambay porphyry rock, he revealed its hidden crystalline beauty—an exclusive world-first.

    • Unlock the Craft – Dive into the art of blending with Master Blender Yonael Bernard. Hear how the maritime climate shapes the casks, and enjoy a guided tasting of the 20-Year-Old Single Malt.

    • Unlock the Untold – Scan the bottle’s QR code and enter ‘untold’ to access a VIP experience: an interactive map of Lambay Island seeing inside the Castle and discovering tales of the islands history like never before.

  • Limited to 8,000 bottles , Lambay Castle Prestige launched in Travel Retail including Lotte Duty Free and DFS, in India, Asia , USA. and selected retailers in Ireland and on Lambay Whiskey e-shop.. The campaign microsite remains an informative tool for whiskey fans.

    The art collaboration was used across the brand’s core communications across TTL and BTL  comms, and as a digital-first campaign called ‘Unlocking the Untold’, as well as a bespoke certified collection of 1 of 10 prints for buyers.

    A highly visual digital campaign connecting the place , product and story, positioning Lambay Whiskey as a prestige Irish whiskey on the international market.

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Every project starts with a conversation. If you're building, relaunching, or growing a brand and need an experienced partner to help shape it — get in touch.