A unique challenge to music festival organisers is creating a brand the young demographic generally views as cool and exclusive. The South African music festival Oppikoppi has unveiled a concept that will not only combat inconveniently long lines, but also establish the Oppikoppi experience as enjoyable and unique.

Oppikoppi organisers plan to allow its concert goers to order beer via their smartphones. The beer is then delivered via drones which drop the beers into the crowd of concert goers. Although currently manually controlled, the drones will eventually deliver beer based on the consumers’ GPS location.

The video demonstrating the beer drone has generated great interest since its publication on YouTube. The Oppikoppi festival has enjoyed an increase in brand awareness internationally, with its relatively simple drone demonstration racking up over 82 000 views and numerous mentions by the international press.

Of course, ensuring that a beer can being dropped by a drone at altitude into a large crowd accurately and safely may prove challenging. However if these challenges can be overcome, drone delivery has the potential to increase brand value by providing the associating brands in question with innovation and the ever elusive “cool factor.”

In the end, beer drones may prove to be impractical. However Oppikoppi has already won in the brand game by captivating its audience and positioning itself as the edgy and definitive authority on cool.

Nick Awbrey is a Consultant for InterbrandSampson.

At Interbrand, we always hope that the names we create impact people on a personal level: changing behaviors, building loyalties or becoming a part of everyday vocabulary. This is easier said than done, and as a namer, it’s always exciting to find a name that really does change habits in an interesting way.

Stone Brewing Company in San Diego recently released “Stone Enjoy By 12.21.12 IPA” and the name really shines. This brew is the newest in an “Enjoy By” series, prioritizing freshness and taste above wider distribution, and aiming to give consumers a really quality product.

“Stone Enjoy By 12.21.12 IPA” says everything beer lovers need to know to fully enjoy this brew, starting with what’s most important – when best to drink it. The Stone Enjoy By website explains:

"We've not only gone to extensive lengths to ensure that you're getting this beer in your hands within an extraordinarily short window, we made sure that the Enjoy By date isn't randomly etched in tiny text somewhere on the label, to be overlooked by all but the most attentive of retailers and consumers. Instead, we've sent a clear message with the name of the beer itself that there is no better time than right now to enjoy this IPA."

What’s more, by elevating a common food-packaging phrase that most of us tend to ignore, and including a specific date in the name, Stone subtlety influences our behavior and our decision making process. It encourages us to “carpe diem.”

The name promotes self-selection, speaking to consumers who understand the meaning and who appreciate fine beers. "12.21.12 " emphasizes urgency in purchase and immediacy for its enjoyment – buy and drink this now. A unique customer experience with enhanced appeal is created and expressed in the product’s name.

This approach won’t work for all brands looking to change habits. Using a specific date in a name is not a long-term solution and could be seen as a marketing gimmick in a sector where timeliness is less relevant.

For a product like beer, however, which is brewed in batches it works perfectly and differentiates the microbrew artisanal quality from macro breweries. It fits in perfectly with the Stone ethos as well — simple and enjoyable. And it gives you just another reason to drink a good beer tonight.

Katie Conneally is an Associate Consultant, Verbal Identity for Interbrand New York.

There are two poles on the imbibing spectrum, the “Beer is Beer Drinker” and the “Beer Nerd.” For the majority of us who fall somewhere between these polar opposites, beer selections are made for a variety of reasons. Nostalgia may come into play – perhaps it’s what Grandpa always ordered. Convenience or distribution surely plays a part: Why go across town for a particular six-pack when they carry another brand at the store across the street? Cultural identification might make the decision for you; consider the differences in taste that likely exist between Nascar fans and Indie rock concertgoers. Then there’s price – if you skew towards the “beer is beer” mentality, then we’re talking about a commodity and more bang for your buck is likely your m.o. Finally, taste preference must play a major role for all but those who are squarely in the “Beer is Beer” corner.

Fine. But what about the names, do they play a part in the selection process? The behemoths of brewing are household names: Heineken, Corona, and, of course, Budweiser, to name a few (find them on the Interbrand Best Global Brands 2010). Aside from the suggestion of royalty and decadence in Corona name, which means “crown” in Spanish, the others are merely indicators of origin. A family name in the case of Heineken and the Czech town of Budweis in, you guessed it, the case of Budweiser. Given the massive distribution and popularity of these beers, it’s difficult to see the name in isolation from the other brand elements and most importantly, its heritage.

If we slide towards the “Beer Nerd” end of the spectrum, a world of craft beer is revealed that includes products as varied and nuanced as the products of any industry. According to the Brewers Association, a craft brewery is defined as a brewery that produces less than 6 million US beer barrels/year, and there are a lot of them. Based on a count in 2010, there are approximately 1,750 in operation, and many of them produce multiple beer types using multiple product names. A trip to the grocery store for a six-pack could cause a terrible case of indecision for the best of us due to this proliferation of small beer brands. With such a vast variety of brew types and an open mind, how do we choose? The usual modes of selection fail us in this new, modern world of beer. Grandpa never faced an array like this.

Enter naming. The first thing you’ll notice about craft beers is their propensity for strange and interesting names that often have a tenuous connection to suds. A casual survey of the Beeradvocate™ top beers list will reveal a wide range of names. The Russian River Brewing Company makes a seemingly abstract reference to both Pliny the Younger and Pliny the Elder of ancient Rome. Then there’s the playfully descriptive Heady Topper (promising plenty of head, sorry) and Hoppy Birthday (a shameless incorporation of "Hops"). There’s the wonderfully suggestive Ivan the Terrible and Dark Lord Russian Imperial Stouts. The Supplication American wild ale may provide the blessing you need to make it back from The Abyss, the 11 percent ABV imperial stout from the Deschutes Brewery’s. Just make sure you steer clear of the Mother of All Storms English barley wine unless the forecast is calling for Chocolate Rain.

While the craft nature of these breweries will prevent their wonderfully esoteric beers from gaining wide global distribution, breweries still must compete for our attention in the local grocery store. If the inner Beer Nerd is calling and you’re unfamiliar with the selection, your choice of Double Sunshine IPA over Bell’s Two Hearted Ale may come down to choice of words. But if all the naming is making it even harder for you to choose your next brew, maybe it’s time for a Reality Czeck…of the Czech Pilsner variety, that is. 

Here's a brilliant, quick use of Twitter on behalf of a company you may not expect to be the most saavy when it comes to social media.

Gray Powell is the Apple engineer who lost his iphone prototype at a German bar, as reported by Gizmodo.

So far, no reports that he's taken up the offer.