The creative territory started with a simple regional truth: the #1 vodka in America is made in Minnesota. Agency Squid built billboard and truck wrap creative around that fact for the Twin Cities market, developing both a straightforward execution and a bolder, more attention-grabbing option so the Prairie team had a choice of tone for the moment. The team turned concepts around on compressed timelines, then revised bleed lines and legal copy on short notice to hit install dates.
PRAIRIE ORGANIC SPIRITS
TURNING A NATIONAL AWARD INTO SHELF-LEVEL MOMENTUM
Prairie Organic Vodka partnered with Agency Squid to turn a national Newsweek recognition into retail-ready trade marketing, producing Vestcom shelf programs, out-of-home creative, and regulatory-compliant campaigns in a vodka category dominated by Grey Goose, Absolut, and Tito’s.
Consulting
Research & Brand Strategy
Consumer Segmentation &
Communication Platforms
Branding
Creative Direction
Trade Marketing Strategy
Out-of-Home Creative
Point-of-Sale & Off-Premise
Social Media Management
Omnichannel Production
Creative Direction
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Deliverables
Marketing & Branding Strategy
Branding/Art Direction
Copywriting/Brand Voice
Videography/Photography
Website Design & Development
Omnichannel Campaign
Shopper Marketing
The Challenge
Prairie Organic Vodka competes for shelf space against Grey Goose, Absolut, and Tito’s, three brands with marketing budgets a Minnesota family distiller can’t match dollar for dollar. Phillips Distilling Company built Prairie on a real point of difference: certified organic, non-GMO corn grown on Midwestern family farms, and a Bee Better pollinator program that ties the brand back to the land it comes from. That story doesn’t sell itself at the shelf. It has to show up in the same channels the category leaders dominate: billboards, truck wraps, retail displays, and the shelf talkers and case cards that move a shopper from browsing to buying.
Phillips runs lean. Agency Squid supports Prairie alongside sibling Phillips brands, inside an annual scope of work that gets rebuilt and tightened every year based on budget. Every piece of creative also clears Phillips’ government regulatory review before it can go to print or post, a compliance layer most CPG categories never have to plan around. The challenge was never a single campaign. It was building a trade marketing operation that produces at volume, hits National Sales Meeting and Vestcom deadlines on tight turnarounds, and stays compliant every time, on a budget built for a challenger brand.
The Solution
Agency Squid runs as an extension of the Phillips marketing team, not a vendor on the other end of a brief. Weekly status calls with Senior Brand Manager Shelley Watkins keep production moving in both directions. Annual scopes of work get built collaboratively each year and adjusted as budgets shift, including a mid-year restructure that cut a planned website and content hub from scope to protect spend on the trade marketing work that moves product at retail.
Ready to move earned media
In 2026, Prairie Organic Vodka won Best Vodka in America in Newsweek’s Readers’ Choice Awards, ranking ahead of Grey Goose and Absolut nationally. Around the same period, Phillips confirmed through Nielsen data that Prairie also holds the #1 position in organic gin. Neither win means much sitting in a press release. Agency Squid’s job was to get both onto the surfaces where a shopper actually decides what to buy: the billboard on the drive home, the truck wrap in traffic, the shelf talker at the liquor store.
Research & Strategic Foundation
Research, Trends & Competitive Landscape
Agency Squid conducted:
- Beverage alcohol category analysis
- RTD trend evaluation
- Consumer behavioral research
- Competitive packaging audits
We identified a critical whitespace: Consumers were burned out on bland seltzers but still seeking better-for-you alternatives. Hard cider could fill that gap if positioned boldly.
Audience Segmentation
We defined a crossover consumer segment:
- Flavor-seeking drinkers
- Health-conscious but skeptical of “clean marketing”.
- Lifestyle-forward rather than craft-traditional
This audience became the foundation of the new brand positioning.
Brand Strategy & Positioning
Building a Challenger Brand
Atomic Dog was repositioned as:
- Rebellious
- Flavor-first
- Bold
- Culturally relevant
- Attitude-driven
We avoided orchard clichés and nostalgic craft tropes. Instead, we built a challenger brand capable of competing beyond cider.
Identity & Packaging
- Brand naming transition
- Visual identity system
- Hand-illustrated dog icon
- Electric color palette
- Bold typography system
- Packaging architecture
Packaging was engineered to:
- Disrupt cold box placement
- Increase shelf visibility
- Communicate flavor clearly
- Signal quality and edge
The Work
America’s #1 Vodka, Made Local
FULL YEAR ACTIVATION WITH KEY TENTPOLES
The bulk of the ongoing work lives at retail. Agency Squid produces Prairie’s Vestcom shelf programs each cycle, including one production run of more than 60 shelf and signage assets, plus point-of-sale and off-premise displays built to National Sales Meeting deadlines. The Bee Better pollinator motif, introduced in an earlier campaign year, carries through table tents, shelf talkers, and case cards, keeping the sustainability story consistent everywhere a shopper encounters the brand, not just in the parts of the business that talk about it.
As consumers become more intentional about what they’re drinking, transparency and ingredient integrity matter more than ever
Results
NAMED AMERICA’S BEST, SUPPORTED AT EVERY SHELF
- Prairie Organic Vodka named Best Vodka in America, 2026 Newsweek Readers’ Choice Awards
- Prairie Organic Gin recognized as the #1 organic gin per Nielsen category data
- 60+ Vestcom shelf and signage assets produced in a single cycle
- Billboard and truck wrap creative live across the Twin Cities market within weeks of the Newsweek announcement
Prairie Organic FAQs
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1.What does a trade marketing agency do for a spirits brand?
A trade marketing agency for a spirits brand builds the point-of-sale displays, shelf programs, retailer-specific creative, and off-premise materials that move a bottle from shelf to cart, while managing the regulatory review every piece of alcohol creative requires before it reaches a store.
2. What is Vestcom shelf marketing?
Vestcom produces the shelf tags, signage, and pricing displays retailers use at the point of sale. For CPG and spirits brands, Vestcom creative has to follow strict retailer specifications and pass legal review before it prints.
3. How do CPG brands turn award recognition into retail sales?
CPG brands convert earned media, like an industry award, into retail creative: billboards, truck wraps, shelf talkers, and social content, so the recognition reaches shoppers at the point of decision instead of staying inside a press release.
4. Does Agency Squid work with beverage alcohol and spirits brands?
Yes. Agency Squid provides trade marketing, out-of-home creative, and integrated campaign support for beverage alcohol brands including Prairie Organic Spirits and SixSip Hard Refreshers, both Phillips Distilling Company brands.
Agency Squid, founded by Brent and Miles Marmo and based in Minneapolis, MN, builds trade marketing and integrated campaign systems for CPG and beverage alcohol brands that need to move at retail speed. See how our Integrated Campaigns and beverage alcohol teams work with brands like Prairie Organic and SixSip Hard Refreshers.