Acoustic Christmas

Feel good rebrand for a Hamilton Holiday Tradition.

Project Snapshot

Client
: J.R. Diggs
Industry
: Recreation, Clubs & Community Organizations
Services
: Event Branding Brand Strategy · Visual Identity · Web Design · Brand Standards · Collateral.
Challenge
: Give a beloved Hamilton holiday fundraiser a cohesive brand without losing the scrappy, generous, music-filled spirit that made the event sell out in the first place.
Outcome
: A flexible event identity system that brought the sponsorship package, website, posters, merchandise and even the beer cans into one recognizable Acoustic Christmas brand.

JR DiGS Acoustic Christmas Concert has been the go-to holiday event in Hamilton for over a decade. Originally a chance for TV personality JR DiGS and his more musically inclined friends to get together and play some music, while raising money for folks in need in the Hammer. Today the event sells out in minutes and brings together artists such as Max Kerman (Arkells), Tom Wilson, Terra Lightfoot, The Trews, Monster Truck, Walk off the Earth, The Dirty Nil, Randy Bachman, July Talk, Gord Sinclair, and Tim Hicks.

With Overdrive’s studio nestled in downtown Hamilton, helping Acoustic Christmas hone its brand while doing our part to raise money for the YWCA, The Cancer Assistance Program, St. Matthew’s House, and Carpenter Hospice, was a natural. JR and Overdrive principle James Wilson met in the early fall of 2019 to map out the plan of attack. Two big personalities faced off on the aim of the rebrand. From JR’s perspective, the hugely popular concert had marketing materials that needed to be produced, but given its sell-out status, he wasn’t too worried about their varied, ad hoc appearance. Overdrive proposed creating a cohesive brand that would tie all the elements of Acoustic Christmas together, from sponsorship package to the website, posters, to merchandise. In doing so, the intent was to create a brand that could develop visual equity, and make the process streamlined and simplified for years to come. We can report that JR has been thoroughly converted by the results of a cohesive brand. Even the beer cans play nice.