Blockbuster x 10 Barrel Brewing

A Small Brewery. A Big Idea. A Nostalgic Win.

The Challenge
How do you get national attention for a regional craft brewery without a national budget? 10 Barrel Brewing, based in Bend, Oregon, wanted to break through with consumers outside their core markets—but they needed to do it scrappily, and without traditional ad spend.

The Insight
Bend just so happens to be home to the world’s last operating Blockbuster. And if you're a certain age, Blockbuster isn’t just a store…it’s a feeling. We saw an opportunity to tap into collective nostalgia, reframe the past as the present, and make a small brand part of a much bigger cultural conversation.

The Idea
I led the concept and execution of a limited-edition co-branded beer, The Last Blockbuster, and a Blockbuster-themed block party held at the last store standing. We developed custom packaging, tapped into throwback design cues, and created a PR-worthy launch moment that transformed a hyper-local event into a national story. I oversaw creative direction, campaign rollout, media strategy, product seeding, and stakeholder alignment from start to finish.

The Impact
What started with an exclusive in Business Insider exploded into 598 media placements and 765M+ impressions, driving major awareness with zero paid media. The beer sold out. Netflix and Airbnb followed with their own Blockbuster-themed campaigns months later. For 10 Barrel, the campaign punched far above its weight, proving that the right idea, when rooted in brand, culture, and emotional relevance, can outperform even the biggest budgets.