On January 26, 2011, the Australian state of Queensland was nearly wiped out by massive floods. Bundaberg Rum is a much-loved Queensland brand that has been lifting the spirits of Queenslanders for over 100 years. When that spirit came under threat from the rising waters, Bundaberg felt a duty to raise it up once again.

Like the rest of the state, the Bundaberg distillery was underwater and in a state of crisis, but something had to be done. Our objective was to help rebuild Queensland, and help raise the Queensland spirit up once again. Our solution was to create a product that would become a symbol of Queensland resilience and defiance, and rally the support of the nation. The product is Watermark: a rum crafted to mark the point where the floodwaters peaked, and to mark the spirit in the towns on the road to recovery.

Having first conceived on the name Watermark, the design of the bottle and the complimentary applications followed suit. It’s traditional to mark the highest level of a flood to where the waters rose and date it on a pub wall.After floodwaters recede, a wall is left stained and a clear line is visible.

This discolouration became the colour pallet and a gloss varnish was then used in printing to enhance the effect.The typography used to tell the story of Watermark is reminiscent of a water depth gauge.The idea was then to stylize each of these elements.

When Watermark went on sale people queued up for over 96 hours to buy it (this is longer than people queue for ipads). The first run of Watermark sold out within a week and a second run went into production. All proceeds of Watermark went towards rebuilding Queensland. The product and events received a lot of attention in the press and in social media, and the entire nation rallied behind the cause, meaning Watermark played a huge role in lifting Queensland’s spirits and helping the State on the road to recovery.