Introduction
Brand name migration and re-branding for a global, premium range
of New Zealand wines.
Challenge
Brancott Estate, established in 1934, was home to the first
Sauvignon Blanc vines ever to be planted in the Marlborough region
but its wines were marketed under the Montana brand name, which
carried strong, misleading US perceptions and divorced the brand
from its origins. Pernod Ricard had already launched the Brancott
Estate name in some countries when they asked us to prepare the
brand for migration in the important US market. Brancott Estate
needed a new visual identity that would reconnect it definitively
to its New Zealand roots and communicate the brand's essence:
'Inspiring New Horizons'. As well as enabling a successful US
migration, we needed to re-engage with consumers in the UK,
Australia and New Zealand, despite differing familiarity levels,
perceptions and requirements.
Solution
We took time to learn about Brancott's people and values and
explored this historic and pioneering estate in detail. We
unearthed almost forgotten brand elements and rediscovered its most
historic landmark, the old Red Barn, left over from earlier sheep
farming days. We recognised the unused yet invaluable equity in
this much-loved building and resurrected it as a meaningful brand
icon, truly bringing the brand home at last. We also reunited
Brancott Estate with its New Zealand provenance and heritage, using
innovative, die-cut labels to bring to life our big brand idea:
'The Land is the Wine, the Wine is the Land'. We have universally
engaged consumers with the brand's story by transporting them to
the original home of NZ's signature wine and elevated Brancott
Estate from a generic to a truly authentic brand with strong
differentiation in a challenging market.