VISION:

To establish the credentials of our nation’s fine wine in the USA and gain greater brand recognition.

PATH:

Telling New Zealand’s fine wine story in a country who, when they think of New Zealand wine, thinks only of Sauvignon Blanc, isn’t an easy task. This challenge was taken up by 21 wineries that joined forces to take on America. Over a two-year period they formulated a plan to gain the attention of the most influential tastemakers in the US. When they were ready to act, they approached us to bring their branded program to life and help them make it happen.

The New Zealand fine wine story is in itself complex. We are blessed with multiple wine regions that produce exceptional examples of numerous varieties. For this reason, the program was called ‘Complexity’ (nobody said it was going to be easy). Inspired by their vision, we set about injecting a New Zealandness into every aspect of the Complexity brand – the visual identity, the launch experience, twitter tastings and ongoing engagement strategies.

In many ways the 21 wineries are like a ‘Team New Zealand’, collectively representing the wine industry in America. So we dressed them in black, silver, white and grey. We mixed bold typography with intricate fractal ferns, a beautiful metaphor for New Zealand’s complex fine wine story. To imbue a Kiwi element we mixed down-to-earth language with fine furniture, kiwi music and online apps.