Responses by Landor
Background: The purpose was to create packaging, along with brand identity and story, which would launch Hamburg’s first ever-commercial vineyard to the northern wine community. The inherent challenge: how to market a wine grown in a region as inhospitable and unconventional as Hamburg?
Reasoning: The weather in Hamburg, Germany is famously harsh and unpredictable. It’s the last region on earth you’d expect to find good wine. We built on this core insight and decided—as any wine grower knows—that we needed to work with what the weather gives us. We embraced the hailstorms and storm surges and created the story of Brute, a wine crafted by the elements. We then single-mindedly pursued the creative idea to inform the digital and physical brand experience.
Challenges: Our wine is a unique product of its uncompromising environment. Spinning this unconventional wisdom into our entire story was a pretty radical idea. It takes guts to be a brand that doesn’t take itself too seriously, finds strength in its weaknesses and attempts to challenge entrenched industry assumptions. Hitting the right tone of voice and not being afraid to be brutally honest about the brand and packaging forced us to reconsider our usual comfort zones.
Favorite details: The digital activation. We knew that it needed to thrive in the digital world in order to create cut-through in a dated German wine market. We worked closely with a creative coder who built an algorithm to transform the local weather data into a real-time online experience. We then used this tool to build an evolving brand expression. It’s the most distinctive and central part of the whole project. Combining wine and tech is an interesting mix and we’re proud of the way in which we wove them together to create a unique and meaningful story.
Anything new: It shifted our perspectives on the tools we have available to us as brand builders. As long as it is meaningful and tied to the core of the brand idea, then we should view data as a powerful brand asset that can be leveraged in the same manner as color, tone-of-voice and imagery.
Alternative approach: Invest a few more hours in “product testing.”
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