Pernod Ricard New Zealand fine wine brand Church Road launches new look via Emotive

Pernod Ricard Winemakers and independent creative agency Emotive have restyled one of New Zealand’s most awarded wine brands, Church Road, ahead of further expansion into China’s fine wine market.

Pernod Ricard Winemakers grounded the process in a global brand strategy that would resonate with top tier drinkers in China, New Zealand and other global fine wine markets. The resulting ‘Beauty of Conviction’ creative platform and luxurious assets for Church Road’s prestige portfolio were conceived by Emotive.

China is one of the world’s most dynamic fine wine markets with discerning consumers beginning to look for new discoveries that offer something different from the traditional Old World choices with their familiar stories of heritage and provenance.

Says Celest Kenny, head of fine wine at Pernod Ricard Winemakers: ”Church Road is a beautiful boutique winery in Hawke’s Bay New Zealand and is fortunate enough to receive many significant awards and accolades for its wines. As we look to bring these extraordinary wines to fine wine drinkers in key markets, we wanted to ensure we were positioning the brand in a way that responded to our audience’s desire for exclusive brands and experiences that bear the stamp of the people that made them.”

Taking inspiration from the artistry of chief winemaker Chris Scott and his team, the ‘Beauty of Conviction’ platform and the new campaign encapsulate the humanity behind Church Road’s winemaking process, acknowledging the vision, intuition, and flair that go into realising these beautiful wines.

Says James Pash, creative director, Emotive: “With artistry and humanity as key themes of the campaign, design craft was central to our creative approach. We transformed the brand’s TOM signature icon into a hand-painted brushstroke. The rich, textural detail in the brushstroke represents the artistry that goes into every bottle of Church Road, but also the humanity that is so integral to the appeal of the brand and the way it makes its wines.”

Says Simon Joyce, CEO and founder, Emotive: “Over the last 2 years, we have been on a mission to elevate Emotive’s design offering and ensure design thinking is at the heart of everything we do. This new work for Church Road is a lovely example of this approach and it has been brilliant to collaborate with Celest and the team at Pernod Ricard along the way.”

The new brand identity is currently being rolled out across Australia, New Zealand and China.

Client: Pernod Ricard
Head of Fine Wine: Celest Kenny
Brand Manager: Annabel Parker

Creative Agency: Emotive
Creative Director: James Pash
Head of Design: Daniel Mortensen
Designer: Alex King
Strategy Director: Anna-Claire Clendon
Senior Integrated Producer: Annabel Jewers
Business Director: Monika Vidovic
Account Manager: Sara Haddock

Photographer: Danny Eastwood
Production Company: The Pool Collective
CGI Production: Limehouse
Retouching: Electric Art and Pixel Social Club