How do you respectfully refresh an Australian fine wine icon?
St Hugo is a brand with a rich history and prestige. Since 1847 they’ve been setting the benchmark for winemaking excellence and are the #2 fine wine brand in Australia. But to remain timelessly relevant, the brand needed to evolve, to stretch beyond its white tablecloth fine dining image to slot effortlessly into modern life. We were briefed to contemporise the brand and its entire portfolio of wines in order to engage a broader, younger audience while still resonating with older consumers.
How do you contemporise within a classic framework?
Our creative solution is an elegant elevation. Informed by conversations with Chief Winemaker Pete Munro, we got under the brand’s skin to understand what to retain to remain true to St Hugo’s heritage, while breathing new life into the brand.
A sensitive update to the brand identity balances contemporary relevance with fine wine credibility. The new design system gives this identity a strong, consistent presence across the portfolio, allowing each wine to tell its own story and appeal to different audiences and occasions.
“Who better to partner with than renowned lettering artist and illustrator Peter Horridge to refresh the St Hugo identity?
With a distinctive fluidity of line, Horridge brought power
and elegance to life in letterform and crest.”
Max Harkness, Creative Director
With this refresh St Hugo is positioned to drive contemporary relevance. Their collaboration with Formula 1 driver Daniel Ricciardo — influencer marketing with undeniable elegance — is designed to recruit new consumers to the brand. The partnership has been a commercial hit globally. Read how we struck a balance between Ricciardo’s infectious personality and St Hugo’s prestigious brand character here.
