Vintelligence: Making wine simple again.
The challenge
Wine has been in decline for over a decade. Shoppers find the aisle confusing, the language stuffy and the choice overwhelming, so they stick to what they know or walk on by.
Vinarchy, the world's leading wine business, built a new category strategy to change that. Vintelligence puts the drinking occasion first and makes wine simpler to shop.
So naturally, they came to us. Our job: give Vintelligence a stand-out creative identity and convince the trade that Vinarchy is the partner to grow wine with. The one with the insight, the plan, and the portfolio to reverse the decline.
Client
Vinarchy
Area
Trade
Our approach: real life, not spreadsheets
Most category strategies look the same: dense numbers, corporate charts, beige slides. Buyers have seen hundreds of them. Vintelligence needed to cut straight through that, and to say what it stands for in a heartbeat.
So, we built the identity around real life, not spreadsheets. Our imagery captures the Great British wine-buying public as they really are –
on the sofa, round the table and laughing over a takeaway.
The tone of our content followed suit. Out with the snobbery, in with plain, confident language that tells retailers exactly what's in it for them: an aisle that's easier to navigate, easier to shop and easier to try. Happier shoppers, and more sales too.
The screw cap icon
Our lead asset turned the humble screw cap into the hero. A bottle top for each category pillar gave Vintelligence a simple, ownable icon that buyers could recognise in a split second, and a signature sign-off to match: Cheers!
Trade media suite and media plan
We created a full suite of trade media assets and backed it with a strategic media plan, negotiated by our team. Nine months of coverage to keep Vintelligence in front of retailers across channels, building understanding over time and inviting them to get involved.
PR: putting Vinarchy at the centre
A press release and exclusive interview time with Vinarchy's CEO secured stand-out articles across the industry and trade titles, putting Vinarchy's voice at the centre of the conversation about wine's future. With much more to follow.
The website
We designed and built the Vintelligence website, bringing the strategy, the insight and the portfolio together in one easy-to-explore hub. At its heart sits a film that tells the story of Vintelligence in a couple of minutes.
“From the first presentation, Mercieca just got it. They took a category strategy that could easily have been another set of charts and turned it into something people actually want to look at. The screw cap idea was brilliant: simple, ownable and instantly recognisable. Our customers have noticed, and so has the industry.”
Paul Mullens
Head of Category & Insights at Vinarchy
Results
12 x quality pieces of earned coverage in the first few days of launch, including lead articles in The Grocer, Drinks Business and Harpers Wine & Spirits.
The PR and paid programme will continue throughout 2027 and beyond, with channel and retailer-specific activity to further engage important customers.
