By Andy Young
Today is Wynnsday, which takes place on the first Wednesday of August each year, and this year Wynns Coonawarra Estate has revealed a refreshed brand positioning.
Wynnsday marks the release of the annual new vintage collection for the winery and the new brand campaign has been developed in partnership with J Walter Thompson Melbourne; the idea has been to place the brand alongside the world’s other great Cabernets.
The new campaign features the tagline “Those who know Cabernet know Wynns” and it aims to appeal to the highly-engaged Cabernet drinker.
Wynns has partnered with celebrated chef Guillaume Brahimi to front the campaign and Angus Lilley, the marketing director for Treasury Wine Estate, described Brahimi as an “instinctive choice for Wynns”.
“As someone with a lifelong passion for food and wine, and an appreciation for craftsmanship, Guillaume Brahimi was a natural fit for Wynns – a winery synonymous with producing some of the finest cabernet sauvignon in the world,” Lilley said.
Kieran Antill, Executive Creative Director, J Walter Thompson Melbourne added: “Wynns is a much loved wine found in many wine lovers’ cellars – including Guillaume’s collection found at his Sydney restaurant ‘Guillaume’. The creative idea was honest and elegant: to present ‘those in the know’ in a moment where they would enjoy a glass – like after a service between Guillaume and his front of house manager”.
Speaking about the launch of the 2016 collection, Wynns’ winemaker Sue Hodder, said the collection perfectly depicts the Wynns style, the vintage conditions, and the character of great terra rossa.
As the brand manager for the inaugrual Wynnsday campaign, and subsequent ones after that, I am repeattedly disappointed how TWE present the concept today. If it wasn’t for trade press like the The Shout I wouldn’t know it was happening. Mr Brahimi is no doubt one of Australia’s most iconic chefs but the face of the Estate that made the Coonawarra famous makes no sense. Where is Sue Hodder, she is the current custodian of the brand. She is the Brand Champion. Not some ‘front of house manager’ as the bloke from J Walter Thompson will have us believe.