A global brand relaunch
Moskovskaya is a vodka brand that is successful if certain territories, Eastern Europe, Spain and Italy, but after being acquired by the Amber Beverage Group they wanted to re-brand, refresh and expand. After initial meetings, workshops and research I took on the branding, brand world, strategy and creative direction of the relaunch. The size and scope of the project meant that my role was equally split between client liaison, project planning, strategy and dealing with multiple departments and external suppliers and with the creative direction and hands on design.
Brand evolution
The client wanted to appeal to the mid price range market and specifically to the increasingly influential Gen Z consumer. They also wanted to retain they’re existing customer base and earned heritage whilst distancing themselves from any perceived Russian connection ( they are in fact a Latvian company ) for obvious reasons.
My initial insight was to create a more disruptive brand identity that would feed into the brand world and allow us to stand out from the crowd.
Key visuals | Product lead
For the off-trade market we needed to focus on the liquid and serve whilst still staying true to the overall brand identity. I decided on using CGI as opposed to a photoshoot to give us the creative freedom to mix and match the serves and layouts as needed.
Taking this approach also proved to be much more cost effective as there were issues with bottle design updates and various client requests that would have required re-shoots.
Key visuals | Lifestyle
For the on-trade market I was keen to stay true to the new brand world. As this was a multi-territory alcohol launch there were certain limitations and considerations such as not showing full faces, not showing irresponsible drinking etc. as well as showcasing the bottle, serves and disbanding the perception that vodka is not an ‘at home sipping drink’.
I presented scamps and mood boards to the client to sell in my idea of using ring flash, lo-fi, hand held photography together with layouts that would be distinctive, ownable and flexible.
The shoot
The shoot itself presented various challenges, the budget allowed for one day to capture all the content we needed including the agreed lifestyle shots in ‘multiple settings’ one location, a B roll of the various serves and video content for social.
We achieved this through rigorous planning and working with an external team of a producer, two photographers, a videographer, talent, stylists and set designers.
We pulled it off!
I art directed the shoot in a sourced venue in East London. I was keen to have the client for immediate feedback and input, which turned out to work perfectly and lessened the stress on the day as they were excited and positive and felt involved.
Environmental
For the on-trade live space creative I worked closely with strategists ( and some actual Gen Z members of my team to make sure I was still cool ) to develop a coherent, well researched and justified approach that was more flexible and disruptive than the traditional thinking of the drinks industry and managed to get client buy -in.
The first execution of the brand world was in a trade show in Milan with over 20,000 industry influencers and buyers attending.
I worked closely with the internal 3D and styling teams to develop the concept and design of the ‘stand’, again getting client buy-in for a very different approach.
