At Saint Clair Family Estate it is always an honour to be recognised for the wines we produce, however we were recently delighted to hear that our brand has been recognised for something entirely different this time.
Tony Ibbotson and his Sydney-based company, The Creative Method have been awarded a Silver Award in the Best Product Print Advert category at the 2018 International Wine and Spirits Competition (IWSC) Design and Media Awards with an advertisement they produced for Saint Clair Family Estate.
The awards are aimed at celebrating innovation, creativity, artwork, bottle design and packaging within the wine and spirit industry. In its inaugural year, the competition was divided into four categories and judged by a panel of award winning specialists from around the world.
Tony, who is the son of Saint Clair Family Estate founders Neal and Judy Ibbotson, has been involved with branding and design for the company since its inception in the late 1990’s.
He was pleased to see the Saint Clair design and the wine itself recognised on an international level.
“The wine is award winning so it’s fantastic to have [designed an ad] that reflects that,” he says.
Based in Sydney, Tony and his team created the design of the Silver Fern Bottle, aiming to highlight the fact that Saint Clair Family Estate is entirely New Zealand made and owned. He says it was a simple way of bringing that message to life while maintaining the presence of Saint Clair with the bottle shot.
“The beauty is that even if you don’t read the copy it is immediately obvious that Saint Clair is from New Zealand. The most powerful advertising needs to be immediate and memorable, [and] using such a strong New Zealand icon such as the fern was a great way of achieving the designed connection,” Tony says.
Although winning awards and being recognised on an international level is great, Tony maintains that the real success comes from how well something works or ultimately sells.
“Advertising awards can be very subjective so it’s important for us to keep reminding ourselves what the outcome needs to be for the company and the brand first and foremost. Winning an award is a bonus,” he says.
Tony feels lucky that he is able to do what he loves and yet still remain an important part of the family business. He believes one of the greatest things about his working relationship with Saint Clair is the trust that it is built upon and the fact that everyone involved is on the same page.
“We want Saint Clair to be one of the best wine brands in the world and we are all working towards that,” he says.
