Purple creates Courvoisier guidelines

Purple has created brand guidelines for cognac brand Courvoisier to unite the usage of the identity across its global markets.

The consultancy was appointed in May 2010 after it was approached by marketing agency White Label. Purple was chosen because of its experience in drinks branding, according to Courvoisier brand manager Claire Richards. The consultancy has previously worked on projects with Glenfiddich and Grant’s among others.

Part of the challenge with the Courvoisier brand was that there was a range of ten different products from cognac intended to be mixed to super premium bottles that retail for £3000 each with different customers, says Purple creative partner Steve Bewick.

The consultancy divided the portfolio into three sub-brands, Creative, Classic and Connoisseur, to be able to target the identities more carefully to the correct customers.

Purple brought Courvoisier’s Napoleon marque to the forefront of the identity, creating a different ’creative icon’ for each sub-brand. The Creative sub-brand, mainly targeted at younger drinkers interested in mixology, has an icon created by housing a colourful canvas of watercolour brush strokes inside the Napoleon shape.

Bewick says, ’Whenever you’re creating brand guidelines it’s important to provide as many brand assets as possible, otherwise [different markets] start making them up themselves, which often doesn’t look very good.’

Purple provided a range of photography for the brand, including reportage-style shots of the home of Courvoisier, Jarnac, France, by photographer Thomas Skovsende.

Purple also worked with photographer Tim Hogan to reshoot the portfolio of products, drawn to him because of his previous work for the fragrance industry. Bewick says, ’We wanted to make [the bottles] look like jewellery, precious and perfume-like.’

After creating a library of artwork and assets, Purple also designed a range of shelf strips, tags and posters to give examples of how to use the new guidelines, which could also be downloaded for use in store. Bewick adds, ’If that’s an example of best practice then why not give it to somebody to use.’

For Courvoisier’s’ website, Purple commissioned illustrator Adam Simpson to show how the cognac is made.