Sydney brand strategy and design agency The Creative Method has redesigned the packaging for Wild Turkey’s 39-SKU Australian ready-to-drink (RTD) portfolio, giving greater prominence to the brand’s turkey illustration.
The refreshed packaging spans cans and bottles, different flavours and alcohol strengths, as well as Zero Sugar variants. The turkey illustration now features more prominently across the range, supported by a stronger visual hierarchy across formats and variants.
The packaging also uses more gold across the range.
The Creative Method founder and creative director Tony Ibbotson said the agency focused on an existing brand asset rather than introducing a new one.
“When you’re working with a brand people have known for generations, the temptation can be to demonstrate change by changing everything,” he said.
“But the better question is: what have you already got that nobody else can own?”
Ibbotson said the turkey illustration already carried recognition and history for the brand.
“The turkey already carried generations of recognition, character and story. We didn’t need to invent another brand asset. We needed to amplify the one that was already unmistakably Wild Turkey.”
The agency applied the design system across the 39 SKUs, with the brief requiring a consistent visual identity across formats, flavours and alcohol strengths while allowing for the range to grow.
Ibbotson said this required deciding which elements of the existing brand should be changed and which should be retained.
“That’s intelligent disruption. Knowing what to challenge, what to protect and what deserves to be amplified,” he said.
Mark Watson, marketing director at Campari Australia, said the update was designed to give Wild Turkey greater presence on shelf while drawing on its heritage.
“Wild Turkey has generations of bourbon heritage behind it and the turkey itself is an important part of that story. We wanted the RTD portfolio to better reflect the uncompromising spirit and conviction and have greater standout on shelf, while remaining instantly recognisable to Wild Turkey drinkers,” he said.
The refreshed Wild Turkey RTD range is rolling out nationally across Australia.
