Killing the
Ritual.
client
Brand Awareness
Mission
Introduce an ancient winemaking craft to a generation looking for connection. Gen-Z craves intimacy over ceremony, but the category feels too formal to reach them.
Challenge
Ending the Performative Chore. Younger audiences view traditional wine habits as complicated and elite—relics of a different social script.
Strategy
The Defined Perspective. Trade rigid category norms for a Wildcard way in, empowering Gen-Z to define the wine experience for themselves.
The Friction Audit
Gen Z isn't rejecting wine; they're rejecting the performative friction that comes with it. Our research found that this generation already feels behind on traditional milestones; the last thing they want is a drink that adds more pressure to "perform." To win, we had to stop elevating moments and start validating them.
The "Staged" Moment
Fussy routines, sommelier-led rules, and curated milestones.
The Validated Moment
Enjoy first, learn later. Wine that complements the person, not the rules.
Bridging Data
& Disruption
I led the cross-functional build to transform a stagnant category into an accessible lifestyle brand. Being the bridge between 66 respondents and a team of non-wine drinkers meant I had to be the first one to truly buy into the vision. I realized early on that if I wanted my team to push past their own biases, I had to be the one in the trenches proving the unpredictable idea was worth the chase.
I spent hours calling every specialty shop in Richmond to source our specific bottles. I found three in town, but the final wildcard addition required a dash to D.C. It was a lot of mileage for four labels, but those details are what turn a wildcard idea into a legitimate strategy.
Unfiltered Narrative
We broke the rules of high-polish advertising with lo-fi comics to build trust through un-staged authenticity.
Chaotic Palates
Posts featuring pairings, like canned tuna, that validate the "unscripted" reality of young adulthood over elite traditions.
Shelf Interruption
Utilizing unconventional shelf talkers and shopping cart placards to disrupt the autopilot grocery run and spark curiosity.
Niche Immersion
Immersion in food subcultures like r/kitchencels to meet Gen-Z where inside jokes replace gatekept rules.
The Creative Accomplice
We introduced Wonderwerk as the category’s Wildcard—a wine designed for the "messy middle" of adulthood. By trading curated milestones for cultural resonance, we gave Gen Z the freedom to strip wine of its elitism and define the moment on their own terms.
Redefining the Pour
Our execution traded high-polish for high-resonance. By visualizing Wonderwerk in authentic, low-stakes settings, we proved that wine is most powerful when it stops being a curation and starts being a companion to unfiltered lives.
Validating the Person
We moved Wonderwerk from a special occasion bottle to an everyday conversation starter. This takeaway was about killing stale social scripts. Brand management is the art of validating the person over the pairing to build an unfiltered connection.