The story of Desiderius Pongracz is so wide-ranging that it was impossible to tell in a short form. Pongracz is also a premium product and the end result had to reflect that.

We were also talking to a sharply defined market, who had to experience the brand story in a unique way. The challenge was to portray the brand story in such a way as to justify the premium price without ever mentioning price.

A coffee table book was the ideal medium to tell the story of Desiderius Pongracz; a man who spoke six languages, and wrote several books on wine, deserved a book about himself.

As his life was broken up into distinct chapters (Hungarian nobleman, cavalryman, prisoner of war, escaping to Africa, revolutionising the local wine industry etc), it was a natural fit to tell his story as a story.

His wide-ranging interests and pursuits also led to a design that embraced many design styles within a coherent whole.

The brand was reinvigorated. In conjunction with a broader communications campaign, the product's premium positioning was entrenched with much fewer "cut-price" promotions in the sales channels. The book also used as an educational tool and as giveaways to influencers.

The PR generated (the book was launched at a media event) also helped the brand gain exposure in editorial (non-paid) media.