Smith & Sheth
Vineyards of
exceptional quality
Smith & Sheth are in the business of creating great wines that bring great pleasure. As contemporary negociants Steve Smith MW and Brian Sheth seek out the exceptional. Hand selecting the best grapes from the finest vineyards. Establishing steadfast relationships with the land, growers and makers who form the DNA of our CRU.
The French call it “terroir” – a sense of place.
Background
Sharing the pleasure, culture and craft of wine
In New Zealand we have our own defining word – Tūrangawaewae – our place to stand in the world.
This word describes the special connection of a people and the land they live, love and work in. Smtih & Sheth wines reflect the magic and alchemy of this relationship and the true beauty of these places. NZ Digital was engaged bring the Smith & Sheth story alive, sharing the pleasure, culture and craft of wine through strategic digital.
“Our DNA is expressed through our wine and woven into our visual language. Central to our label designs are the DNA strands that define the different grape clones used in our wines. Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Syrah: the essence of these varietals is illustrated on our bottles and captured within them. Our logo, S&S entwined, is our DNA helix representing the foundations of our story: Smith and Sheth seeking the exceptional.”
– Steve Smith, Master of Wine
Brand Story & Manifesto
This is what great wine looks like
Smith & Sheth take pride in their story, speaking of place and describing a land that is rich in cultivated food and natural production. To ensure the brand’s unique story and wine manifesto were featured across the new website, the layout would employ a variety of rich, interactive media, including video content, animation and ecommerce.
Partnering with Smith & Sheth’s internal team, our designers made recommendations for their new website to optimise the page layout, improve content performance and direct users to make a conversion. The result was a cleaner experience that was more responsive and aligned website goal completions to the brand’s marketing and sales goals.
Our approach
The look of progress
To better respond to Smith & Sheth’s requirements and deliver a consistent experience across all devices, we designed an engaging, responsive e-commerce platform for the brand while converging the brand’s need to tell a story. Wanting to achieve a more modern look and feel with an interactive layout, we shaped and infused the buying experience with technology allowing the wine to tell Its story.
The website design makes best use of recognisable Hawke’s Bay landscapes, drawing the user in to find out more about the wine, this was a key element in telling the story of – Tūrangawaewae – our place to stand in the world.
The taste of Terroir
Merging the digital
world with reality
Smith & Sheth wanted to streamline the tasting process to make it more efficient and user-friendly. By creating a custom Shopify APP, we provided the Smith & Sheth team with the flexibility they need to manage on-site wine tastings while simultaneously providing the customer with a seamless digital experience at each and every touch point.
The APP allows customers to rate the wines they taste based on a number of criteria including; colour & intensity, aroma, flavour, finish & complexity. These ratings are stored against a customer’s email allowing them to review and purchase anytime.
The Results
A shared love of wine
Smith & Sheth’s new digital experience successfully highlighted there unique brand story by employing beautiful design and functionality that re-invented how wine brands interact with their customers. The true story of this step change is best told through the numbers…
