Winchester must reposition itself. Its competitors fight for space within the arena of sports shooting, and some try to encroach on Winchester’s traditional hunting position, which has weakened Winchester’s position, making it less unique.

Surprisingly, an area that the low-end gun market is lacking is one of nostalgia­—that elevates the sport to what it was in European Americans’ respective home countries­—as well as a distinctive, traditional American twist.

 

The new Winchester will not try to appeal to what its consumers are, but what its consumers want to be and want to feel about themselves. The consumer will purchase Winchester products because he wants to be that sort of person—a Winchester man. The new brand will elevate and enrich. It is noble, intensely masculine, and luxe. It is something men aspire to. This is a brand that understands and honors the bond between a man and his weapon.

These images show what that new brand world looks like—this is what people will experience when they interact with Winchester. This is something they will pay more to get.

 

 

 

 

The European gun market has an allure that the American one is lacking. The challenge was how to recreate the same type of emotion while retaining an American point of view and low U.S. price point.

I was particularly inspired by alcohol packaging: the balance of old and new, rugged and high-end, and how there was an existing visual language (often native to the U.S.) that this target audience would respond to.

 

 

 

 

The new logo is a visual reference to a common gunstock detail. For classic Winchester models, this is something that owners would have gunsmiths carve onto their favorite rifles. It is a sign of a well-loved and well-used firearm, and a noble bond between a gentleman and his rifle.

It visually conveys the elegance of a hand-tooled stock and represents the precision and simplicity of the gun’s design. It looks at what made Winchester models so innovative, the place it has earned in gun owners’ lives across the country, and looks ahead at how the brand will continue to redefine the market and position its firearms as the tools of gentlemen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Instead of engaging in traditional advertising—showing off new guns and equipment—that look similar regardless of the company, Winchester will use ad spaces to immerse viewers in Winchester’s brand world. Ads should be covetable, something readers tear out and send to their friends.