When the Missouri Wine and Grape Board asked us to develop a new campaign, it wasn’t a brand we were just getting to know. We had already worked with them on a project basis for over a year, building a strong foundation. This was the first real chance to shift the brand’s trajectory and make people outside the industry actually pay attention.
Missouri isn’t the first place most people think of when they hear “great wine.” California usually corners the U.S. conversation, with imported wines carrying their own heavy reputations into the aisle. Missouri’s climate, though—hot summers, cold winters, constant variability—creates exactly the kind of conditions that make grapes work harder and taste better for it. That story hadn’t been told the right way. Yet.
Early on, we explored a concept called “Different is Better.” It leaned straight into Missouri’s cultural DNA, tapping into the “Show Me” spirit, and challenged people to stop following the crowd just because California told them to. It wasn’t about picking fights, but it was about giving Missouri wines—and Missouri wine drinkers—the credit they deserved for knowing better than to blindly chase labels. If you’re buying wine just because it’s from Napa, congratulations on your herd membership.
The idea had bite, and I still like a lot about it. But it felt reactive. It positioned Missouri wines against a norm rather than giving them a story of their own.
That’s when we found the heart of the campaign with what would eventually become Worth the Work. Originally, we had called it “Hard Work Tastes Better” during early development. Creative testing made it clear: Worth the Work resonated more strongly, standing on its own instead of throwing punches sideways.
The strategy wasn’t complicated. Don’t copy the category. Own your truth. We didn’t try to gloss over the fact that Missouri’s wine industry is scrappy or that they fight for every bottle to get on the shelf. We leaned into it because that difference was exactly what made them interesting.
And if you’re not willing to be different, you shouldn’t expect anyone to notice you.
That mindset became even more critical when you consider the realities. Missouri Wines needed to raise awareness beyond the wine aisle, competing against national and imported brands with ten times their budget. They also faced restrictions that big producers never think twice about—like the need to promote an entire state’s wineries without favoring individual brands. In that environment, blending in would have been a shortcut to irrelevance.
To tell the story authentically, we threw out every cliché. No stock imagery. No swirling wine glasses framed perfectly by a sunset. We planned real shoots at real Missouri wineries, timing production around harvests, bottling, and all the heavy lifting that makes the wine possible. Celebration and relaxation moments made it in, but only as the payoff for everything that came before.
Winning stakeholder support wasn’t automatic. Working with a government-funded board meant rounds of approvals, research, and close attention to budgets. It was one of the first times I led the full journey—from strategy through creative through final pitch—and it taught me how important it is to defend a brave idea even when a safer one would have been easier to sell.
Looking back, I do wish we had been able to build even more micro-stories throughout production. There were also the usual production fire drills, including a last-minute pivot to a new voiceover artist right before launch. No matter how seasoned you are, the scramble to land those last pieces never gets less intense.
Beyond the increase in gallons sold across the state, social media engagement and overall brand awareness, we found success in how the campaign gave Missouri Wines a belief system. It helped shift the brand from feeling like an underdog to standing proudly on its own terms.
Brands that want to be noticed have to make a choice.
Blend in, or stand for something real.
Missouri Wines chose to stand for something.
And honestly, getting covered head to toe in grape dust at a Missouri harvest might be one of the best creative experiences I’ve had. Highly recommended.
