It can be difficult saying "this is what we believe" but we decided as an agency we wouldn't free pitch. We say to people fairly frequently, "sorry we can't give you ideas for that - we just don't know you well enough". But we were seduced by the idea we could potentially win this competition that is, in reality, a big free pitch.
We lost the competition.
However we are proud of our concept. We intended to re-use all the elements of Veuve Clicquot. We would use the packing boxes Veuve comes in to create a modular front and back bar system. We would of ground down the glass bottles and made crushed glass panels that would of been backlit with historic lighting. We would of created a dynamic, mobile bar that could be used in different situations with our modular boxes daisy chained together using antique hinges. We even worked out a drinks and food menu with an additional take away option.
It was with sadness that our 'sorry you didn't win' email came through. But it underlined why free pitching (sorry competitions) are bad for designers and clients alike. It took us time to get the pitch together. We made a whole host of assumptions about the brief and we believed that the solution was right. As a client, Veuve Clicquot and The Old Vic Tunnels didn't get the right response because we were, essentially guessing what they needed. There isn't the dialogue between client and supplier where proper responsive and well articulated design comes from.
I'm sure we would be singing a different tune if we had of won. We would of used the £15k and made something incredible.
Hope you like the idea, but we've learn't our lesson, we really wont free pitch from now on.