Results and Effectiveness

The campaign captured the imagination of the public and media alike. We knew we’d struck a chord with consumers when teams arrived at the race track already kitted out in home made Heineken crash helmets. Brand scores improved and we generated an amazing 257% extra PR value vs. 2009. To convert the enormous interest generated through the Formula Chair races, we ran a ‘3 for 2’ Year End Bonus promotion in 37 outlets in Clarke Quay, advertised online, on radio and OOH sites across the area - beer sales went up 75% on the previous year in Clarke Quay.

Creative Execution

Enter the Formula Chair Championships – an office inspired race track in Clarke Quay, Singapore’s busiest drinking destination, built to house our unique, motorized office chairs. For a week in December, teams took turns to race these chairs round the track for glory and Heineken year-end parties. On our Facebook page, consumers could create and share suped-up office chairs; download witty, festive out-of-office replies and book slots for the Formula Chair Championships. Radio provided mass awareness for the campaign – with open talk segments, daily competitions, and live DJ reports from our races each night. The Formula Chair activity was supported by a wider ‘Heineken Year End Bonus’ promotion which ran throughout Clarke Quay, to ensure as many Heineken fans as possible could get the rewards they deserve.

Insights, Strategy and the Idea

Heineken enjoys a strong position in Singapore, and is perceived as a premium, innovative brand – it’s the beer cosmopolitan adults are happy to be seen drinking. The marketplace is becoming increasingly crowded, with more and more beers becoming more and more active. So how do you help Heineken stand out during the festive season, when every other brand is going to market saying ‘Happy Holidays’ at the same time? Sometimes, you need to take a risk and do something really different. We wanted to bring alive Heineken’s brand idea of ‘take a fresh look at what’s really good in life and enjoy it’. Singaporeans work too hard all year round, and during the festive season they deserve to relax and be rewarded. The office is symbolic of work taking over our lives and stealing away our fun time, so we took this environment and turned it on its head.