The Brief

Singapore is one of the most highly regulated places in the world. A society built on being told what to do, and more often, what not to do. So, to launch the Heineken Tactile Can, we wanted consumers to remember how good it is to touch. We wanted to introduce Singapore to a beer that feels as good as it tastes. The idea stemmed from the new can texture – which feels great under the fingers. ‘Please do touch’ was our simple call-to-action that liberated Singaporeans and told them, this time, it’s OK to touch - and enjoy it.

Describe how the promotion developed from concept to implementation

We launched the campaign with a creative buy in TODAY newspaper, featuring embossed cut-outs of the can and a humorous editorial. This was followed by a series of cheeky print and OOH ads. To bring to life the unique feel of the can, we created the Heineken Touch Maze. At the pitch-black maze we encouraged consumers to feel their way through and be rewarded at the end with an ice-cold Heineken. To communicate the message at point of purchase, mini tactile cans were placed on handles of beer fridges in convenience stores and aisle fins ran in supermarket beer aisles.

Describe the success of the promotion with both client and consumer including some quantifiable results

The campaign was a great success, exceeding all brand and commercial objectives. We achieved significant increases in brand tracking: • Worth paying more for: up 9% • Innovative brand: up 2%* • Leading International beer: up 5% We also saw an increase in scores for attractive packaging, up by 6% on the previous year to 51%. The commercial results were even better, with sales for the 33cl can 30% higher than last year - exceeding target by 25%. One consumer loved the can so much they stole one of our 3D light boxes from a bus stop on Orchard Road!

Explain why the method of promotion was most relevant to the product or service

Our consumers enjoy novelty, so we wanted to bring this unique can to their attention as clearly as possible, in a humorous, ‘Heineken’ way. For mass awareness, OOH is a very effective medium for our target market. The immediacy of our attractive product imagery and tongue-in-cheek headlines worked well in this environment; while the Touch Maze and creative 6-sheetsbrought the can to life as a physical experience, aiding recall and tempting people to try it out. We followed the humour through in store with mini-tactile cans on fridge door handles – a great attention grabbing strategy at point of sale.