The Campaign

Our challenge was to prove to our target audience, that Heineken is a premium beer brand valued and recognized globally as a ‘social currency’ We needed to elevate the brand and differentiate our messaging from that of our competitors, in a way that was relevant and entertaining to our often fickle, time poor audience. To do this we created the Heineken Passport – a unique entertainment platform for both our target audience and the news hungry press , where engagement is key. The idea followed an intrepid traveller on his journey from Inner Mongolia to Bangkok with no money, just Heineken and his wits to get by. When he was done with the journey, we turned him into a PR spokesperson, delivering stories to reinforce how the brand can be used as a social currency when one needs to navigate social situations. Through effective media engagement just as the video content was being seeded, we constructed the frame of authenticity and credibility around the entire campaign, thus putting the PR focus on the content itself as opposed to its construction. All the objectives for this campaign exceeded expectations, we achieved 3.28 million video views, 3 times the objective set, grew Heineken Singapore’s Facebook fan base by 300%, the PR generated in print, online and broadcast channels valued at S$714,000 resulting from 61 clippings, more than doubling our target. This platform also became the prototype for the global ‘Heineken Dropped’ campaign released later in 2013.

The Brief

The primary objective was to reach and influence Singaporean ‘men of the world’ aged 18-44. They are discerning and selective, only engaging with brands that reflect their own personal confident style and worldly view, through the consumption of digital video content in key media outlets, social media and blogs. We needed to create content that was unique, newsworthy and entertaining. Success was defined by increased scores for the brand imagery statements measured through our existing brand tracking, 1 million YouTube views, 50% growth of Heineken Singapore’s Facebook fan base and earned PR value of S$300K.

Results

All the objectives for this campaign were not just met but exceeded. (1) Scores for the brand imagery statements “worth paying more for” increased by 6.39% and “leading international brand” by 3.3% (2) Brand preference increased by *23.7% and brand awareness by 33.6% breaking the 10% KPI set (3) Achieved 3.28 million video views, smashing the 1 million views objective set (4) Grew Heineken Singapore’s Facebook fan base by 300% (5) Generated PR coverage on print, online and broadcast channels valued at S$714,000 resulting from 61 clippings, more than doubling our target. The true measure of success was that it all resulted in incremental Heineken sales achieving a total brand MQT growth of 15.6% vs the previous year. *Source: TNS Malt Liquor Brand Tracking (MLBT) as of Nov’12 **Source: AC Nielson Retail Panel Nov 2012 figures

Execution

The campaign ran from 10 Aug to 15 Oct 2012. A phased PR offensive kicked off by first teasing editors with a faux personalized passport containing Polaroid shots from the journey with handwritten notes by our intrepid traveller, hinting of the adventures experienced. Once interest was piqued we launched the videos and arranged face-to-face interviews with news and lifestyle publications to expound on Heineken as a ‘social currency’ and its function as the great enabler on this journey as well as to drive viewers to the online content. We then activated the campaign through the Facebook app, providing digital assets & video content for the audience to share with live status updates, tweets and Instagram pictures of our traveler’s journey as it unfolded live, earning points to give themselves the chance to win their own legendary journey and at the same time amplifying the campaign to their friends.

The Situation

Heineken’s positioning as a premium, higher priced, international beer has led to it having to work harder to defend and reinforce its status. The challenge was to create a campaign that elevated Heineken above its competitors, beyond the simple and typical international brand messages of provenance and product quality that the competitors were championing. As well as creating a PR platform that enchanted the press as well as our time poor media savvy target audience.

The Strategy

To reinforce Heineken’s leading International premium credentials, we wanted to demonstrate to consumers that Heineken is universally recognised as a mark of success, quality and value all around the world. With that in mind, we wanted to use Heineken as social currency, to prove its worth/value. We selected a Man of the World, representative of our brand reference consumer, dropped him in Inner Mongolia and challenged him to make his way to Bangkok using no money, just Heineken. Heineken’s social currency would come from it being an actual currency in real life. We then turned the adventure into a branded content series, with topical media hooks for broadcast and reporting. The audience could watch, share and participate in the journey via a Facebook application.