Brief Explanation

Although beer brands in Vietnam enjoyed high numbers, consumer connection was waning making brands easily susceptible to replacement. The challenge for Heineken was to leverage its excellent brand perception and rekindle a strong brand association in the hearts of the brand’s consumers. The Great Escape – a social media competition that tickled passionate football fans did just that. On Facebook and YouTube, Heineken with popular local celebrity Tuan Hung and his crew invited football fans in Vietnam to send in their most creative escape plan. A special UEFA Champions League packaging, digital banners, PR on e-news portals supported this main video call on the brand’s social media. The reward? The winner goes to a secret screening of the UEFA Champions League Finals where they will watch the game with Tuan Hung, his friends and lots of Heineken. Football, the way it should be watched!

The Brief

Heineken was a well-established name in Vietnam but with several other brands now available, the brand had to reconnect with its consumers to ensure a growing business. The opportunity we saw was in the only thing that young Vietnamese men loved as much as beer – football. The late broadcasting hour of UEFA Champions League and other social restrictions had made football fans prisoners in their own houses. The strategy was to reconnect with Vietnamese youth by making them escape this prison and bringing to them a true football viewing experience.

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

Total media impressions – 282 million with over 88% unique reach The campaign had close to 26 million views 50% of all UEFA Champions League conversations were about Heineken’s Great Escape There were a total of 3.5 million interactions Total PR value was close to $1.5 million Most importantly “Brand that shares my interest” rose 13% between Feb 2015 and May 2015 There was 7% increase in “Seen with brand” and “Progressive brand” between the same period And total volume grew by 11% compared to previous year (YTD May ’14 vs. YTD May ’15) (Source: Client data)

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

The UEFA Champions League (globally sponsored by Heineken) would be broadcasted at 2:45 am. This logistical nightmare was compounded with social aspects of Vietnam that prevented a passionate football fan from going out or having friends over at this hour. The true experience of watching football was trivialized. Heineken had to do something. We realized that online football conversations were as popular as prime time entertainment in Vietnam. With the help of a popular youth celebrity and avid football fan Tuan Hung, Heineken invited football fans on their Facebook page to submit their great escape plan as they overcame all these hurdles that prevented them from enjoying a UEFA Champions League game experience. The reward? The winner goes to a secret screening of the UEFA Champions League Finals where they will watch the game with Tuan Hung, his friends and lots of Heineken. Football, the way it should be watched!