The Campaign

We live in a world where we need to get smart with our resources. Each year at concerts, all the sound energy created by the bands and the audience is left to go to waste. “Heineken Sound Recycle” turned unused sound energy into electrical energy by using Heineken beer cans as power generators. The generated electricity was used to power charging stations and beer coolers.

Creative Execution

We launched the first sound recycling machine at the S2O festival, the biggest Thai Electronic Dance Music festival. Themachine generated electricity from the sound vibration inside the beer can, returning it as AC current. Consumer tension: Many festival-goers run low on mobile battery power because of intensive phone use during the festival. A dead phone post-concert makes it impossible to organize meeting points or transport or deal with problems or emergencies. The solution: Heineken Sound Recycle provided power to all music lovers to charge their phones and drink Heineken fresh from the fridge powered by harvested sound. This concept will be used at other music festivals sponsored by Heineken and has become an activation asset for the brand.

We gave festival-goers and Heineken fans a way of creating clean energy by having fun and making some noise. At S20, 18.000 fans for each of the 3 Festival days were exposed to the Sound Recycling Machine. We created a platform that has already started reducing Heineken's carbon footprint at music festivals by up to 40%.

Heineken Sound Recycle is the ambient that turned unused sound energy into electrical energy by using Heineken beer cans as power generators. The generated electricity was used to power charging stations and beer coolers. The machine generated electricity from the sound vibration inside the beer can, returning it as AC current. Inside each Heineken can, a small mechanical device was installed. All the cans were mounted as an outdoor installation which harvest the sound from the stage and the crowd. The vibration of the sound waves inside the empty cans ignited a circuit to create electricity which generated powers.

Insights, Strategy and the Idea

Don’t get lost in the noise. Use it. When it comes to Thai concerts, consumers are familiar with receiving “concert packs” and other privileges to add to their festival experience. Heineken wanted to create something worth talking about and worth remembering, and do it in a way that would include and unite, not divide and separate (e.g. like a VIP area).