Heineken launches platform to target men in different cities

Heineken is launching a long-term marketing drive to distill its global positioning around “progress” and “adventure” into something more palatable for men with different tastes in 100 countries worldwide.

Video: Heineken – The City TV advert

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUlCqKghdic

The strategy launches today (12 May) with a “Cities of the World” TV advert to motivate men out of their comfort zones and explore their cities. It is the seventh in the brand’s “Legends” series and sees the “Man of the World” character encounter a string of colourful characters while following a trail of business cards left by a woman.

The creative theme, developed by Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam, will be extended through a mix of promotions for special edition Heineken bottles and social media content. The brewer has produced bottles with one of six cities on the label; New York, Shanghai, Berlin, Amsterdam, London and Rio de Janeiro, and will let fans win trips to each city.

Additionally, men in emerging markets such as Lagos, Nigeria will be asked to share their own urban adventures online. Heineken will curate the content and present it back to fans as a way to encourage them to commit to being open to new opportunities.

The brewer hopes that by being at the heart of new experiences for its core 25-to-34-year demographic, its premium credentials will rise. A ‘significant” portion of this market want to make the most out of their time in the city, Heineken adds.

Anuraag Trikha, head of global marketing communications at Heineken, told Marketing Week the “Cities” concept is the “perfect” platform for making the beer feel unique in each market. It also dovetails with the brand’s ongoing efforts to rival spirits in nightclubs, he adds.

Trikha says: “We’re curating the best the world has to offer in different cities to give men an insight into the Heineken brand that’s relevant and distinctive. It’s a perfect shop window for us to voice the worldliness behind the global brand in a local accent.

“The success of the campaign will come from whether we can get local consumers across the world to live these experiences by way of stimulating conversations. This is a long term initiative for the business, one that we’ll reinvest in over time by using various cities to push our point of view alongside our marketing around moderation.”

Heineken is preparing a global social media content push over the coming weeks to present accounts of urban adventure stories it has sourced. The company declined to give further details on the move.

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