Heineken sees ‘brand equity’ in Sol beer rise following search engine launch

Heineken is launching a new global campaign for its Sol brand after seeing “a significant jolt in brand equity” following the launch of its Sol Search tool last year.

Sol’s “Local Heroes” campaign, a continuation of the branded “Sol Search” engine Heineken launched in November, has kicked off in London with the aim of celebrating the brand’s “Espiritu Libre”, or independent spirit, through short films which showcase four people who have started their own independent businesses.

The films, which have launched on Sol’s YouTube channel and Twitter page, show each of the “heroes”, including husband and wife James and Florence Kennedy who started bespoke bike and flower delivery businesses, paired up with a street artist to create art that represents their experience.

Dave Shoemack, Global Manager at Sol, told Marketing Week that the brand is hoping the campaign will continue the success it saw following the launch Sol Search, which pushes the entrepreneurial roots of Sol by suggesting the best local independent cafés, bars and restaurants according to user’s locations and preferences.

“Local Heroes is celebrating these independent minds again but taking it a step further by bringing to life their ‘espiritu libre’ in a unique way with one-of-a-kind street art – making these guys into icons in their local community,” Shoemack says.

Sol Search has received over 100,000 visits since it went live, according to Shoemack.

“We are thrilled that 57% of our consumers believed Sol Search delivered more independent results than other search engines,” he says.

“Not only that, but we have seen that exposure to Sol Search leads to a significant jolt in brand equity.”

In November, the brand claimed the platform was a big bet in its efforts to target the time-conscious “30-year-old guy” who can’t be reached through TV advertising and traditional marketing methods.

It also said the tool was an effort to get consumers to embrace their “free spirit”.

While the new campaign, which is being promoted through the hash tags #IndependentsDay and #EspírituLibre, is piloting exclusively in the U.K. in 2015, Shoemack says the brand plans to launch it in 10 more cities globally including Athens, Barcelona, Madrid and Mexico City.

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