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When a Teuton from the far north fought against the Romans
invading his land he was not afraid of dying in the battle. After
all, when he got to Heaven he'd be able to quaff all the beer he
wanted out of the skulls of his enemies. That was his idea of
paradise. The Romans didn't share that belief. They were wine-
lovers. All this was a good 2,000 years ago. And ever since that
time the Romans and the Italians, partly descended from those
Romans, have continued to drink wine. But today Italy is
showing a growing fondness for beer.
Lots of differences
The woman
Ede.
More and more Italians are drinking it
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As yet we only drink some 21
litres a head in this country, but
today more and more Italians
are drinking beer to quench their
thirst. Only five years ago beer
consumption per head of the
population was a mere 17 litres', says
Filippo Starace, Marketing Manager
of Heineken Dreher. This Heineken
subsidiary has its head office in Milan
(Italy). Its five breweries, spread over
the entire country, produce Heineken,
Dreher and McFarland beers. It is the
second biggest brewery concern in the
country, employing some 1,200 people.
'Italy is a country where wine has
become a part of the culture.
Discussions about the merits of a
certain quality of wine can go on for
hours. Beer is looked upon as merely
something to drinkBut people tend to
forget that the history of beer goes
back just as far as that of wine', he
continues. 'They don't realise that
there are many different types of beer
T,
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Filippo Starace, Marketing Manager of
Dreher! Heineken in Italy
and that they all originate from a
tradition which started about 6,000
years ago, if not earlier.'
Italy is a big country. It's a very long
way from the top of the boot to the toe
Therefore, the people have very
differing life-styles and this is in turn
reflected in their beer-drinking habits.
the beer dispensing units of our
clients', says Starace, not without
pride. 'The result: not only are our
beers always in perfect condition, but
we also maintain regular and close
contacts with our clients. Our people
always hear at first hand if there are any
problemsA good thing for our clients
and for us.'
In a big country like Italy, the
'concessionary' has an important role
to play. The 'concessionary' is the
wholesaler who supplies the beer to the
retail outlets and to the hotels,
restaurants and bars. Heineken/
Dreher organises courses lasting
several days for these wholesalers. At
these courses the 'concessionarios' can
learn from Heineken specialists the
A marketing specialist has to take these
differences into account. In the north
there are many more supermarkets
than in the south, where small shops
still predominateThroughout Italy the
bars are often tiny places, bringing a lot
of extra work for the distributors who
have to call at many addresses, even
though each address may need only a
small order.
'Our brewery has one great advantage:
we're the only brewery in the country
with our own organisation for cleaning
best way of running a business in this
modern day and age. How they can
arrange their transport. How much
advertising they should do in relation
to their turnover. These courses are
excellent public relations work and
they also generate a great deal of
goodwill.
One of the essential elements of
marketing is advertising. As Filippo
Starace puts it: 'Heineken is the first
beer brand in Italy to devote attention
to women in advertising. Heineken
commercials in this country show the
woman as maris equal partner. Every
man and every woman live through
hundreds of fine moments together
each day. Deciding together on how to
furnish or decorate a room, going on
holiday, enjoying a meal, dressing up
for a concert, things like that. Our
slogan is: 'Little, great moments
together'And what we're trying to put
across is that those seemingly everyday
moments can take on a special
significance when Heineken beer is
there to be enjoyed by both partners.'
As our brands are available throughout
Italy all those Italian couples can have
no excuse for not making those little
moments great! In some parts of the
country Heineken and Dreher beers
are the best-selling brands. And that's
surely a record to be proud of in a land
where 'vino' is looked on as part and
parcel of everyday life.
RED
McFarland is a new brand launched
fairly recently by Heineken/Dreher in
Italy. It is what is known as a 'red
beer'a popular drink in that country.
It resembles Irish ale. The recipe
originates from Murphy's in Ireland
and the new brew is produced under
licence in Italy. It is sold on draught
but also in this very unusual bottle.
