Strong growth for Heineken in Australia
GREEN SANDS SHANDY
IN THE LIMELIGHT
New editor of Heineken
International Magazine
Sydney office: a good move
Success
Heineken sales are on the
up and up 'Down Under'.
In recent years the
Australian market has
certainly become 'ripe' for
Heineken, and sales of our
beer have increased
strongly, especially since
the opening of the
company's own office in
Sydney in 1982.
Advertising
Beer tastings
In the summer of 1986 Green Sands shandy was the
centre of attention in Nigeria thanks to two promotional
events. In June Green Sands formed part of a major
promotion organised by KLM to mark the 25th
anniversary of the Royal Dutch Airline's presence in
Nigeria.
May 1 introduce myself? My name is Jan Kroese and I am the new editor of
Heineken International Magazine. My job is to provide you with all sorts of
news items and interesting facts about Heineken and its many subsidiary
companies. After spending eight years in door-to-door, free newspaper
journalism, the production of Heineken International Magazine is a new
challenge forme. Like every journalist, I am always on the look-out for news.
So if you have any suggestions or tips, Id be pleased to hear from you. The
address is HeinekenN.V., P.O. Box28,1000AA Amsterdam, tel. 020-702268.
Heineken beer- are highly popular
with Australians.
"You can't say that the remarkably
strong growth of Heineken in
Australia is due solely to the
establishment of our own local office.
There were other factors that played a
role: the consumer trend towards
greater interest in high-quality
imported products and the good
economic climate also helped create
this success," says Van Westrhenen.
"And yet, it's only by having your own
local office staffed with capable
managers that you can ensure the
most effective response to such
developments." Now that four years
have passed, it can certainly be said
that the decision to set up an
Australian office, currently staffed by
J.H.F. Klarenbeek, Ph.H.R. Hartog
and Mrs. R. Martin, was an excellent
initiative.
Heineken has had a growing impact in
Australia in recent years.
Heineken has been present in
Australia for many years.
But growth really started to
take off when we opened our own
branch in that enormous country.
"That's not really surprising because,
with your own office and an alert and
enthusiastic management, you can be
faster and better informed about
changes in the market so that the
required action can be taken more
quickly", explains P. van Westrhenen,
regional export manager Asia/
Australia.
Above all, the Sydney office also
handles the marketing work. In the
office the product, price, distribution
and promotion strategies are mapped
out. Close contact is also maintained
with the various distributors. For the
east of Australia our distributor is
Cawsey, for the southTolley, and for
the Perth region Johnson and Harper.
The distributors handle not only
storage and transport, but also sales.
The representatives working for the
distributors are the ones who - with
the support of the Sydney office -
make sure that Heineken is available
throughout Australia. Heineken beer
is obtainable in Australia in 33-cl
bottles and 33-cl cans.The bottles sell
well in Australia. The 'six-pack' is in
great demand. "Heineken was the
first to put a six-pack on the market
and it's been a very successful move.
Today it accounts for the bulk of our
exports to Australia."
The fact that Heineken now also has a
50% market share in the import
segment is due in part to the success of
its advertising activities. Heineken has
found an excellent advertising partner
in Foster, Nunn and Loveder with the
ability to translate Heineken's needs
and wishes into catchy
advertisements. By combining a dash
of humour with the quality and
reliable image of an imported
product, this advertising agency has
responded to the growing
appreciation amongst Australian
consumers for products from Western
Europe.
But Heineken does more than just sell
its own beer to Australian consumers.
Permanent display materials for the
Heineken beer six-pack are present in
liquor stores and 'beer tasting
sessions' are held at all sorts of suitable
events so that the public can have an
opportunity to get to know and like
Heineken beer. These forms of
presentation -and also the taste of
In six branches of Leventis Stores
(a big supermarket chain) Green
Sands demonstrations were held
for more than two weeks and shoppers
were able to discover for themselves
the refreshing taste of shandy. In
September Green Sands sponsored
the 1986 All Nigerian Women's Lawn
Tennis Open Championships. It was
the fourth time that Green Sands had
been a sponsor of this event. The
tournament was held in Lagos, the
Nigerian capital.The matches were
played in four categories: women's
singles and doubles and singles and
doubles for women 'veterans'.The
ladies competed for the Green Sands
Trophy. Besides local Nigerian
players, competitors from Senegal,
Ghana, Zambia, Cameroun and
Zimbabwe also took part.Through
these activities Green Sands has once
again strengthened its image on the
Nigerian market. Green Sands
licensing agreements exist in Nigeria,
Singapore, Malaysia, New Caledonia,
Trinidad,Tahiti and Portugal. Green
Sands is not a soft drinkBut it is not a
beer either. It is a mix of the two drinks
and contains less than 1% alcohol.
Green Sands is the odd-man-out in
both the soft drinks and the beer
markets. This separate position in the
drinks world is clearly reflected in the
Green Sands advertising slogan:
"Green Sands, a refreshing drink in a
class of its own."
The quality of
Green Sands was
demonstrated in six
branches of
Leventis Stores,
where shoppers
were able to sample
the taste for
themselves.