2
MOSCOW
TRADE
FAIR
Heineken
refreshes partner
Adlerbrau soars
like an eagle
Beer stores
in Ontario
"Ready? action!"The camera rolls and the models
make the movements they have carefully studied before
hand. After lengthy rehearsal and many takes, another
few seconds of film are in the can. All that rehearsing and
practising may seem so unimportant. But it is essential if
an advertisement is to come across well on television. Not
a single thing is left to chance. The commercial has to
make the exact message clear to the viewer within a brief
space of time (forTVadvertising is costly)In no other tra
de does the slogan "time is money" seem quite as applica
ble as in the production of TV spots.
Professionals
Lots of patience
Catchy tunes
Adlerbrau, the beer brand introduced by our Spanish
brewery El Aguila at the end of last year, is flying high.
"Sales over the first few months were considerably
above expectations", says F. Bot, El Aguila's marketing
manager.
Basketball
Amstel Brewery in Canada - just
like the eight other breweries in
Ontario Province - supplies its
beer to special beer shops, known
as the Brewers Retail Stores. This
means that beer is not available in
supermarkets and other grocery
stores. Why these special stores?
General Manager M. Rijkens
explains: "The Brewers Retail
Organisation is owned by the five
biggest breweries in Ontario. The
stores operate on a cost-covering
basis; they do not aim to make a
profit. That's why beer in Ontario is
the lowest priced in all Canada.
The consumer can buy all the
available beer brands in the beer
stores. Besides, the beer that is sold
is cooled and its quality is
controlled. Selling beer via grocery
stores wotdd mean higher prices, a
smaller range and less quality",
says Rijkens.
The system of beer stores is
favourable for the relatively small
Amstel brewery, as it guarantees an
optimum distribution system
without the need for major
investment.
To improve the convenience of the
Brewers Retail Stores still further,
their opening hours have been
extended and more self-ser\>ice
stores are being opened.
Making TV commercials
is a matter of patience
This month Heineken attended a
trade fair held for Dutch businesses in
the Soviet capital Moscow. All major
Dutch companies were there to
present themselves to the Soviet
authoritiesAnd Heineken - as one of
the main representatives of Dutch
industry abroad - made sure that its
activities were well publicised at this
trade exhibition.
Heineken took the opportunity
offered by this event to maintain its
existing Soviet contacts and to act as
host to other authorities. As has
become traditional, the Heineken
stand contained a Dutch-style bar.
Besides an extensive presentation of
the company's products, the
Heineken Building Bureau also
displayed examples of its activities.
In the Soviet Union Heineken is
engaged not only in supplying
Heineken beer to tourist hotels and
shops, but also in the construction of
Heineken bars in the Intourist Hotels
in Moscow, Leningrad,Tallin and in
Sochi, the Black Sea resort. At the
moment there are seven Heineken
bars in Russia and there are plans to
extend this number still further.
And it is specifically because
those twenty or thirty
seconds of television are so
essential that a lot of time is spent on
preparations.The very first decision is
what Heineken or one of the
Heineken brands in the relevant
country wants to tell the consumer.
After that, the strategy is translated
into an advertising campaign, part of
which may be a TV commercial. Of
course, a campaign may also be
geared to (trade) magazines and/or
daily newspapers.
After the advertising message has
been specified as clearly as possible,
the advertising agency sets to work. It
is up to the agency to convert this
message into a concept, an idea.This
idea is worked out in what is referred
to in the jargon as a "storyboard".The
idea is then clearly visualised in a
number of sketches.
As soon as Heineken is fully in
agreement with the concept and the
storyboard, work starts on their
realisation.The advertising agency
seeks out the best film company for
this job which in turn gathers together
professionals to handle such aspects as
camerawork, sound recording and
lighting. The film company also sorts
out which actors and/or models should
be contracted for the film shots. Then
a search is made for suitable locations.
Sometimes these can be found in the
studios, at other times a lot of
travelling is needed before the right
film locations are found.
On average, the actual filming takes
several days.These are long, intensive
days which demand lots of patience
from both the models and the film
crew. The critical director can always
see possibilities for improvementand
so the scene is shot yet again. Once the
action is on film, the cutting and
editing work starts.This is possibly the
most meticulous part of the whole
operation.The director then has to
decide which scenes come over best
and those have to be 'pasted' together
to produce a smoothly running
In "Whitbread News", the company magazine of Heineken's licensing partner in
the U.K., there is a glowing report on the strengthened cooperation between
Whitbread and HeinekenAbout 1 of the Whitbread shares are now owned by
Heineken.The front cover carries an article headed "Refreshing agreement" and
"Partnership with Heineken stronger than ever before." Inside the magazine
more details are given about the history of the cooperation between Heineken
and Whitbread.
All over the world, making a commercial
is a time-consuming business.
commercialAnd all this is often done
under the supervision of a skilled
Heineken employee.
In a commercial containing many
shots aimed at creating an atmosphere
and few explanatory texts, an
important role is played by music.
Oftena melody is specially composed
for the TV spot. A tuneful melody can
give a commercial just that little extra
something which will make its
message linger in the public's mind.
Some composers even specialise
entirely in creating such catchy tunes
for commercials.
After months of preparation the
advertising message is finally
broadcast. All those involved are
satisfied with the final resultbut what
in fact does the consumer think about
it? In view of our operating results and
the many words of praise for
Heineken advertisements, we can
certainly say that our commercials
strike a responsive note amongst
consumers.
This unexpectedly heavy
demand for the full-bodied
Adlerbrau brew has certainly
had some consequences for El Aguila.
Mainly in the production area, but
specifically in packaging.The plan to
market Adlerbrau solely in new
bottles soon proved impossible
because of the new brand's enormous
popularity. Mr. Bot: "On top of that,
we've still not got enough stocks in the
wholesale trade. But we're working on
it."
Aone-and-a-half month advertising
campaign based onTVcommercials
has given a strong boost to consumer
awareness of the Adlerbrau brand
name. El Aguila has also sponsored a
number of major basketball matches
which were broadcast on television.
Under this sponsorship deal,
Adlerbrau display signs were placed
along the sidelines.This activity, too,
has helped to boost consumer
familiarity with the brand.