Forty years Star beer
Two types of Heineken lager
in United Kingdom
"Is Heineken being boxed in by Amstel?"
Nigerian Breweries Lim
ited (in which Heineken has
a minority interest) held a
special celebration some
time ago. The party, to mark
the fortieth birthday of Star
beer, was given in Lagos, the
capital of Nigeria. Over the
past forty years Star has
grown to become one of the
leading beer brands in
Nigeria. During those four
decades Nigerian Breweries
have brewed as many as 350
million cases of Star beer.
In the near future more and more British pubgoers will be
getting to know two types of Heineken lager. This May
heralded the start of a test-market in ten U.K. pubs which,
besides selling draught Heineken lager with an original grav
ity of about 1033, also dispense Heineken with a higher
alcohol content (the world standard).
After fifteen years the cur
tain has come down on the
popular advertising slogan
used in the British campaign
"Heineken reaches the parts
other beers cannot reach".
The slogan has meanwhile
caught on so much in Britain
that it has become part of the
nation's daily vocabulary.
HEINEKEN INTERNATIONAL MAGAZINE NR. 22
PAGE 7
New slogan in United Kingdom
Star was Nigeria's first beer to be
locally brewed. Before its arrival,
the international imported brands
had a tight grip on the market. In
the early fifties it was not easy for
Star to build up a solid market
share, but as the years passed Star
increasingly became an establish
ed favourite with consumers,
thanks among other things to effec
tive advertising. Star is such a
great success that the growth of the
Nigerian brewing industry is large
ly attributable to the growth of this
beer brand.
In fact, the slogan is simply
being replaced by a modern ver
sion ("Only Heineken can do
this'). The humorous streak will be
maintained in the commercials.
The essence of the campaign will
therefore remain unchanged but it
will be 'repackaged'. Fifteen com
mercials have been produced for
the new campaign. The commer
cials last ten and twenty seconds
and are broadcast in sets of three.
At the moment a print campaign is
also being developed with the
theme "Only Heineken can do
this".
Heineken and its U.K. licensing
partner Whitbread have received a
lot of praise for the old slogan over
the past fifteen years. Not only
consumers but also advertising
experts were very enthusiastic
about the campaign which centres
on the miraculous powers of
Heineken lager.
Shots from three of the fifteen new
Heineken commercials in the U.K.
Unaware of the fact that Amstel
Brewery is active in Greece, a
Dutch printing ink manufacturer
holidaying in Greece was taken
aback by the above sight. Near a
small restaurant in the village of
Adritsena in the middle of the
Peloponnesos, he came across this
wall of Greek Amstel crates con
taining the odd 'stray' Heineken
crate. "Is Heineken beer being
boxed in by Amstel in Greece?" he
asked himself.
The answer's simple. Amstel
happens to be the most popular
beer in Greece. Heineken beer
enjoys growing favour amongst
consumers, but its sales volumes
are modest compared to those of
Amstel. No wonder, then, that the
stack of beer crates mainly radiates
an Amstel red, with the occasional
yellow Heineken crate in between.
Last month the pubs involved in
the test were increased to 110 and
the whole operation will be tackled
on a much bigger scale in the first
half of next year. In about half of
the United Kingdom two types of
Heineken lager will be sold by
Whitbread (the brewery which pro
duces Heineken lager under
licence).
At the time when Heineken first
ventured into the U.K. beer market
(in the 1960s, when the British
lager market was still of a very
modest size) the original gravity of
all beers was about 1033. Logi
cally, Heineken adapted to this
situation and brewed a beer which
met the same quality standards as
'regular' Heineken lager but had a
lower alcohol percentage.
In recent years there has been a
marked change in the U.K. market.
Though the lager market is still
growing, consumer interest for
lagers with an original gravity of
1048, which means a higher
alcohol content (5%), has been
growing even faster. The main
reason for this change is the fuller-
bodied flavour of the 1048 lager'
The stronger Heineken lager is
on sale in the pubs alongside the
1033 type. Differently designed
dispensers make it clear to the con
sumer that there is a big difference
between the two types of lager.
Whether Heineken 1048 will also
be sold in the take-home market is
still being studied at the moment.
All Heineken lager with 5%
alcohol is brewed in the Nether
lands, since this brewing process
requires modifications in the Whit
bread breweries.
The Heineken Export dispenser clearly points to the difference: 'strong
lager'
AMSTEL MtlYPA
BEER AMXTEA
AMSTEL
BEER
AMITTA
