Jazz public good Heineken target group
HEINEKEN INTERNATIONAL MAGAZINE NO. 34
PAGE 6
Heineken is increasingly treading the world-wide sponsor
ship trail: major sports events (Whitbread Race, Heineken
Open) are financially supported in return for promotion of
our brand image. But in the field of musical entertainment,
too, Heineken is very active, notably in the area of jazz.
Heineken as swinging sponsor
Lourdes Cisneros, Heineken brand manager at Cerveceria Nacional Do-
minicana, displays the poster announcing the Heineken Jazz Festival. To her
left is Michael Camilo, musical director of the festival and also one of the per
formers.
Flute virtuoso Herbie Mann
sion in Santo Domingo.
Jazz has enjoyed growing popu
larity in recent years. Especially the
younger public is becoming in
creasingly fascinated by jazz. The
revival has brought a strong increase
in the number of festivals. Heineken
sees the sponsoring of such festivals
as a chance - alongside the regular
advertising media - to boost the
brand image and brand profile
amongst the target group. Television
recordings of performances in parti
cular are regarded by Heineken as an
important means of communicating
with the consumer. Several examples
of Heineken's involvement in the
world of jazz.
Switzerland
In Switzerland two Heineken
Bands will be starting on a series of
concerts next spring. These jazz
combos - one for the French-speak
ing and one for the German-speaking
region - will be selected during the
coming winter months. The Heine
ken Bands will also be performing in
bars. The bands will probably give
about 60 shows during the summer
months. The aim is that the bands
will again be sent out on tour in the
summers that follow.
This new promotion links up with
the 'Feel the night' advertising cam
paign which has been under way for
several year and which makes a clear
link between Heineken and jazz
music.
France
A large scale jazz festival has
been organised since last year by
Fran^aise de Brasserie. This brings
the top names in jazz to France.
Guests this year included: Benny
Carter, A1 Di Meola, Dizzy Gilles
pie, Miriam Makeba, Michael
Franks, the Count Basie Orchestra,
George Benson, Paolo Conte, the
Neville Brothers, the Duke Ellington
Orchestra, Albert Collins and the
Robert Cray Band.
Fast year the festival was concen
trated in Paris. A different arrange
ment was chosen for this year and the
Heineken Jazz festival went on tour
and could be seen in four venues:
Paris, Nimes, La Seyne-sur-Mer and
Lorient.
Santo Domingo
The vignette may be identical to
the one used in Paris but the jazz fes
tival held in the capital of the
Dominican Republic, Santo Domin
go, was of an entirely different cali
bre. The Heineken Jazz Festival -
whose sponsorship was handled by
our associated company Cerveceria
Nacional Dominicana - was held this
year for the fourth time and lasted
two nights instead of one. But the
National Theatre was still a complete
sell-out on both nights. With artists
like Michael Camilo, The Harper
Brothers, Herbie Mann, Jasil Brazz
and the Danish Radio Big Band, the
organisers certainly knew how to
keep the audience tapping their feet.
Netherlands
Holland has also hosted a Hei
neken Jazz Festival for many years.
The Heineken Jazz Festival in
France visited four cities, but with a
different programme in each venue.
This year the Heineken Jazz festival
was held for the ninth time in
Rotterdam. Over the years the festi
val has grown to become one of the
leading jazz festivals in the Nether
lands. Big name artists and prom
ising new talents perform on the
stages in bars and concert halls. In
total more than 700 musicians will
give performances. This year the
Heineken Jazz Festival lasted a
whole week.
Puerto Rico
In Puerto Rico 'Heineken jazz' of
a high standard could again be heard
on the stage near the harbour. Heine
ken importer Mendez Co. was not
only active as this year's main spon
sor but also handled the organisation
of the festival for the first time.
Especially marketing manager Luis
Alvarez, who studied music after his
education in marketing and is a big
jazz fan, was intensively involved in
the organisational work. The festival
attracted more than fifteen thousand
visitors.
Film recordings have been made
of the festival in the Puerto Rican
capital of San Juan. The intention is
that two television programmes will
be compiled from these recordings.
In addition, a CD with highlights of
the festival will be issued in Puerto
Rico.
The success in Puerto Rico has
aroused the interest of Heineken
agents on the islands of Aruba and
St. Maarten. They went to take a
look in Puerto Rico and are mean
while toying with the idea of spon
soring a jazz festival on their own
territory as well.
