Excellent consumer relations
The position of Heineken in the markets of the future
will be determined by how far we can go with our brand
portfolio in developing excellent consumer relations.
The challenge which confronts us is how to sustain the
philosophy of Alfred Heineken. Put another way - how
we can give our brands added-value in a fast moving
environment. Philippe Pasquet (59) is president of our
French operating company, Sogebra. "Consumer
expectations are in ongoing acceleration mode.
Demands for service rise apace. People want greater
transparency plus a more personal approach.
So, the key to success lies in developing a solid
relationship. At the same time we have to take account
of parallel developments around the drawing power of
communication media. On one hand we're seeing a
reduction in the reach of the existing, traditional
media - despite the growth in the number of TV
channels, to take one example. And on the other hand
new media like internet, sponsorship and event
marketing are steadily increasing their penetration
power. Internet in particular offers us potential to build
a very personal relationship with our consumers.
With that in mind I reckon that over the next, say ten,
twenty years we'll definitely need to shift our approach
from reaching the consumer to touching the consumer.
More than ever this means getting to the heart of the
consumer, if we want to add maximum value to our
brands."
