General review Brand policy The success of the Heineken Group is based on strong beer brands. Heineken, the company's flag ship brand, occupies a leading position internationally in the premium segment. Amstel, which is positioned in the mainstream segment, is the company's second international beer brand. The Heineken brand is strong and dynamic, and therefore is able to capture a position in a beer market based on its own strength. The strength of the brand is increased if Heineken is added to a portfolio containing local or regional brands. For this reason we participate in many countries in local com panies which not only have good distribution networks and breweries with an efficient cost struc ture, but also have good market positions and strong local brands. Examples include Moretti in Italy and Cruzcampo in Spain. Combining strong local positions and brands with the marketing and sales of the international premium brand Heineken is our key competence in the beer industry. This com bination produces above-average returns and creates added value for our shareholders. Heineken The Heineken brand is the world's most international brand, a position that was reinforced in the year 2000 once again. Sales of Heineken beer increased by 5.9% from 20.4 million hectolitres to 21.6 million hectolitres. A greater, targeted marketing drive and an expansion of distribution con tributed to an enhancement of consumer preference. As a result, the Heineken brand grew further in strength. Adequate marketing information is indispensable for a good brand strategy and targeted brand development. Within our Group, better and better tools are becoming available for mapping mar kets and brands and systematically developing them. This enables us to utilise to the full and expand both the growth potential of the Heineken brand and of our portfolio with Amstel and local brands. The strategy for the Heineken brand is decided in broad outline at the central level and is imple mented at the local and regional level by our operating companies. All marketing communication activities for Heineken are based on the fixed core values of the brand: passion for quality, green, worldly wise and respect. This allows marketing activities that have been developed centrally or elsewhere in the world to be used throughout the Group. An international brand strategy also makes economies of scale possible which are unattainable for local brands, e.g. sponsoring of events at the global level, advertising and promotional campaigns, that can be used internationally and innovative packagings. In 2000 a large number of new television commercials and two new international print cam paigns were developed centrally. We also supported the Heineken brand with world-wide promo tional activities under the slogan Collective Experiences. These promotions were based on mo ments experienced by our consumers world-wide as being special, e.g. proposing a toast during the Christmas season and toasting the New Year. We used this to the full extent via television commer cials, special activities on the Internet, and on the shop floor by promoting a unique three-litre Heineken magnum bottle and a shaped can. Relevant and unique packagings appeal to the con sumer, increase the dynamism of the Heineken brand and contribute to the attraction, and in some cases improve the availability of our brand. Sponsoring is an important and integral part of our communications policy to stress brand aware ness and the core values of the Heineken brand. To this end Heineken sponsors a large number of events, focusing particularly on tennis, rugby and music. In the field of tennis we continued our successful sponsorships of the Australian Open, the US Open and the Davis Cup. These events attract great interest internationally and afford Heineken a good position for sponsoring various tennis events bearing the Heineken name in the Asia Pacific region. Examples are the Heineken Open in Shanghai and Auckland, and the Heineken Challenger Tournament in Vietnam. HEINEKEN N.V. ANNUAL REPORT 2000 17

Jaarverslagen en Personeelsbladen Heineken

Jaarverslagen | 2000 | | pagina 27