not really come as a surprise to
Corporate Marketing; the Heineken
personality was not dramatically dif
ferent from what Corporate Mar
keting had already suspected. So, was
the survey unnecessary? Vuyk doesn'
think so. "The great advantage of this
project was that an outsider confirm
ed our ideas. In fact that bureau takes
a completely different view of the
hrand and is also more critical as
regards the question of whether the
brand's consistency is sufficient for it
to function as a global brand. Besides
that, the Plato Project has streng
thened us in our conviction that there
must be a much tighter linkage
between advertising, sales pro
motions and sponsorships. We must
increasingly focus our efforts on 'total
communications'.
Roots
Authentic and 'up-to-date'.
According to Vuyk these two attri
butes of the Heineken brand are the
elements that must be communicated
to the consumer. In theory these ele
ments contradict each other, but Vuyk
claims it's a matter of finding the
right balance. "Beer must have histo
ry, it's got to have roots. On the other
hand, the identity of the brand has to
be up-to-date."
The development of new T-shirts
for Heineken is the very first step in
the new direction that the company
intends to pursue for the brand. Many
further steps will follow - in
advertising, sales promotions and
sponsorships - so that in a number of
years' time Heineken will have found
a firm place within the ranks of the
truly global brands.
The new Heineken T-shirts are just the very
start of a new course that will be adopted
for the Heineken brand.
T H K \V O II I. I) (I I H K I N K K K N
