With its 5 million inhabitants, Belo
Horizonte is a medium sized city by
Brazilian standards.
up-market but, then again, not too
elegant. Public response has been
favourable; they get the message.' The
commercials are broadcast in
between the 'premium' programmes
and films later in the evening. TV
ratings show that these programmes
score high amongst the target group.
In addition to TV advertising, Paul
Nitschmann also handles the spon
soring of small-scale events. 'We do a
little in the cultural field, notably in
theatre productions. We also sponsor
golf and tennis tournaments and
we're present at horse auctions.'
These bloodstock auctions enjoy great
popularity amongst wealthy
Brazilians, the most attractive con
sumer group for Heineken beer.
Delay
The real breakthrough of
Heineken beer in Brazil will still take
a little while longer, but it would be
wrong to claim that Heineken got off
to a false start. The Brazilian govern
ment's unexpected decision to permit
the entry of imported beers, comp
ounded by the economic downturn
that followed, have slowed down
Heineken's development in Brazil. But
that delay, says distributor Eberhart
Aichinger, is of a temporary nature:
'I'm convinced that this period of
recession will last another year but
then it will surely come to an end. It's
not the first time that something like
that has happened in Brazil.' Pull in
your belt one notch tighter and stick
with it is the motto. Kaiser and
Heineken have every faith in the fu
ture of the brand, because they regard
Brazil - despite the current recession -
as the country of the future.
THE WORLD OF HEINEKEN
