Heineken noted that slowly but surely
the German beer market was starting
to change. Young consumers in parti
cular do not limit themselves to the
traditional beers but are seeking
products with a brand image. These
consumers live in Germany's big
cities: Hamburg, Berlin, Frankfurt/
Wiesbaden, Diisseldorf/Cologne and
Munich.
INo'w or never
Under the motto 'now or never'
Heineken took the decision: to intro
duce Heineken Beer on the German
market at the beginning of 1993. In
April last year the news was announ
ced during the press presentation of
the annual results for 1991.The en
thusiastic media response to this
news item created the impression
that Heineken would soon take the
German market by storm. Marketing
Manager Thomas Hakkaart and
Regional Export Manager Kees
Brandt, who handled the preparations
for the introduction, immediately
made it clear that no spectacular
developments are to be expected in
the first few years.
The share of imported beers in the
German beer market may indeed be
increasing, but it is still very small
and, according to the experts, will
provisionally remain small. Moreover,
Heineken deliberately opted for a
small-scale introduction. The big
German cities referred to earlier form
the key markets for Heineken; that is
where Heineken will have to build up
a premium position in the years
ahead via local promotions, sponsor
ships, highly focused advertising (in
cluding cinema advertising in the big
cities referred to above) and P.O.S.
material.
However, Heineken holds a strong
trump card for success in due course;
brand awareness is surprisingly high.
Even before the product came on the
market, aided recall of Heineken
amongst premium beer drinkers in
Germany was as high as 61%: more
than some of the other imported
brands that were already available in
Germany.
Green crate
At the beginning of February the first
lorries of Heineken Beer were tran
sported to Germany from the brewery
in Den Bosch. Heineken Beer has
been introduced in Germany in the
20-litre keg and in a 33 cl bottle in a
newly developed Heineken green
returnable crate. Heineken has opted
for returnable packaging not only
because the German government has
drawn up strict regulations for one
way packs, but also because consum
ers reveal a growing preference for
this form of packaging.
For the future the introduction of
this green crate in other countries is
being considered. In markets with
THE WORE D OE HEINEKEN
