Hoisting a Heineken and
setting sail in Hong Kong
As a tie-in with the sponsorship of the Whitbread
Round the World Race for the Heineken Trophy,
Heineken in Hong Kong has sponsored the 1995
Heineken Round the Island Race. Two hundred
entrants in thirteen different categories of yachts
were there at the start at the end of November.
Over the past few years Heine
ken in Hong Kong has recorded
a very strong growth in sales.
Heineken is now the biggest imported
beer and its market share of 13%
makes it the third largest beer brand
overall. Premium positioning and
increasing advertising efforts have
contributed to that growth. To build
the brand further, Heineken in Hong
Kong believes that, apart from
advertising, there is a need for a dif
ferent sort of communication with
consumers.
Good taste
The request from the Royal Hong
Kong Yacht Club (RHKYC) asking
Heineken to act as title sponsor for
the 1993 Round the Island Race there
fore came at the right time. Yachting
is not a 'mass-market' sport but it is
seen as a good taste sport for sophist
icated people.
In Hong Kong the sponsorship was
used to strengthen the brand image.
The brand's presence in the market
was reinforced by a number of
activities organised to tie in with the
sponsorship.
In cooperation with Hong Kong's
biggest chain of sporting goods stores,
Ileineken yachting clothes were put
on sale. An advertorial was placed in
local newspapers to make the sport
more widely known to the general
public and to link the event with the
Heineken name. With the same aims
in mind a readers quiz was published
in the leading papers. In addition, tent
cards and bunting featuring the event
were developed for use in a number
of bars.
Several press releases were also
distributed and television and radio
were asked to devote attention to the
Heineken Round the Island Race
which was being held for the eleventh
time.
Thanks to the efforts made by
Heineken, the region's most impor
tant yachting event was highly
successful. The communication
strategy for Heineken was good and
brought major benefits for the brand
image.
int Sha Tsui
THE WORLD OF HEINEKEN
