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

Jaarverslagen en Personeelsbladen Heineken

World of Heineken | 1994 | | pagina 9