gathered from consumers. One
method is the "Heineken night".
These promotions, held in bars
around the country, are established
to get grist for the Heineken adverti
sing mill. Consumers are invited to
attend, much like focus groups. They
sign a waiver allowing the agency to
record their conversations. They sit
in groups, enjoying food and
Heineken beer, and converse about
various topics.
The second method of gathering
advertising ideas is the telephone
number "1-800-44-redstar". The radio
ads, which use Heineken marketeer
Jan Schapink as the spokeperson, use
a single anecdote from the number
and encourage consumers to call the
number with their own stories. The
response to date has been extremely
strong.
DIFFERENT
In describing the new campaign,
Heineken USA Marketing Vice
President Steve Davis stated, "We
wanted to take Heineken advertising
to an entirely new place. We wanted
to be different from the beer adverti
sing themes. In addition, we wanted
to inject a great deal of energy and,
contemporize the brand. Our three
key goals were to develop break
through commercials, be relevant and
provocative and be entertaining. We
wanted to put together commercials
which would make our consumers
think and then laugh. We believe
we've been succesful at it".
At the recent convention of the
National Beer Wholesalers Associa
tion, that view was shared by many
Heineken wholesalers who visited
Heineken's hospitality area. In state
after state, the wholesalers are
reported increased momentum for
the Heineken brand in retail accounts
and are looking at strong double-
digit sales growth from coast to
coast.
What's next for the new cam
paign? Because of the source of the
ideas, over 80 million american beer
drinkers, the variety of new potential
ads is endless. In addition, because
they are coming continually from
those consumers, the contemporary
nature of the thoughts provided
should be assured as well. Stay tuned
for new ads.. And remember... It's all
true.
