growth is also due to the almost stubborn perseverance of
his sales force. Over the past six months his representatives
have been visiting the A class outlets about three times a
week; they maintain contact with customers, check the
stock levels, ensure that the product has a good facing on
the shelves and note down the orders.
And sales of Heineken are still on the up, says Mr Kong
with a slight note of regret. Why regret? As a fanatic tennis
player Mr Kong has laid out a tennis court in his warehouse.
The growth of Heineken means that the space available to
him in the warehouse is becoming more and more cramped.
But the choice between hitting a tennis ball and seeing pal
lets of Heineken stacked on the baseline is one that he finds
easy to make.
PRs
Building awareness and confirming the quality image of
Heineken are the principal objectives for Tait and Heineken
Taiwan for the years ahead. One of the ways of doing this is
to continue using promotion teams but to deploy these
teams in a different way. Gilbert Pak, brand manager
Heineken at Tait, explains: "Formerly the promotion teams
were there to support the sales force, but now we will
increasingly be using the PGs (promotion girls) as support
for the brand. The success of a promotion team is no longer
determined by the number of cases of beer they sell. The
question we now ask them is: 'How many consumers did
you approach?' That is a totally different way of looking at
things." And, adds Mr Weggemans: "We now see the PGs
more as PRs, Promotion Representatives."
At present Tait employs ten full-time promotion repre
sentatives. In addition, part-time promotion representa
tives are available on call, depending on the season. In the
winter period, when consumption of beer slows down,
fewer promotion activities are organised. For the summer
months Tait has a programme of some 500 to 600 promo
tions for Heineken. The main message that the PRs want to
convey is the image, positioning and quality of Heineken
Beer.
Promotion teams, merchandising, advertising and
expanding the distribution in Chinese restaurants. Those
are the instruments that Heineken Taiwan and Tait are
using to maintain the pace of Heineken's growth and to
anchor the brand even more firmly in the market. With the
marketing support of Weggemans and Weng, Tait should be
able to make Heineken the top imported beer. Everyone is
convinced of that and, in view of the growth curve over the
past eight years, that conviction seems justified.
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