TRENDS INNOVATIONS
GREEN ALERT
C
World of Heirxeken 42 summer 2010
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A GLOBAL TOOL FOR A LOCAL EFFECT
The web reaches everyone, worldwide. But
by doing so, it misses a unique, personal
touch. Something accessible to anyone is
not special anymore. So how can companies
of worldwide scale keep inspiring local
consumers?
"Recently, we launched a great campaign on
Facebook," Floris tells us. "Members of our
group had to vote for their favourite city, and
the city with the most votes would host a
special event giving people the opportunity
to win tickets for the EUFA Champions League
Star Final cup in Brazil. London earned the
most votes, so we sent someone there to
hide in a bar. At this stage, we were only
communicating with members based in
London, which you can easily select via
Facebook. We gradually sent them clues to
where our ambassador was hiding and what
he looked like. Those who found him won the
Star Final tickets, and the event was featured
on our Fleineken fan page. It was very popular
both locally and worldwide, making it possible
for us to reach two target groups with one
campaign.
"But, it also works the other way around. In a
recent campaign launched in Italy, thousands
of people were forced by girlfriends and
bosses to attend a concert on the day of an
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important UEFA Champions League game.
After a few minutes of very bad classical
music, the curtains came back to reveal a live
transmission of the match. Not only was this
broadcast live on Italian national television, it
became viral in just a few days after people
posted the video on their blog, Twitter or
Facebook. So, the Internet is not only a global
tool that can go local, it is also a local tool
that can go global. And this is our greatest
asset," says Floris.
IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT QUANTITY
"Even if a simple campaign can drive the fan
base to the point of tripling it within a week,
it's not only about the numbers. We would
rather have less, but highly-engaged fans
who believe in our brand, because these
are the ones who differentiate us from our
competitors. They create our added value,
and are a precious asset for us," Floris
explains. "But the digital world doesn't stop at
Facebook.
"Heineken® is a social product, bringing
friends together around a glass of beer,"
Floris continues. "We have just launched an
iPhone application. After downloading it,
people with the App can send each other
messages for free, on their iPhone or on
Facebook," Floris explains enthusiastically.
"The point of the application is to send a
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