Dos Equis
users. Some experts believe that at a very basic level,
not having a presence on Facebook says more about a
company's image than being represented on the site.
Many Heineken brands have used Facebook to reach
their fans, with great success. Fleineken-owned brand,
Dos Equis, for example, was the first beer brand to
globally reach the coveted milestone of one million
'Likes', quickly followed by the Fleineken brand. 'Likes'
in this context refers to a function on Facebook that
allows users to rate a brand, company, photograph, or
post, by clicking a small thumbs up icon.
The results were impressive. Within a few weeks,
the new commercial rose to number one in the Viral
Video Chart's Global Ad listing. Floris Cobelens, Global
Heineken Digital Manager, shares: "The campaign
exceeded even our highest expectations. Nearly eight
years worth of video was watched globally within the
first month, generating over four million viewings in
131 countries."
Heineken created an age-restricted, branded 'Heineken
TV' YouTube Channel to share the new commercial with
its consumers. In addition to posting links to Heineken
TV on the Heineken Facebook page, fans were driven to
the site via thousands of blogs, which posted a review
of the new ad. Prior to the online launch, Heineken had
proactively contacted thousands of carefully selected
influential bloggers offering them an exclusive preview
to encourage them to write about the new commercial
and link to Heineken TV.
THE 'NEW' WORD OF MOUTH
This process, called 'seeding', targeted bloggers who
cover topics such as music, entertainment, humour and
sports-all of which appeal to Heineken fans worldwide.
These blogs were picked up by hundreds of other sites,
causing a snowball effect across the web.
"In addition to the launch of the commercial itself, a
series of shorter behind-the-scenes films were produced
about the characters featured in 'The Entrance',"
explains Floris. "These gave our fan base on Facebook
and people who registered for the Heineken Channel
on YouTube a little something extra. The success of the
'The Entrance' earned the channel a number of YouTube
honours awards, in categories including 'Most viewed
of all time'. To maintain the momentum, a special music
video of the Danish alternative pop band The Asteroids
Galaxy Tour, featured in 'The Entrance', was released
one week later."
BUILDING A SOCIAL NETWORK
Facebook has become an important marketing tool
for companies, big and small. It's the world's largest
social networking site, with over 400 million active
SOCIAL MEDIA PITFALLS
Many restaurants, bars and clubs have successfully
created profiles on social media sites, but are often
disappointed by the lack of interest they achieve.
According to a recent white paper on the subject from
the internet marketing company, HubSpot, the most
common mistake made by businesses is that they set
up a 'profile' rather than a 'page'. Profiles are ideal for
personal use, whereas pages are designed for business
communications and offer a wider range of useful
functions. One of the most popular is adverts, which are
Dos Equis has experienced incredible growth in the social media
space over the past 16 months, particularly on Facebook, where the
brand added over 800,000 fans in 2010 alone. Providing rewarding
content that builds on the brand's iconic and award-winning 'Most
Interesting Man in the World' campaign has been a critical component
of its success. Dos Equis fans are incredibly active, generating
between 100 and 1,000 wall posts per day, most of which are linked
directly to the 'Most Interesting Man in the World' campaign.
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