Au Notebook
#News: “The difficult reveals the wise“ – What can be learned from Heineken’s Customer approach strategy #workresponsibility
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Marketing campaigns targeting office workers seem to be a rather difficult “problem” for beer brands. Because if not done skillfully, the campaign can become sensitive and easily mistaken that office workers “have to drink beer”, which unintentionally makes customers feel like they are being imposed. Therefore, the “land” of office workers for beer brands is both “wild” and “fertile” – although unprecedented, the potential for exploitation is great. “The difficult reveals the wise”, Heineken seized the opportunity to launch the #workresponsibility campaign to “capture the hearts” of this customer base.
1. “Be different to succeed” – Heineken chose a new direction that is completely different from its competitors in the market
If Hanoi Beer (HABECO) creates two new beer flavors “Hanoi Bold” and “Hanoi Light” to create a new, more refreshing experience for Gen Z customers; or Saigon Special Beer even changed the packaging and made the new beer taste easier to drink to suit young people, Heineken chose to “look deeper” into the stressful lives of office workers around the world to understand and find the point where the brand can “tap-in” and win.
“Speaking numbers” help Heineken find insights and approaches to office-based customers:
- According to research by the ADP1 Research Institute, workers around the world often work an average of 9.2 hours of unpaid overtime each day. week. Although widely reported, it does not stop many people from continuing to work late every night. This problem is especially prevalent in Argentina, where 81% of people report working too much, especially compared to before the pandemic.
- According to the latest research from British mattress brand Mornings, half of New York City’s residents fall asleep at midnight and wake up at 6 a.m., with office buildings always lit. Therefore, it is not an exaggeration when people call it “The city that never sleeps”.
2. Turn “talking numbers” into a classic campaign promoting “work-life balance”
“Working Late? The Closer can help” – USA (June 2022)
- Heineken launched the product “The Closer” – a bottle opener integrated with Bluetooth technology. Every time the user opens the bottle, this device will force nearby laptops to go into sleep mode, helping them relax and hang out with friends.
- To promote The Closer, Heineken traveled through New York City, identifying office buildings where people worked late. Then, Heineken showed the words “Working late? The Closer can help” onto the building to attract customers’ attention, turning the late-working office into an advertising place for the “work-life balance” campaign.
Read more: Heineken Addresses Work-Life Imbalance by Highlighting Lonely Workers Stuck in Office after Hours
“The Office Cleaners” – Netherlands (December 2022)
- Heineken has partnered with many cleaning companies, cleaning staff will wear vests on their uniforms displaying a QR code. When scanned, the code will provide access to a coupon for a bonus can of beer for workers and friends at the nearest bar.
- With the short message “If you see the cleaners, it’s time you see your friends”, Heineken reminds those who work late to put away their computers, leave the office and meet their friends.
“The Ghosted Bar” – Malaysia & Singapore (April 2023)
- Organizing “The Ghosted Bar” event in Singapore and Malaysia. In Singapore, Heineken is holding a ‘ghost bar’ experience on April 19. In Malaysia, 40 “ghost bars” will take place across the country, reminding people to work responsibly and don’t “abandon” your friends. Heineken and Le Pub have also created an online Ghost Generator, which can be used to remind friends to leave work on time by turning them into ghosts.
- With the key asset is a video of a Korean actor (Park Hyung Sik) sharing a video on Instagram that appears to show supernatural activity at a bar – beer glasses moving automatically, chairs sliding across the room. But then, people discovered that the cause of this ghostly bar was part of Heineken’s ‘The Ghosted Bar’ campaign, highlighting that a friend trapped in the office was a ghost at the bar, Let your friends hang out with their ‘ghosts’ instead of you.
3. What will #workresponsibility look like when implemented in Vietnam?
As a busy young person and also an employee working in the creative advertising industry, I am quite impressed with Heineken’s way of exploiting insights. In my opinion, this is the core reason why the campaign captured the strong sympathy of the target public. Still a popular insight (drinking beer to enjoy and relax), but in an interesting way, reaching out to small touches that few brands care about (scenes of lit buildings; images Staying late at the office when there were only cleaning staff left; times when I refused friends because I was busy with work…) made me feel sympathized and understood. Instead of offering exhortation messages associated with common celebratory moments, Heineken sends somewhat simple reminders – what makes the campaign different.
In Vietnam, this insight is still true and has a lot of potential to exploit, especially in the context of the year-end holiday season, when young people are increasingly busy due to pressure on work, finance, and life balance. …However, any message needs to be “tailored” to fit the cultural context and thinking of the target audience.
Instead of colorful messages from the brand, a small change in the tone of the messages on the buildings can also create interest. Those are the mother’s “love scolding”, the father’s call inviting him to go out for a drink, “What time is it and you’re still working?”, “Why aren’t you home yet?”, reminding young people to temporarily put aside work and take time. Time for family and yourself.
In addition, Heineken can take advantage of the culture of drinking on the sidewalks and hanging out in simple bars of Vietnamese young people to help customers solve “missed appointments and broken contracts” through unique connection activities. . When a friend breaks the bank because he’s busy with work, the whole group will attack the friend with Heineken’s connection, transforming the message “The Ghosted Bar” into a surprise scare, spreading the meaningful message “only With Heineken, every meeting can happen.”
Overall, other brands in the industry can learn from Heineken how they dig deeper into insights and integrate them into marketing campaigns. Combining products with customers’ pain points not only creates value for the community but also strengthens the connection between brands and consumers, increasing sympathy and brand love – something that any brand on the market wants to have.
In Vietnam, where work pressure is increasing, this campaign has great potential to spread the message about the importance of keeping a work-life balance. Heineken can further explore cultural and community spirit elements to optimize the campaign’s impact if the next campaign of the #workresponsibility series is implemented.
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This is also an extremely useful sharing from Trinh Anh – Senior Content working at Aurora Vietnam in the “Contemplation Case” session – a series of industry talks at Aurora – an interesting regular activity to dissect, Analyze and improve understanding of the creative advertising industry.
Learning from the success of leading campaigns is always an effective way to help Marketers and brands gain deeper insight into the industry, consumers and market. If you have any ideas for Heineken’s “Second Camp” if the campaign is deployed in Vietnam, do not hesitate to send an email to the email address: hello@auroravietnam.co!
