Heineken: No More Excuses

Credits & Description:

Title: No More Excuses
Agency: Publicis London, Poke, Publicis Italy
Brand: Heineken
Country: United Kingdom
Entrant Company: Publicis London
Advertising Agency: Publicis London / Poke, London / Publicis Italy, Milan
Media Agency: Starcom, Amsterdam
Pr Agency: Edelman, London
Production Company: Outsider, London / Independent, London / Mpc Creative, London / Coffee And Tv, London / Reset, Santa Monica
Creative Director: Cristiana Boccassini (Publicis Italy)
Heineken Global Digital Creative Director: Milos Obradovic (Publicis Italy)
Global Chief Creative Officer: Bruno Bertelli (Publicis Italy)
Creative Directors: Marco Venturelli & Luca Cinquepalmi (Publicis Italy)
Associate Creative Director: Vinicius Dalvi (Publicis Italy)
Copywriters: Claudia Illan & Giovanna Favoroso (Publicis Italy)
Art Directors: Hugo Wahledow & Alice Teruzzi (Publicis Italy)
Strategic Planner: James Moore (Publicis Italy)
Client Account Team: David Pagnoni (Publicis Italy)
Client Account Team: Eleni Charakleia (Publicis Italy)
Client Account Team: Fabiola Miccone (Publicis Italy)
Agency Producer: Silvia Cattaneo (Publicis Italy)
Senior Director Global Heineken® Brand Global Commerce: Gianluca Di Tondo (Heineken)
Heineken® Brand Communication & Digital Director Global Commerce: Anuraag Trikha (Heineken)
Heineken® Communication Manager Global Commerce: Els Dijkhuizen (Heineken)
Global Digital Managers: Nourdin Rejeb & Jessica Setiawan (Heineken)
Executive Creative Director: Nikolas Roope (Poke London)
Creatives: Matt Comras, Tom Park, Andy Thirsk, Dan Latham (Poke London)
Group Creative Director: Angus Mackinnon (Poke London)
Design Director: Dom Fisher (Poke London)
Lead Strategist: Sol Ghafoor (Publicis London)
Account Handler: Juyong Kim (Poke London)
Director: Guy Ritchie (Independent/Reset)
Media Planner: James Miles (Smg Amsterdam)
Producers: Gareth Francis (Reset/Independent/Outsider)
Producers: Jani Gest (Reset/Independent/Outsider)
Producers: Dave Morrison (Reset/Independent/Outsider)
Producers: Adam Saward (Reset/Independent/Outsider)
Production Managers: Tom Martin (Outsider/Reset/Independent)
Production Managers: Lara Balwin (Outsider/Reset/Independent)
Director Of Photography: John Lynch (Independent/Reset)
Editing And Post Production: Stitch & Big Buoy (Stitch & Big Buoy)
Producer/Visual Effects/Cg Supervisor: Phil Whalley, Rod Norman, Carsten Keller (Mpc London)
Sound Design: Raja Sehgal (Grand Central Recording Studios)
Campaign Description:
The only thing worse than being stuck at work missing the game, is when your friend gives you a lame excuse for missing it also. We needed someone fans would listen to, someone they could respect, so we called on one of the greatest coaches of all time, Jose Mourinho, The Special One. His arrogance and charm coupled with the fact that for the first time he would be watching UCL from his couch, made him the perfect coach to ensure there would be no more excuses for missing UCL match night with friends. We took over social media and joined conversations in messaging apps with targeted content that reacted to fans' context and environment in real-time, from rain to Valentines day. Leveraging data we generated hundreds of videos in which Mourinho reacted to and dismissed excuses from fans around the world. Yet he also provided a solution, and encouraged fans to enjoy UCL match nights like winners, surrounded by friends with Heineken in hand. No matter where you are in the world, no matter what your situation, Mourinho reached you and reminded you that there were no excuses for missing match night, always ending with
Strategy:
The target was broad: all UCL fans, 20-40 yrs old male/female across the globe. Our research showed that their excuses for missing match nights differed depending on their time zone, local context and personal circumstances. We also discovered that when they committed to watching a game, it was before the night of the match and often organised with friends on messaging apps like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger. It became clear that a one size fits all approach wouldn't work. Motivation works best when it's personal, relevant and useful to your context and needs. The strategy was simple, remind fans before match nights to get together with friends and a fridge full of Heineken, using tailored and targeted videos that made them feel like Mourinho was motivating them personally. Then extend this through 1-to-1 conversations on Facebook Messenger throughout the tournament and in turn drive more social occasions and consumption moments on match nights.
Relevancy:
This campaign used data gathered from UEFA Champions League (UCL) fans around the world. Specifically, fans from different timezones, all with different excuses for missing a UCL match with friends. Using this data, we created hundreds of targeted, locally relevant videos that let fans feel as if Jose Mourinho was giving them a personal prep talk, motivating them to watch a UCL match the right way, with friends and a fridge full of Heineken
Media Strategy:
We gathered data on all the excuses fans commonly make through social listening and market research. We even asked fans on social media for the excuses their friends gave them throughout the campaign. We knew excuses varied depending on the time zone, location and personal circumstances, and by knowing the fixed dates for matches, we could also take into account live localised data, such as the weather. So instead of creating generic content we were able to create over 800 unique video responses that featured Mourinho motivating fans around the world. We also knew that many fans would use messaging apps like Facebook Messenger to motivate friends to watch a match. So after momentum had built from the videos, we invited fans, through retargeting, to engage with a digital version of the coach, a chatbot. The chatbot integrated data gathered, letting it have direct 1:1 conversations with fans throughout the tournament. Each conversation giving fans the ability to generate customised excuse-busting videos that could be shared with friends to motivate them also.
Synopsis:
As a leading sponsor of the UCL, match nights are an extremely important consumption occasion for Heineken. But when most matches take place in the middle of the week, it can be difficult for fans to get together and enjoy the game.They end up giving excuses like working late in the office, the weather is bad, it’s Valentine’s Day, or there’s heavy traffic. They leave their mates hanging on a night meant for friendship and beer. So, we needed to find a way to motivate them, ditch whatever they're up to and enjoy match night like true champions, which of course means surrounded by friends and a fridge full of Heineken.
Outcome:
No More Excuse reached 35% of our target, delivering 500m impressions and over 180m total views across c.800 videos. The data-learned relevancy of the excuse-busting videos was reflected in strong average video completion rates of 39% across all phases, rising to 45% for the quarter-finals. Also, over 35% of those who used the personal and customisable chatbot went on to set match reminders and invite friends to interact.