Heineken: THE HEINEKEN MOMENT

Credits & Description:

Advertiser: HEINEKEN INTERNATIONAL
Agency: MASSIVEMUSIC
Category: Viral Film
Account Manager: Bente Spigt (Massivemusic)
Head Of Massivemusic Branding: Michiel Cremers (Massivemusic)
Creative Director Of Massivemusic Branding: Steven Craenmehr (Massivemusic)
Global Sponsorship Manager Brand Experiences: Joost Geurts (Heineken International)

Relevancy
Heineken is a beer brand, not a music company. That’s why its music strategy evolves around the social aspect of music – live events. Any music activation should involve the audience to create unexpected social experiences that make an already great night even better. For the Sensation activation, we faced two challenges: a target audience that doesn't particularly like brand involvement and an event organizer that had already carefully orchestrated the show from start to finish. We needed a solution that was original, engaging and a natural part of the line up. The wristband activation proved to be exactly that.

Implementation
To make the crowd part of the experience, we gave everyone wristbands at the entrance. We just asked people to put them on and wait for the surprise. At the apex of the night, the DJ set off the Heineken Moment by spinning a special dance version of the brand’s music campaign title track. As the opening chords played, the wristbands lit up, engulfing the crowd that was entirely dressed in white in an ocean of green lights. Forty thousand madly enthusiastic hands in the air made for an epic social brand experience that resonated well beyond the stadium walls.

Client Brief Or Objective
Heineken’s music strategy is all about involving the audience to create unexpected social experiences. For the partnership with Sensation Asia, we teamed up with MassiveMusic to develop a brand activation that people would accept as integrated part of the show, while at the same time standing out as the highlight of the night. Our goal was to contribute without intruding. The target audience consisted of Sensation fans. They weren’t necessarily fans of Heineken. Yet.

Outcome
The Heineken Moment had the crowd go wild at each of the Sensation events. But its impact didn't stop there. Thousands of fans captured the moment on their mobile phones and shared it with their friends across the world. With over 500,000 mentions on blogs and up to a 150% increase in Heineken Facebook fans in some Asian markets, the Sensation brand activation gave Heineken more than its money’s worth. € 19.4 million worth of PR value, sponsorship awareness of 74% and a sponsorship return on investment of € 26 million, made this partnership impactful on every level for both Heineken and the audience.