Everyone knows Heineken. As the
world's first global beer brand, it is both
available and identical the world over.
Our task was to find a fresh way to tell
their story, "Born in Amsterdam, raised
by the world."
We quickly discovered that, while
everyone knew Heineken, few knew
anything about them. When presented
with the facts, consumers tended to
skip past and go straight for the beer.
Our challenge was to make the story
of Heineken as interesting as the drink
itself.
Spanning nearly a century and a half,
Heineken is a story of Dutch history,
craft, and hardship. Within it are a wealth
of insightful anecdotes that seldom leave
the brewery walls and bring the brand
to life better than any person could.
After cataloging dozens of these moments,
we chose the best and wrote short,
digestible films on each, labelling them
according to their content.
Final control was given to users. We let
them create their own Heineken story
by selecting their favorite Brewing, History
and Product moments. They were then
combined into a personalized "Beertime
Story" film that spoke about all aspects
of the brand.
The modularity of the mechanic
encouraged users to come back to hear
new stories, was easy to use and held
viewers' attention. It also allowed new
stories to be swapped in easily, and
facilitated localisation – crucial for
a global audience.
Individual Beertime Stories were seeded
on Facebook to build interest – and to keep
them from remaining hidden from the world.
After all, a good story, like a good beer,
is something worth sharing.
