Heineken on what went into making its Cities Festival 2015

Putting consumers' experience with the brand at heart, Heineken brought its Cities Festival 2015 to Singapore’s shores once again. This time around, it was held at Chijmes as a nod to the iconic landmark in the heart of Singapore, where guests were treated to a night of surprises and discover unexpected cultural mash-ups of the familiar and the extraordinary from the cities of Los Angeles, Madrid, Mexico City, Seoul, Tokyo and Singapore.David Moore, regional marketing manager of Heineken, told Marketing that such events provide the brand with the opportunity to connect with its audiences directly and in a truly immersive manner. He said, “Heineken has always encouraged people to embrace the spirit of adventure and discovery. With the Heineken Cities Festival, we hope to open the eyes of our consumers with a journey of unexpected twists, presenting them with a worldly adventure like no other.”In terms of brand positioning, Heineken continues to strive to reach its consumers in ways that continue to excite them, while rewarding them with unique and memorable Heineken experiences, Moore added.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AO41rhHaQEYFor the Heineken Cities Festival 2015, held at Chijmes on Friday, 28 August 2015, the brand rolled out six Limited City Edition Bottles and Sleek Cans named after six of the world’s most exciting cities – Los Angeles, Madrid, Mexico City, Seoul, Tokyo and Singapore. Heineken is one of the first premium beer brands in Asia to launch the iconic beverage in 330ml Sleek Cans. Launch of Heineken on Instagram @HeinekenSGHeineken also launched the brand on Instagram with the handle @HeinekenSG . To further celebrate Singapore’s cultural diversity, Heineken sought out five “global locals” – people from each of the five other cities, now residing in Singapore, to share their stories of life back home.The stories of these global locals were interpreted by four noted Singaporean illustrators EeShaun, Kuanth, TYC and Sokkuan, in a series of illustrative representations and storytelling. Each intriguing illustration captured the culture melting pot that is Singapore, from the eyes of these global locals.Ramping up its digital offerings with its Instagram debut in Singapore, Moore explained that the company’s digital marketing activities run in accordance to a carefully-designed digital marketing plan, which supports each of the campaigns launched in Singapore. “We monitor market trends, demands and needs closely to ensure an insightful, yet competitive approach to successfully captivate our audiences in a creative manner,” Moore said.When asked why Instagram was chosen as its next social media platform, Moore said the brand wanted to capitalise on the popularity of its Cities event among its fans: “We wanted to establish good rapport with our consumers through a channel we know they frequent and love.”Through this channel, Heineken aims to reach out to new audiences who may be keen to learn more about Heineken’s activities in Singapore. The beer brand debuted its Instagram presence in a creative manner, featuring illustrations by noted local designers interpreting stories by “global locals”.The running hashtag for its social media is #HeinekenSG while the official hashtag for the Heineken Cities Festival is #OpenSG.Meanwhile, on a global level, Heineken launched the Cities of the World campaign with a TV commercial ‘The Insider’, which follows a true city insider whose mission is to celebrate and savour the city by going off the beaten track. Watch the video here:https://youtu.be/-lLgAIVLAkUHoping to differentiate itself from other beer brands, Moore said: “Heineken is very much focused on engaging with and rewarding our consumers by bringing them unique experiences, Heineken style. We have always made our consumers’ experiences a top priority and we believe in the importance of connecting with our audience in ways that will excite them.”Heineken Singapore is currently working with two agencies, iris Singapore and Starcom. iris Singapore is currently its integrated agency of record, leading creative and PR for the campaign while media agency Starcom covers media buys for the campaign.[gallery link="file" ids="116101,116102,116103,116104,116105,116106,116107,116108,116109"]