Case study II: Knowing the signs in the Netherlands
In the Netherlands, Heineken implemented the successful international interactive online marketing campaign as part of its ongoing commitment to encouraging responsible drinking.
The message to drinkers was simple: know your limits or be an embarrassment to yourself and your friends.
The campaign was different to other initiatives because of its interactivity. The aim was for consumers to engage with it, rather than passively watch a one-way piece of communication, thereby making it more successful at raising awareness.
It consisted of videos showing characters who displayed differing types of behaviour when they had consumed too much. These caricatures were virally seeded using local social networking sites, particularly the hugely popular hyves.nl. Members of the site were able to send videos of the stereotypes to their friends with the message: “reminds me a bit of you!”
“The great thing about this campaign is it fulfils our marketing objectives with a message that also encourages the responsible use of alcohol,” explains Floris Cobelens, Marketing Manager for Heineken in the Netherlands. “The responsible drinking message is so much more effective when it is delivered by friends or loved ones, and the use of social networking to deliver it has made it that much more effective.”
The hyves.nl campaign was backed up by innovative online banner ads where the characters appear to leap across the screen. The results were immediate, with thousands of videos being seeded through the viral campaign. “It just shows how effective socially responsible marketing can be when you’re creative about it,” says Floris.
See also www.knowthesigns.com
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