Heineken N V Global Branding And Adverstising

Executive Summary

Heineken N.V, a long with tradition, superior quality and taste, has been perceived differently from market to market. With the finding of common perceived values of Heineken brand across all markets through Project Comet and Mosa, the company should pursue a global branding strategy. To do so, Heineken should build compelling ICM strategies and provide a 'platform' that is flexible enough to handle the branding for local marketers. It should have both centralization and decentralization marketing organizational structure to promote successfully a global brand and to support local marketing managers in setting and implementing ICM strategies tailored to each local market.

Situation Analysis: Heineken N.V is a well-know, renowned brewery with essential strengths (Appendix-1) to be a global brand. However, at this moment, brand perception is different across the countries. Though Heineken had consistently been marketed as a premium brand, in the US and Hong Kong market, a distinct image was established for special occasion rather than for daily consumption while in Latin America, Heineken is viewed as a European imported beer among others. While project Comet and Mosa strive to establish, gauge Heineken's global brand identity and communication, the real test lies for Heineken to sustain its market lead & reputation in its neighboring European Union which by far is the largest contributor to its sales. Project Comet proves that the brand’s good taste image is built on 5 core brand values: taste, premiumness, tradition, winning spirit and friendship. Project Mosa finds that premium beer tightly relates friendships and important relations which are built based on enjoyable, joyful, personal, luxury social conditions such as meeting people, fancy meals, savoring, elegant parties, intimate moments and places etc (Exhibit 7). The friendship value would be presented in several social conditions through “true friends” and “consumers can count on Heineken as a friend” expressions. The taste would be built on 5 brand values: taste experience, balanced taste, foam, advertising and packaging (Exhibit 6). The taste expressions can be presented in quality and tradition values but should not be presented in brand vision because the research result shows the negative perception in brand vision.

Important Issues: A global brand is needed to provide relevant meaning and experience to people across multiple societies. To do so, the brand strategy needs to be devised that takes accounts of brand's own capabilities and competencies, the strategies of competing brands, and the outlook of consumers experience in their respective societies.