A year ago, many multinational advertisers withdrew their marketing
campaign amid the flurry of anti-Western sentiment after the bombing of
Belgrade China embassy by Nato.
Dutch beer brewer prepared to rock the China capital in its second
Heineken Beat open air music festival in May, despite the difficulties
in hosting the event for the first time last year.
Even now, political issues cannot be taken lightly, said Mr Udo
Hoffmann, vice-general manager of the event creator and organiser, Yiren
Advertising.
Last year, Heineken Beat had to be cancelled at the last minute
following the Belgrade bombing.
However, the concert was successfully staged two months later, allowing
Yiren to build the good relationships needed for this year's events.
Heineken Beat was a two-day, open-air music and entertainment concert
that made heads turn as East met West in Ritan Park in eastern
Beijing.
Six bands from China and the West performed in the public park and the
open air sacrificial altar, while street performers interacted with the
public during the day.
Bringing together Chinese modern rock, salsa, afro beat, world music and
Britpop, Heineken Beat was the first open-air concert of its kind in
Beijing.
It was also unique in that culture has so far remained a part of
political life and the music industry has been viewed by the authorities
with apprehension.
"The festival was the first of its kind," said Mr Hoffmann.
"But the organisational process was a lot smoother the second time
around as everyone involved last year agreed that the concert was big
success and knew they could rely on us to be sensitive to their
concerns."
Mr Hoffmann, who has organised the Beijing Jazz festival for the last
eight years and co-created Heineken Beat, recalled: "In the beginning it
was difficult to convince companies to sponsor music events because of
high risk both politically and financially.
"Heineken has been very pleased with the results of the festival.
"Over the last year, Heineken's brand awareness in Beijing increased
from 60 per cent to 80 per cent.
"The event was the talk of the town and extensive TV and radio campaigns
before and after the festival ensured other parts of the country were
also included in the marketing strategy."
The Heineken Beat Festival has been a revolution as a branding and a
public awareness exercise for the mainland market and certainly helps
open the doors for future events, said Mr Hoffmann.
"Event sponsorship will become very important," he said.
"Because the population in the cities is becoming more sophisticated,
(it has created) the need for a developed entertainment industry.
"People want to distinguish themselves from one another and therefore
need cultural diversity.
"Events provide Chinese consumers with this cultural diversity and this
can be funded through sponsorship from the corporate side."
As traditional media options become fully exploited in China, new ways
of building awareness and placing product need to be found.
"While every brand needs individually created campaigns, all events from
dance to theatre are areas to be explored in the future," said Mr
Hoffmann.
Mr Hoffmann, a former teacher, wants to introduce the Chinese audience
to as many different music genres as possible and remains a firm
believer that cultural diversity is vital for people to creatively
interact with their own tradition.
"I want to introduce many genres because people can then choose what
they like best," he said.
By working closely with the authorities to ensure no infringements of
China's laws and regulations, Yiren tends to concentrate on the event
itself.
Indeed, the biggest headache facing Mr Hoffmann was not political at
all, but rather, whether the band coming from Cuba would make its flight
connections in time for this year's event.
Source: CMM Intelligence.
