NEW CAMPAIGNS: A monster of an idea for Heineken

<p>In Thailand, a huge amount of media expenditure was poured into the </p><p>beer category last year, creating vast amounts of clutter. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Brands battled to outdo each other, taking aggressive media stances by </p><p>creating primetime TV roadblocks, flooding popular radio programmes, </p><p>filling up print titles and moving into event sponsorships in a big </p><p>way. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Heineken, in partnership with Starcom Thailand, set out to position </p><p>itself to win the hearts and minds of a younger group of consumers with </p><p>an unusual media strategy that would, without question, stand out from </p><p>the rest of the crowd. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The opportunity presented itself at the EGV Movie Walk in Bangkok, a new </p><p>entertainment complex which was popular with youthful, trendy and </p><p>urbanised Bangkokians. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Offering seven cinemas as well as food and retail outlets, EGV used a </p><p>star motif throughout the theatres, inspiring Heineken's "A Star Among </p><p>Stars" concept. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Starcom negotiated with the owners to place the Heineken Star in a </p><p>prominent position at the venue, and provide an unparalleled level of </p><p>added value. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Included in the deal were: </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>- Prime display areas; </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>- Ads running on the Trivision boards; </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>- TVCs broadcasting on video walls and all internal TV monitors </p><p>throughout the shopping complex; </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>- Sponsored film screenings in EGV Gold Class theatres; and </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>- Heineken to be the only beer sold at the bars. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The package also provided other marketing and PR opportunities, offering </p><p>Heineken a special venue to entertain guests at private screenings. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The show-stopper was the dramatic 3D display created specifically for </p><p>EGV, showing HR Geiger's monstrous alien (as seen in the hugely popular </p><p>Alien movie series) bursting through the ceiling, grabbing for a bottle </p><p>of Heineken fixed to the floor below. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Not only did people stop and stare, but not a day passed in which they </p><p>would not also attempt to pick up the bottle. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The Trivision ads were created specially for the venue - two Heineken </p><p>bottle caps mimicked a shark's mouth for "Jaws", while a bottle opener </p><p>cuddled up to a Heineken recalled Romeo and Juliet. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>A major plus - CPM was extraordinarily low at 277 baht (by comparison, </p><p>CPM for cinema stood at 1,010 baht then). </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The PR generated by the media and creative strategy was huge, and </p><p>Heineken successfully caught the attention of the 1.2 million people who </p><p>visited EGV Movie Walk every month. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>* This National Geographic Showcase series features selected winners and </p><p>other entries in the Best Use of Media category in MEDIA's Agency of the </p><p>Year Awards 1999. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>