Heineken’s 2015 Marketing Plan: If It Ain’t Broke, Don’t Fix It

Heineken MarketingHeineken USA is no stranger to successful campaigns in the advertising world. Many consider the beer brand a pioneer in adaptive marketing strategies and digital campaigns. Heineken USA’s 2014 marketing strategies proved successful, and the same is expected of the brand’s 2015 campaigns. Heineken USA has unveiled their master plan for 2015, and it includes a 30 percent increase in digital spend with a greater emphasis on soccer over past years. And, of course, we can expect to see a dash of Neil Patrick Harris sprinkled in.

Heineken USA (which includes brands Heineken, Dos Equis, Tecate, and Strongbow) has increased marketing budget by 6 percent this year. Thirty percent of which will be dedicated to digital, which is up 10 percent from last year. The plan also includes using programmatic ad buying for 10 percent of all ad buys.

Let’s take a look at what Heineken USA has planned for its top brands’ marketing in 2015.

Heineken Gets Sporty
This year marks the beginning of Heineken’s five-year sponsorship commitment with Major League Soccer. There are plans to develop web content specific to the sport and hosting the “Heineken House” at major MLS events. The ultimate goal of the MLS campaign is to gain exposure in the millennial and Hispanic market, totaling 90 million Americans reached.

The Heineken brand is also sponsoring the European-based UEFA Champions League, but aiming their marketing efforts at U.S. residents. The “#ChampionTheMatch” campaign targets those plagued by the difficulties of trying to watch the game during work hours. As seen in the video ad titled, “Champion the Match: Work vs. Soccer,” the campaign offered fans the opportunity to go to a UCL match in Europe; the catch: they had to bring their boss.

Heineken Light Gets More Harris
Neil Patrick Harris will be featured in video ads in 2015; following the success Heineken found in 2014 using the quirky celebrity, this does not come as a surprise. The taste-centric campaign further supports the idea that beer drinkers expect more from their beer brands than ever before. A superficial joke is no longer sufficient to sell a beer brand, consumers what to know more about the brand and what they are drinking.

Neil Patrick Harris Heineken

Dos Equis Keeps Their Interesting Man
Heineken USA likely lives by the idiom, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” We can expect to see more of the ever-so-popular Most Interesting Man in the World. The new ads will feature “Lunar Rising” promoting the idea of a full-moon-lit summer party. We can also expect to see a new Dos Equis beer variety called Roja, which is described as a “distinctive red lager crafted with Mexican malted barley and hops.”

Dos Equis Most Interesting Man

Tecate Goes Bi-Cultural
Tecate’s first campaign in 2015 mark’s the brand’s debut endeavor with new ad agency Saatchi & Saatchi New York. The campaign is titled “Born Bold” and it is intended to make an emotional appeal to the target demographic. The campaign will emphasize the brand’s iconic black eagle symbol and target “bi-cultural” consumers who identify equally with U.S. as they do Mexico.

Tecate

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