1

Sit uat ion Analys is :

At the end of 1993, Heineken had a 24% volume share in the Netherlands, far
ahead of its main competitor
Grolsch, but the sales volume was declining and brand image needed revitalization.
In foreign markets, such as the nited !tates and Hong "ong, Heineken had
al#a$s %een marketed as a premium %rand, and had managed to create a
distinct image for itself
&he image #as sometimes, ho#ever, narro#l$ dra#n, leading to a general
perception that Heineken #as appropriate onl$ for special occasions
Across 'uropean countries, Heineken had ver$ strong %rand a#areness
In (atin America, Heineken #as vie#ed as )ust one amongst the man$ 'uropean
*eer imports
Ho#ever, across all markets Heineken #as perceived as a lighter %eer of superior
+ualit$, in attractive packaging
Heineken #as the most heavil$ advertised premium %rand in 'urope and
#orld#ide, #ith more than 9,% of the advertising taking place in the form of &-
.ommercials
Problem Ident ification :
Heineken needed to #ork out its glo%al %rand image and advertising efforts
too, needed to %e integrated on a glo%al scale
/egional managers often developed their o#n commercials citing uni+ue
competitive conditions0 !tandardi1ation #as thus non2e3istent, and re+uired0
Table A S t r eng t hs a n d W e a k n e s s of Heinek e n
Strengths Weakness
World s leading premier Beer.
(ack of glo%al presence in %ottling
%usiness0 In the ma)or %eer2consuming market,
Germany and U its imported and not %ottled0
"no#n for its good taste, rich tradition
and Histor$0
(ack of presence in (atin America0
-ie#ed as )ust one of man$ imported
'uropean %eers in (atin America0 Ackno#ledge as lighter %eer of superior
+ualit$0
4erceived premium %rand image in some
markets, #hich
resulted in decline of sales volume across
4ackaging is attractive and one of the
%est in %usiness0 (eader in Netherland market0 Heinekens %rand image is not
%eing consistentl$
pro)ected in *rands communication0
Num%er 5ne imported %eer in ! 6arket0 *rand lo$alt$ needs to %e %uild on, in
'astern 'urope people keep on s#itching
!uccessful premium %rand image
glo%all$ 7!, Hong
"ong etc80
Have ma)orit$ stakes in its e3isting and
prospective partners to ensure tighter
control in production and marketing0
2
!igni9cant advertising e3penditure at its
disposal0 It also
has the a%ilit$ to come up #ith
3
Project C omet
:as initiated in !""! to enhance #eineken s competitive advantage through advertisement pro$ections
as the world s leading premium beer
%he pro$ect team had identi&ied good taste as the desired brand image o& #eineken
&he pro)ect identi9ed the follo#ing 9ve factors as core %rand values;
o &aste
o 4remiumness
o &radition
o :inning !pirit
o <riendship
&he 9rst t#o #ere recogni1ed merel$ as oints of arity, and hence were necessary, but
didn t provide any
signi9cant
advantage
!ifferentiation #as to %e achieved through the communication of the remaining
three values
Impactful advertisements, incorporating leading edge technolog$ and calculated
risks, #ere recommended
Project "os a
<ocus groups #ere commissioned in eight countries to
o nderstand #hat male %eer drinkers meant %$ taste and friendship in relation
to premium %eer drinking
o :hich e3pressions of taste and friendship could %e used in advertising
&he +ualities of %eer that appealed to the mind and ones that appealed to
emotion #ere identi9ed %$ running focus groups among 2122= $ear olds and 2>2
3? $ear olds0 &he cues emplo$ed for the focus groups #ere %ased upon 'taste and
'&riendship
.ustomer reactions to Heineken advertisement claims along %oth these cues
#ere elicited and suita%ilit$ ratings #ere calculated
#egions Stage of de$eloment "arket e$olution
Africa 'm%r$onic High local consumer
lo$alt$
%astern %uroe &ake2o@ Aevelopment of standard
%eer
S% Asia&S' America&
(reece
!tarted gro#ing Bualit$ improvements
Introducing premium
%eer
Italy&Sain&)aan Cro#ing High volume focus
4rice .ompetition
* + C
%uroe&Australia
<ull gro#th .onsumer !ophistication
6arket segmentation
4
,SA <ull$ matured *randDsegment
proliferation
*eer 6arket had di@erent development stages and Heineken at that time #as in
di@erent phases of development at
same time0 In !A the market #as full$ matured #here as in Africa it #as in 'm%r$onic
!tage0
?
-uantit ati$e Analysis
(uantitative )nalysis o& #eineken s Growth is hown in )ppendi*2A
#ecom mend ations
As Heineken follo#s a glo%al strateg$ of e3pansion, standardi1ation of marketing
communications is a necessar$ step
%he Beer industry was in a globalizing phase through the !""+ s. ,merging markets carried a lot o& promise due
to population e3pansion and increasing per2capita %eer consumption
'ach countr$ #as in a separate stage of market evolution; 'm%r$onic, &ake 5@,
Cro#ing, 6ature or Aeclining
#eineken s strategy was to build market share in the emerging 7em%r$onic8 markets, to
enrich and increase market share in the &ake2o@ and gro#ing markets0 At the
same time, Heineken sought to maintain or restore market share in markets that
#ere in the 6ature or Aeclining phase
Aespite di@ering strategies across markets, a unif$ing marketing communications
theme is necessar$
A glo%al %randing strateg$ #ill lo#er marketing costs, reali1e economies of scale
in production and clarif$ the
brand s positioning in the minds o& customers
Aendi./ A
Reference Year - 1993
:orld *eer 4roduction 12, %n (tr
Heineken *eer 4roduction ?0E %n (tr
&otal !ales =42,01> mn guilder
1 %n (tr of Heineken 132?0,3 mn guilder
/egions !ales7%n ltr8 !ales revenue7mn
guilder8 Netherlands 1034 1=>,0>4
/est of 'urope 20E3 334>=04=
America ,0=3 9E40E2
AsiaDAustralasia ,04? ?930E1
Africa ,034 44?021
I nf erence:
Cro#th in regions like Netherlands and 'urope is reduced and in AsiaDAustralasia has
increased0