3.) How can the Heineken brand be developed through marketing communications?

Heineken knew their brand image. The company had established its image as a higher
quality light beer in nice packaging. Project Comet established that target image for the brand
was good taste. This image of good taste would be based on five basic values: Taste,
Premiumness, Tradition, Winning Spirit, and Friendship. Taste and Premiumness were looked at
as the start. These two values had to be conveyed to people but would not be enough to separate
Heineken from other beers. An original image would rely on the other three values being
communicated clearly to consumers. The team acknowledged that it would not be easy to
display all five of the values in each advertisement. A system based on the locations, situations,
relationships, casting, lighting, style, and tone was their solution. Team Comet then created
guidelines of how each value should be illustrated in advertisements. A second team, known as
Team Mosa, was conducting studies on two things. The first was what male beer drinkers meant
by taste and friendship in relation to premium beer drinking. In effect the second team was
investigating two of Team Comets values. Team Mosas second task was identifying the
expressions of those two values that could be used in Heinekens advertising. The team came up
with expressions that appealed to the head and that appealed to the heart. Advertisements
were created and focus groups in different countries shared their reactions. These groups also
shared what they thought was important for beer taste and when premium beer was appropriate.
Through these focus groups effective advertising was developed.

QuE: What should be the role of Heinekens headquarters in shaping the

marketing of the brand worldwide?

 Incorporate the 5 expressions of taste that customers want

Brand vision, quality, brewing skills, tradition, and availability
Incorporate the 5 expressions of friendship that customers want
Trust, sports, true friends, you can count on Heineken as a friend, respect
Understand that the different markets and regions are in different phases
of Heineken development and consumption.
Embryonic, Take-off, Growing, Mature, and Declining
Use different tactics based on what the specifi region wants and needs so
that the brand can grow
Use tactics focused on building the brand in regions like Brazil,
Argentina, and Germany which are in the building phase
Use tactics to enrich the brand and make it more appealing in Hong
Kong and Japan.
Maintain the brand market share in the United States which has reached
its limits in growth
Revive the brand in markets like Italy and the Netherlands where market
share has gone down over the years.
Maintain control of the marketing strategy for their brand when possible
When dealing with other parties that are licensed to sell and promote
Heineken; advise them on the expressions of taste and friendship that the
customers want.
Advise them on the strategy to use to employ these expressions based on
the needs of their individual markets