Heineken – Club Beertender (Netherlands)

Client name: Heineken
Category: Loyalty & Long-term Umbrella Campaigns
BACKGROUND
Heineken developed the 'BeerTender' together with Krups. It's a home-tap system for beer, with which you can tap your own glasses of Heineken's best beers: Heineken, Amstel, Amstel Bock, Amstel 1870, Brand, Wieckse Witte, Murphy's and Affligem.

Beertender was introduced in 2004 as the first system that could provide you a fresh cold beer at home. It's a better experience for the consumer and a chance for a better market share for Heineken.

The product experienced a healthy sales growth (200,000 in 2007).
Slowly, the BeerTender sales are decreasing. Everyone who wants a BeerTender already has one and there are not many new customers. Also, the amount of casks is not in line with the amount of
BeerTenders sold, which suggests a lot of buyers are not using their BeerTender anymore.

The system quickly becomes – without any further promotions – a tap for special occasions and disappears into the closet or garage. BeerTender also suffers from heavy competition of the PerfectDraft, a similar tap from Philips.

The further increase of brand-awareness won't lead to increase of sales of BeerTender, and BeerTender sales don't automatically lead to an increase in sales of casks.

OBJECTIVES
Create a platform to regularly communicate with BeerTender owners and to encourage use of their BeerTender. The goals attached to this platform:

• Building a database of BeerTender users through self-registration
• Measure the communication effects to cask sales, with goal of increasing cask sales to Club members by 25%
  

STRATEGY
The target audience is (mostly male) BeerTender owners. Age doesn't matter, but the communication is aimed at men, aged 25–55, with a strong affinity with football and music.

We chose a structural communication- and loyalty program for BeerTender owners: Club BeerTender. The program stimulates the owners to re-use their BeerTender and encourages them to increase its use. Club BeerTender should also create a special bond between BeerTender owners.

The program has three pillars:

1. TO BRING IN: get to know the BeerTender users.
2. TO BIND: figure out purchase behaviour, using codes. Always give a reason to register these codes.
3. TO FILL: increase sales by using special sales promotions and reach the volume goal of 2007.
   

The Club gives you something directly, there's no need to save tons of receipts to get anything. Members get rewarded in both emotional and economic ways. The following incentives are used:

• Discounts
• Privileges
• Chances to win
  

Examples of privileges: free cask on birthdays, preferential tickets for football matches. Discounts on football tickets, concerts and BeerTender merchandise. Also, with each registered cask consumers had a 1/10 or 1/15 chance of winning “money can't buy” prizes like flying an aircraft or driving a Formula 1 car.

Media:
Current databases, BeerTender sales (utilizing the Krups sales data), BeerTender packages and casks
Other Heineken SKUs
Print media and a banner campaign
Club BeerTender members encouraged to refer other owners

Budget
Radio 9%
Direct Mail 33%
Online 30%
Print media 1%
In store communication 8%
Promotional products 19%

CREATIVE STRATEGY
Club BeerTender is about more than just a device you fill with casks. Club BeerTender is about the ultimate beer experience: being able to get the most delicious beer freshly out of the tap, at home! Heineken supports Club members, but moreover, Heineken makes sure it's more fun using your BeerTender.

Club BeerTender reinforces the relationship between Heineken and the consumer, and gives customers the recognition they deserve. By asking for specific preferences and interests, the communication becomes personal and relevant.

In the welcome-pack, after registering the first cask-code, the new member receives the BeerTender apron, to reinforce the “being-home” feeling. This also goes for discounts and the prizes members can win. Some merchandise is also personalized with favourite football-clubs, which makes Club BeerTender very personal.

Within the concept, the various beer brands (Heineken, Amstel, Brand) get the possibility to reinforce their individual brand feeling. For example via the Brand Brewery Days, the Amstel Live Concerts and the Heineken Music Hall.

Monthly emails are being based on the preferences of the ClubMembers, to continue to motivate the purchase and registration of more casks, in order to win prizes or to obtain further discounts.

A broadsheet to all distribution points explained Club BeerTender. By sending out direct mails with discount coupons, which could be checked at these selling points, the distribution channels were helping Heineken to sell more casks.