Heineken is looking to stand out from the crowd with a brand repositioning strategy based around crowdsourcing new advertising ideas and packaging designs.
The firm will drive innovation in its advertising through the Heineken Ideas Brewery, an open platform launched earlier this year that encourages fans to share marketing and design concepts, reports Marketing Week.
The beer sector is awash with brands tying their marketing campaigns to music, football and other sporting events, and Heineken is seeking to effect a shift in thinking about its brand.
Mark van Iterson, global head of design at Heineken, told the publication that the company is trying to “leverage design … to make the brand stand out”, adding that “it’s design that makes products premium”.
He cited Apple, Audi and BMW as being examples of how design can “elevate a premium positioning when it’s integrated closely with other aspects of a business”.
The design chief added: “We want to be like Apple in the beer market.”
Aptly enough, this comes just after Heineken acquired Belgian cider brewer Stassen in a move to position the company as a premium drinks brand that goes beyond the lager-and-football image.
The new strategy will not, however, replace the traditional forms of beer marketing for Heineken.
It continues to sponsor the UEFA Champions League and is beginning to ramp up London 2012 marketing activity as the official beer of the Olympic Games.