Heineken abandons TV ads in UK
marketing environment for its £6.5m withdrawal from UK television
advertising.
Following the announcement last week, the international brewer has cited difficulties in using television as a marketing tool to reach the core 18-25 year old market as the reason for its change of tack.
The company, which has a £70m global advertising account, will instead focus its attentions on point-of-sale advertising and sports sponsorship.
Industry analyst at Datamonitor, John Brand, told FoodandDrinkEurope.com: "It is increasingly difficult to target the 18-26 year old sector as they are watching far less television than they used to, instead they are watching football and DVDs."
"There is the risk of wasting money on television advertising and obviously it makes sense to spend a marketing budget most efficiently."
"This change comes because in general people are becoming immune to TV advertising and companies are becoming aware of other mediums of effective advertising."
Heineken, which has been advertising on British television for more than 30 years, will therefore not completely vanish from UK TV screens - it will continue to get high profile exposure through its sponsorship of the UEFA Champions League and rugby union's Heineken cup.
There may also be a financial motive behind the marketing reshuffle. The company that is famous for its strapline "refreshes the parts other beers cannot reach", has been struggling to retain a massive fall in sales following the launch of its premium 5 per cent lager in 2003.
The introduction of the premium lager, which replaced the weaker Cold Filtered brand in the UK, resulted in annual sales falling from £500m to around £100m.
However, the company has not been deterred, with sales figures growing and an increased marketing budget they hope to attain between £130m and £140m this year.
A Heineken spokesperson said that demand for its premium lager is growing and the success in the market requires long-term investment. "This is a challenge which is continuing, now we are using different investment, driven in a different way."
Heineken also has plans to repeat consumer taste tests it held in the summer as part of a campaign to convert drinkers to its premium-strength lager. This entailed a double-decker Heineken bus equipped with a bar visiting supermarkets and events around the country to offer taste tests.
The venture reportedly revealed that 68 per cent of those involved in the experiment claimed to prefer the taste Heineken's premium strength lager to rival Stella Artois.
