2015 Winners & Shortlists

Brief Explanation

The barrier was that beer was not seen as a club drink – with clubbers switching to vodka and other spirits when they got to the club. So we needed to make a big splash to convert clubbers, while projecting the brand as innovative and global. Our design solution was based on a powerful audience insight: as 92% of Dubai’s population are expats, most people have one eye on midnight back home on New Year’s Eve, as well as celebrating at midnight Dubai-time.

The Brief

Heineken wanted to increase beer sales and elevate brand perception at Zero Gravity, one of the biggest club venues in Dubai, on the biggest night of the year – New Year’s Eve.

How the final design was conceived

Our idea was to enable clubbers to celebrate EVERY expat New Year throughout the night, so we designed a bar as a giant World Clock. We made an interactive screen, featuring a world map, from Heineken bottles. When midnight hit key expat cities, the display would count down and light up. Then we’d get that New Year’s party started with podium dancers and clubber’s Twitter messages using our hashtag.

Indication of how successful the outcome was in the market

1. 33% of clubbers enjoyed a Heineken on the night 2. Volume was up 100% on previous New Year

Heineken is positioned as the beer of the sophisticated ‘man of the world’. It is currently the second most purchased beer in the Dubai market. Budget for the ‘New Years of the World’ activation was $30 thousand.