What do you do with a product that’s already recognised as the world’s largest international premium beer brand available in 192 countries worldwide? If you’re Heineken, you keep pushing the boundaries. For starters, it’s boldly backing the launch of its new mid-strength beer, Heineken 3, with a money-back guarantee in off-premise locations Australia-wide. It’s also forging new partnerships for its Heineken Saturday initiative with Formula One and the Royal Croquet Club; and it has recently opened a flagship venue at Sydney International Airport called Heineken House. It’s all in a bid to stay at the leading edge of a fast-changing consumer landscape. We chat to Australian Managing Director Andrew Campbell about what’s next for the brand Down Under.
The CEO Magazine: Can you tell us about your professional background?
Andrew: I spent the first 12 years of my career in banking and finance at the Bank of New Zealand and NAB before I moved into the wonderful world of beer. Since then, I’ve spent 11 years with Heineken in New Zealand, Sri Lanka, and Singapore, working in roles across sales, marketing and business development before becoming managing director of our Australian operation in October 2014.
What opportunities did you identify when you came onboard?
I saw several opportunities. First, to deeply understand what the Australian consumer is looking for and to meet needs by bringing some of the global Heineken innovations to the Australian market. Second, to reinforce the premium nature of the Heineken brand and its position as the world’s leading international premium beer. The Heineken brand has consistently been in the top three beer brands across Australia in terms of brand awareness and adoration. The obvious opportunity, therefore, was to work with a team of great people and drive growth from this extremely strong brand position.
What’s your main area of focus right now?
The launch of the new Heineken 3 — a mid-strength beer that we’ve launched in response to the changing consumer landscape. We want to provide an easy-drinking product for those consumers who are looking to complement their modern, active and spontaneous lifestyles without compromising the taste or quality of their beer. It’s our biggest launch in Australia for 20 years, and we’re the first market around the world to launch this brand.
In an Australian-first initiative, we’ve unveiled a money-back guarantee across off-premise locations around Australia. In essence, for anyone who buys a pack of Heineken 3 and doesn’t like it, we’ll give them their money back. That’s how firmly we believe Australians will love the quality and taste of Heineken 3. It’s a bold move, but one we hope will create intrigue and make people curious to try it. It’s also an example of how we like to challenge the conventional marketing status quo whenever we can.
What are your plans for the future growth of Heineken Lion Australia?
Innovation is a key focus of mine: there’s a reason it’s called FMCG! You have to be moving faster than the competition. People want to drink premium products. They’re prepared to pay more for them. But, for example, in the on-premise environment, when they pay more, they expect the Heineken brand to be presented in a premium way. They want the beer to be poured well and presented in a premium branded glass. I believe that in a bar environment, the only reason someone orders a second Heineken is because of the quality of the first one. We’ve embraced this in a big way. I’ve sent staff to Amsterdam for a week of training so they can graduate as a Draught Beer Master and then train our bar staff around Australia. This is paying big dividends for consumer experiences and sales. We’ve also just launched Heineken Extra Cold in Australia to ensure consumers can enjoy beer at the optimal temperature through our innovative frozen draught columns and glasses.
“In a bar environment, the only reason someone orders a second Heineken is because of the quality of the first one.” – Andrew Campbell
Can you tell us about your new marketing initiatives, such as Heineken House?
I want to ensure we share the story of our brand with a lot more consumers and build their connection with the brand to drive growth. My vision is to continue to evolve the legendary experiences we’ve become known for, such as Heineken Saturday. It became an institution in our previous partnership with the Australian Open.
We’ve now invested in a major new partnership with Formula One to take our experience to a new level, and Heineken Saturday will be coming with it. Whether you want to watch the racing or not, people will want to be at Heineken Saturday during the Australian Grand Prix this month. Heineken Saturday has also become a national property as we move it around the country for the first time through our strategic partnership with the Royal Croquet Club. This is the first time consumers will enjoy the legendary experience that comes with Heineken Saturday.
We also have Heineken House, our first flagship venue, which has now opened at Sydney International Airport Terminal 1. The venue gives us our own destination to offer a unique Heineken experience to travellers and a platform to be able to showcase all of our latest innovations, including Heineken 3 and Heineken Extra Cold. I’m also delighted to partner with Emirates Leisure to bring this brand experience to life.
Heineken has a long family-run history. How does this impact the day-to-day running of the business?
Heineken is the second-largest brewer in the world and is still controlled by the Heineken family. This is a great asset for our brand and enables us to take a long-term view and grow the brand in the right way for the future. We don’t make decisions based on hitting this year’s targets — it enables us to be true brand builders.
What sets Heineken apart from your competitors in the marketplace?
Heineken is the world’s largest international premium beer brand, available in 200 countries worldwide. For more than 150 years, Heineken has been focused on quality and creating a premium brand identity. It enables Australian consumers to enjoy and participate in some of the world’s leading international events such as Champions League, Rugby World Cup, and now Formula One.
We have a global mandate around moderation, and this is a message I’m very passionate about. We’ve run a number of moderation campaigns around the world to deliver the message about enjoying Heineken in a responsible way, without compromising the sense of occasion. The Formula One campaign spreads the powerful message: ‘When you drive, never drink’, which is championed by British Formula One legend Sir Jackie Stewart.
What do you love most about your job?
I love the Heineken brand: it was born in Amsterdam and raised by the world. Now in Australia we have a great team of people bringing brand innovations to life in a way that’s relevant to Australians. For me, the most rewarding moment is when you see a group of people enjoying a well-deserved ice-cold Heineken with friends or family. This means we have played a small role in enhancing the sociability of people in our world.