Dive Brief:
- Heineken is transitioning to a new agency model that sees the company working with fewer agencies overall and consolidating its global creative roster between Publicis Groupe, WPP and Stagwell, the company said in a press release.
- Following a review, Dentsu is retaining the Amstel and Birra Moretti marketer's global media business, extending a decade-long relationship. In addition, Publicis has been reappointed as secondary global production partner for the brewer.
- The transition begins immediately as part of an ongoing growth initiative. Creative for the Heineken brand was out of the review’s scope and will continue to be handled by Publicis.
Dive Insight:
Heineken positioned its new agency structure as a significant step in progressing the EverGreen 2030 growth strategy, a company initiative that is taking shape as the beer category remains under pressure. The slimmer and more “future-fit agency model” also supports a commercial artificial intelligence transformation program called Freddy AI, Chief Commercial Officer Bram Westenbrink said in a press statement.
“By partnering with a smaller number of world-class agencies, we are creating the conditions for deeper collaboration, sharper strategic focus and more impactful creativity,” added Jorn Socquet, Heineken’s senior director of global brand impact and growth transformation, in a statement. “At the same time, this model allows us to operate with greater speed and efficiency, ensuring we can deliver high-quality work consistently across our global and local brand portfolio.”
Winners coming out of the review include Dentsu, which is retaining Heineken’s sizable global media account. Heineken is the world’s second-largest brewer behind Anheuser-Busch InBev, owning over 170 brands. Dentsu, which is based in Japan, has been pummeled by weak international growth and introduced a new management structure in March to right the ship. The network last month lost Microsoft’s massive global media duties, which it held for over a decade, to Publicis.
Publicis is holding onto the creative work for the flagship Heineken brand, a leading premium offering in its parent’s portfolio. Heineken’s marketing in recent years has played into the consumer desire to unplug and embrace more in-person social connection, with many of those campaigns and activations handled by Publicis’ LePub. At the Coachella music festival last month, the brand handed out digital bands that could be strapped over beer cans. The Clinker devices leveraged music-streaming data to help identify other festival attendees with shared tastes.
Heineken in April reported solid results for Q1 despite an uncertain global environment, with organic volumes up 1.2% over the year-ago period and net revenue increasing 2.8%. The company is undergoing transitions in other areas beyond marketing. CEO Dolf van den Brink will step down at the end of the month after nearly six years leading the business.
