Heineken and BrewDog are two very well-known beer brands that have successfully made a name for themselves around the world. Both brands place a strong focus on their advertising, marketing campaigns, and videos—and their creative strategies have helped put them on the map.
In this article, we’ll explore the background of Heineken and BrewDog, examine their marketing campaigns, and share how these two brands have mastered the art of brand storytelling.
The background of Heineken and BrewDog
Heineken
Heineken first began as a small family-owned brewery in 1864 in Amsterdam. Today, the company boasts 150 years of brewing and is one of the largest players in the brewing world. Fun fact: Heineken was the first beer imported into the USA after Prohibition was lifted in 1933!
Heineken has always placed value on innovation and continuous improvement, and those ideals are still a huge part of the business today. Sustainability is also at the forefront of Heineken’s ambition, which they announced with their “Brew a Better World 2030” strategy in 2021. The company’s mission is to place zero impact on the environment—reducing emissions and the carbon footprint by 30%.
BrewDog
BrewDog was founded in 2007 in the UK by James Watt and Martin Dickie. The duo started by making their own craft beers and filling bottles by hand out of a van in northeast Scotland. In 2010, the first BrewDog bar opened in Aberdeen, then later expanded into many large cities in the UK. Today, BrewDog has a global presence and the brand is continuing to expand.
Sustainability is also of the utmost importance to BrewDog, and their focus on the planet is at the forefront. In 2021, they launched “BrewDog & Friends,” the world’s largest sustainable beer club. Additionally, the company has now opened several craft beer hotels.
A review of marketing campaigns
It is interesting to explore the campaign styles of two very different beer brands. Heineken’s origins date back to the 1800s and it’s one of the most recognizable beer brands in the world, while BrewDog is much newer to the brewing community—hitting the scene in the 2000s. Nevertheless, marketing and advertising is at the forefront for both of these companies.
In this section, we’ll break down each of the brands’ campaign strategies, analyze their commercials, and identify the marketing tactics used by each to attract their target audience.
Marketing platforms
Heineken
Heineken’s commercials typically portray groups of people in social settings, such as bars and sporting events. They are also known for using strategic sponsorships and partnerships—creating emotional connections with their consumers. The brand uses several online platforms, particularly social media to reach its target audience. A perfect example of how Heineken incorporates sports events is its “Cheers To All Fans” commercial, which appeals to both male and female football fans.
BrewDog
BrewDog’s strategy is to shorten the distance between the beer makers and the consumers while making a positive impact on the planet. The brand uses a variety of marketing platforms including paid social advertising to connect with its audience. Instagram followers identify the brand with the hashtag “#brewdog,” which boasts over 865K posts! BrewDog’s “Beer for All TV Ad” in 2021 is a great example of how the brand reaches a wide audience.
Target audience, mood, and tone
Heineken
According to an article on Heineken’s brand strategy by marketing automation platform, Avada, Heineken’s target audience is typically men between the ages of 20-35 who live in major cities. The brand’s mood is humorous and clever, and the company is known for its entertaining tone.
BrewDog
Content governance solution platform, Acrolinx, discusses how BrewDog uses content and voice to target its key demographic—men and women between the ages of 18 and 25. The article goes on to say that the company also has many visitors in their mid-30s. The brand’s voice is lighthearted and witty, while also intelligent, and the company prides itself on being very self-aware.
Both brands have participated in publicity stunts over the years to keep their target audiences engaged. In 2016, Heineken pulled a stunt called “The Dilemma,” which follows a football fan facing a big dilemma. BrewDog is known for its wacky and sometimes controversial stunts, such as when it launched a ‘new’ beer called Pink IPA to highlight inequality in pay across genders and address sexist marketing.
Soundtrack and sound design
Heineken
Heineken’s history consists of a strong music heritage and they are also known for their use of sound effects in advertising and commercials. The brand incorporates a wide variety of music genres including pop, rock, rap, EDM, R&B, and classical. For example, Heineken’s 2011 commercial “The Entrance” features a song from Danish pop band, The Asteroids Galaxy Tour.
The company ranked #1 in 2022 among the top 10 selling beer brands for the efficacy of its music and Heineken even used Artlist’s assets in their ads, such as in the Ode to Close commercial.
Lists to Artlist’s song used in Heineken’s Ode to Close
'); } } }); } else if("songs" == 'sfx') { $.ajax({ method: "POST", url: "https://search-api.artlist.me/v1/graphql", contentType: "application/json", data: JSON.stringify({ query: `query SfxList($categoryIds: String!, $page: Float!, $tags: String!, $term: String!, $sortBy: SfxListRequestSortByOptions!) {sfxList(categoryIds: $categoryIds, page: $page, tags: $tags, term: $term, sortBy: $sortBy) { page songs { albumImageFilePath artistName isNew nameForURL relativeUrl sitePlayableFilePath songId songName }}}`, variables: JSON.stringify({ "categoryIds": "", "page": 1, "tags": "", "term": "Ballerina", "sortBy": "1" }), }) }).done(function(res) { if (res == '') { console.log('none'); } else { console.log('sfx list: ', res); var data = res.data.sfxList.songs; if ($("#6676265d95f13").length && data.length > 0) { createAudioPlayers(data, "6676265d95f13"); } else if ($("#6676265d95f13").length && data.length == 0) { $("#6676265d95f13").empty().append('
No songs were found.
'); } } }); } function createAudioPlayers(data, playlistId) { // main playlist container const playlistContainer = $("#" + playlistId); // wavesurfers array // const wavesurfers = []; // loop over every song returned if(!allWavesurfers){ var allWavesurfers = []; } $.each(data, function(index, audio) { // if current type is sfx and current looped index is bigger than amount wanted via shortcode - then stop loop (because sfx request doesn't have "take" variable) if("songs" == 'sfx' && (index + 1) > 1) { return false; } // audio player container const audioPlayer = $("
