As part of The Drum's Food & Drink Focus, we spoke to Stephanie Dexter, marketing manager for the lager brand.
According to Nielsen data, in 2023 the UK had low consumption of alcoholic drinks and only 1% of non-alcoholic drinks. So why does it feel like half of Britain is guzzling down beer without feeling guilty? Of course it's marketing.
Dry January is getting bigger every year, with traditional breweries and new brands like Lucky Saint and Days all promoting alcohol-free alternatives all at once.
There's currently more noise in the non-alcoholic category than there is demand for it, and for good reason, says Heineken marketing manager Stephanie Dexter. “Heineken has a responsibility to continue to grow this category and to overinvest in it. The reason its spending is disproportionate to its market share is because it believes this category will continue to grow explosively, and now is the time. This is the key to accelerating non-alcoholic beer in culture.”
According to Kantar research, 44% of 18 to 24-year-olds say they regularly or occasionally consume low or no products, up from 31% in 2022. I'm doing something else.
Consumption of low and no-alcohol beer in the UK is 1% and market penetration is around 2.5% (according to Kantar), while in markets like Spain the penetration is around 10%. Dexter says there is still significant promotional work left in the category in markets like the UK.
“We're still at the stage where we're trying to convince bar owners that we should put it on draft. For us, it's still at a very basic availability stage. It's too early to tell. We need to show consumers that we're not drinking, not just saying we're not drinking.”
Follow beer lovers
Armed with Kantar's statistic that 99.7% of non-alcoholic beer drinkers also buy alcohol, Heineken is targeting the same audience with its 0.0 beer and its original beer, keeping its brand voice consistent across both.
“It's not that people who drink 0.0 start drinking Heineken, but people who drink Heineken start drinking 0.0 Heineken. From a marketing strategy perspective, it's not that complicated. We know you want to host the occasion, so we’ll go after our core drinker demographic with the same tone of voice.”
The top three drinking months are December, July, and January, which are also the months with the highest levels of drinking. “So we turn off the original spin, then turn on Heineken 0.0, and change the creative accordingly,” Dexter explains.
Heineken's Dry January campaign by Publicis Poke is an example of how both brands maintain a similar style and tone. The 'Don't Bale Your Friends' campaign, featuring footballer Gareth Bale, aims to send the message that not drinking alcohol will make your night last longer, or even get the presenter back to the pub. Ta.
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Alison Hoard, chief strategy officer at Publicis Poke, said the campaign was made aware of statistics showing 30% of the UK population make up excuses to avoid drinking alcohol. “She's one of those statistics that when you read this, it feels like the best observational comedy,” she says. The 20-second spot showed one man making the excuse of “driving” while playing golf, and another man holding a large pizza and saying, “I have a lot on my plate.” “We felt it was a really smart way to go back to Heineken's truth and have an empathetic and witty conversation,” Hoard added.
While Heineken's traditional marketing strategy is the same with or without alcohol, they take a different approach when it comes to sponsorship. For example, the F1 sponsorship message is about not drinking and driving, and Heineken's green (alcohol) label is never visible and is all (non-alcoholic) blue.
We've also partnered with ITV drama Coronation Street to install Heineken 0.0 pumps in the show's pubs. This also specializes in alcohol-free with zero crossover with the original beer.
Heineken's marketing needs to target not only pub customers, but also the pubs and retailers responsible for stocking Heineken. Dexter says her department's job is to “not only raise awareness and make sure it gets to the right places, but also normalize it within the culture.”
Mr Dexter said around nine in 10 beers and ciders drunk in pubs are sold in pints, which is why you'll see a Heineken 0.0 on the pump next to the alcoholic version of the 'holy grail'. Become. “Every time you see our brand, you have to ask if they have an alcohol-free version.”
