Heineken Case Study

Analysis of Heineken's global presence and opportunities is complete, and research shows a very promising future, provided the correct steps are taken to shape the company's global image. Going forward, it is my suggestion that Heineken develops an international marketing strategy around the ideas of "Good Taste", focusing on the concepts of taste, premium experience, and tradition. Heineken's global image will be shaped by the universal appeal of these ideas, and then tailored specifically for different global markets by regional teams. Campaigns will be heavily aimed toward the USA, Asia, and South America. Additionally, Heineken needs to take majority ownership of all its breweries globally, and in should actually explore the feasibility of completely owning and operating major production and distribution facilities on each continent.

Two of Heineken's weaknesses actually lend itself to a natural progression as a global brand. First there is the relatively small market of premium beer consumers. There are only a finite number of people in any given area that Heineken is marketed to, so reaching out to our target market on a global sense provides us more consumers, and thus, more market share. A strength in Heineken's target market is that our niche is a relatively global concept. The ideas of taste, a premium experience, and tradition are all concepts that can be portrayed anywhere on the planet. The second weakness Heineken faces is the crowded beer market in Europe. Beer was born and perfected in the European region, and thus, there are many long standing high quality breweries. This weakness becomes a strength when put to a global marketing plan however. Heineken's image as a historic beer, with a long standing history of excellence, is cemented in a global image by the fact that it is from the historic Germanic brewing region of Europe. These combinations of strengths and weaknesses the company faces actually paint a pretty obvious picture that an aggressive global role out is the future of the company. While a global expansion is a costly endeavor and could fail, the bigger risk is missing out on equity in an increasingly global brewing industry.

The global expansion of Heineken will start at the HQ. A global image and branding campaign needs to be developed based on our focus group research. As noted before, the idea of "good taste" played the best in a global sense to our consumers. While taste and premiuness are definitely a priority, I disagree with the additional focus on "friendship". Research shows that people identify with tradition just as strongly as friendship, and the tradition of our beer is what justifies our premium price point. Even if a consumer isn't familiar with the great taste of a Heineken, a long proud brewing history suggests quality wherever you go. With a core advertising concept developed, specific ads should be developed individually