ABOUT

Ever felt like wallpaper at a party? No one talking to you or noticing you? Heineken did and it had to change.

Although involved in Music for over 20 years, Heineken had lost relevance in the target market’s mindset and lacked sufficient levels of standout in a busy environment. Consumers were seeing them as a vehicle to get tickets to world class bands via their Live Project gigs – it was all about the act for their target audience and there was no room for Heineken to play a role in the music experience.

Heineken had to create a new and distinct music strategy which would re-establish their intrinsic link to music. Going forward, they needed a clear vision of their offering going that would resonate with their target and provide a world class experience.

Ultimately, Heineken went back to basics and delved into the world of their target audience, really working through who they were, what they liked and what they didn’t like through indepth research and analysis.
Heineken knew their target audience valued music and knew it was at the core of every aspect of their life; they also craved cultural and global experiences. This was the perfect playground for Heineken to play in!

The “Sound Atlas” platform became the groundbreaking solution that allowed Heineken once more become a brand that Irish consumers associated with being distinctive, innovative, cool and on the pulse of global culture.

The “Sound Atlas” campaign was fully integrated and leveraged a number of touchpoints. We had to bring this campaign to life both on the ground and online due to our targets’ media consumption behaviours. Each facet of the campaign demonstrated how Heineken provided their target a “Passport to global music experiences”.

In 2015 we introduced a new scene to Irish consumers. Tokyo was the chosen destination for Sound Atlas 2015. Tokyo is a buzzing epicentre of an underground dance music scene. The existance of the Fueiho law which was introduced to Japan in 1948 in an attempt to curb an upsurge in strip bars that erupted in the post-war years. It forbade dancing in clubs and bars under 66 square meters in area. Although it wasn’t enforced for many of the intervening years, it remained law and was reactivated in 2010 by the Japanese police as a means to crack down on club culture. After a sustained campaign by the clubbing industry, the law was finally relaxed in June of this year. We would highlight this law and celebrate that fact that Tokyo could dance again.

The Heineken Sound Atlas concept was born from a strategic insight about our target audience; they don't have the disposable income to travel the world pursuing music scenes, but are excited about the possibility of engaging with them, feeling part of them and enjoying the kudos from being 'in the know'. We wanted to bring distinct music locations direct to our target market at key touch points, enabling them to interact and immerse themselves completely.

From the underground electronic dance scene of Berlin to the beats of Brooklyn block parties, we’ve already given people a chance to traverse a virtual atlas richly scattered with exclusive behind the scenes video content, playlists of music that define the scene and beautiful photography, all gathered from authentic tastemakers on the ground.

This year we chose the underground techno-dance scene in Tokyo. Perceived as a futuristic location, it’s busy, it’s bright and it’s fast-moving. “Robot girl” from our first key visual epitomises this futuristic music scene. She is the result of mixing technology, lights, music and people. She is the Tokyo underground music scene.

As with many alcohol brands, it’s a fine balancing act to work within the strict code, as well as the international mandatories for the brand. In many ways we began with the template and created a visual that would pull all the elements together.

For 2015 we wanted to make Sound Atlas come alive while bringing the experience to consumers all over the country.

We produced two pieces of video content showcasing the sights, sounds and culture of Tokyo. Released on social media they enhanced followers knowledge of Tokyo further teasing what would be in store at key festivals during the summer.

We divided our two pieces of content to introduce Tokyo in two different lights – Before Midnight and After Midnight. Our Before Midnight content launched the campaign and allowed us introduce Tokyo as our new scene for 2015. We then brought the Tokyo experience to festival goers at Longitude, highlighting key Tokyo cultures including Karaoke, noodle bars, Techno Udon and Ping Pong tables for festival goers to get glimpse into Tokyo life.

Our after Midnight was then introduced in the run up to Electric Picnic and introduced Tokyo in a new lens to our followers. Using Key influencers from The Tokyo Music scene they described Tokyo and the existence of the Fueiho law and methods they have introduced to combat the law in nightclubs.

Along with two pieces of Video content our two Key Visuals for the campaign allowed us broadcast our presence at key festivals to consumers around the country. Visuals representing symbols of Tokyo culture including a Robot and the Tokyo Skyline were strategically placed in varying OOH formats across the county. Additionally our two OOH specials in the heart of Dublin City saw our Key Visuals come alive, brought to life with neon lights replicating the Tokyo skyline.

The epicenter of the Sound Atlas 2015 campaign lived on social media. We used Twitter, Facebook and Instagram as key platforms to amplify our message throughout the summer. Releasing engaging content consistently in the build up to Longitude and Electric Picnic. While at festivals we were pushing content live through out the weekend ensuring that both those at the festivals knew about the Sound Atlas arena and further increasing the awareness of Sound Atlas to those at home.

A nationwide radio Partnership allowed us reach the huge numbers as we partnered with Media Central further amplifying our message nationwide.

During Electric Picnic we introduced a first for the Heineken Brand when we broadcasted live from the Sound Atlas arena using Periscope. Over the course of the weekend we had three live broadcasts allowing followers at home to experience Sound Atlas live from Electric Picnic. This was a first for an alcohol brand to use this new platform in such an innovative and engaging way creating FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) in our target audience.. Viewers were transported to The Sound Atlas arena from the comfort of their own home allowing them see how we transported the Tokyo vibes to Stradbally in September.


The Sound Atlas campaign ran from July 1st to September 7th, during this time we receives exceptional results across all platforms used. A highly engaging social media campaign which was always on allowed us to continually push out engaging content further strengthening our position in Irish consumers minds that Sound Atlas is their passport to global music experiences.