Cannes Lions

Beer Power

LEPUB, Sao Paolo / HEINEKEN / 2023

Case Film
Supporting Images
Supporting Images

Overview

Entries

Credits

Overview

Background

Bars felt the impact caused by the pandemic. When things seemed to be getting better, another crisis came: the energy crisis. In addition, years of a terrible government for economic and environmental topics. Brazil's finances were the worst registered in the last four decades, there was a risk of blackout because of the lack of rain, and the energy price has risen more than 80% in the last 6 years. So the challenge was to help these partners again and do what the president and his ministers didn't do.

Idea

Heineken is 100% produced with green energy in Brazil and our breweries produce an excess of solar energy. So we decided to channel this clean energy from our solar farms to our partner bars as a way of extending this green energy chain and help them to deal with the energy crisis the world has been facing. It is a way of saying that Heineken is on their side even in the most difficult times.

Strategy

First, we closed a deal with our solar energy producers to buy part of this energy, and then we mapped which partner bars could receive it.

Then, through social media, CRM efforts and geolocated media targeting all of Brazil, we invited bar owners to join the program with no costs and no need for installation. All they needed to do was fill their data into the beer power program website.

And to change bar owners' perception about clean energy (they fought it was complicated and expensive), we give them a taste of it, by turning OOHs, a traditional media, into solar farms to power bars.

Execution

Through a partnership with a solar energy company we used the distributed generation system to inject all this clean energy into the public energy network, giving energy credits to partner bars which subscribed to the program. A geolocated acquisition campaign took place in states where Heineken's clean energy was already available throughout 2022. And, to increase awareness of the program and to convince bar owners, we also turned OOHs near bars into solar farms, giving them a sample of Heineken sustainable energy. So they could show to their customers they are a bar brewing a fresher world.

Outcome

The project truly brought benefits to our partners. In the first year of the Beer Power Program, we channeled more than 1,000,000.000 kWh to more than 1,700 bars and saved approximately R$ 1.6 million on energy bills. And it's growing right now. There are more than 3,000 bars on the waiting list for 2023/24, and Heineken is expanding the program to more states in Brazil. 100% of the bars connected to Solar Billboards joined the program. Our goal is to have at least 50% of our sales points using solar energy by 2030.

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