Most people still believe gamers are antisocial nerds. This kind of stereotype harms them in so many ways: bringing insecurity, prejudice, anxiety, and even exposing them to bullying. Some gamers do not even want to identify as gamers because of the negativity around that label. But, in fact, gaming is a genuine social occasion. Gamers use games to meet new people, hang out with old friends, flirt, date, argue, start and end relationships, enjoy sports, etc. Games are already a bar. It was just missing one thing: beer. So Heineken stepped into it to bring beers but mostly to show how gaming has always been a social occasion. And we did it by creating films with surprising endings, showing that not all nights out are out.

We created an entire campaign showing gaming as a social occasion. Firstly, we truly empowered the community by sponsoring the major global gaming events in Brazil, and one of the biggest streamers of the world, Gaules. Then, we aired the main film showing the story of a group of friends trying to meet themselves, but at the end of the film, we showed a surprising outcome for a beer brand campaign: they met themselves in a game. After that, we brought specific messages to clustered targets: casual gamers, streamers, and hardcore gamers. So we opened 2,720 in-game bars, by turning traditional media into voucher coupons. Next, we partnered with Valorant, turning the ice box map into a real bar. And, finally, we solved one of the biggest gamer’s problems (matchmaking) by creating an always-on platform to match people the same way we always did, with beer.

Once we understood that games were already bars, we showed how gaming has always been a social occasion by bringing the only thing missing: beers. And when we say bring beers, we mean bringing all the support Heineken could do for gamers.

Before creating a campaign, we empowered the community by sponsoring the major global gaming events in Brazil, and one of the biggest streamers of the world, Gaules. Then, we aired a 360º campaign with a main film, and cluster-targeted short films (casual gamers, streamers, and hardcore gamers). So we created a series of online and physical stunts to deconstruct the antisocial gaming stereotype.

It’s Friday evening, and a group of friends are trying to organize a night out in a chat group. We follow their conversation, showing all the challenges they face to meet each other. We follow Alex, one of these friends, rushing to meet her friends. She misses the train and tries to get a cab but loses it. She tries to ride a mop, but the battery gets low. It looks like their night out won't happen. So the girl arrives home. She grabs a beer, sits in front of her computer, and launches a game.

On her screen, we see all her friends appearing as avatars.

Alex: “Sorry. I’m late. Cheers.”

Each of them is now at home playing the same game. So we realize it was the plan all along: a game night out. They toast with their Heinekens.

Super: Not all nights out are a night out.

In its first gaming campaign, Heineken debuted in a very positive way. While gamers usually criticize other brands because of the wrong approach, Heineken hits the nail on the head. Being praised by gamers, gaming media outlets, streamers, and influencers. Obviously, it turns out to be a successful campaign also in numbers:

Impacts - 655.209.624

Impressions - 151.664.068

Engagement - 37.762.158

Reach - 181.673.769