Heineken 0.0 is a brand that has been defined since launch by its bold creative strategy.

An unerring commitment to one brand idea has allowed Heineken 0.0 to redefine what a non-alcoholic beer can be and to propel it to become the biggest brand in the category globally, all within three years of launch.

This strategy continues to drive the brand’s further growth today, across the globe.

Back in 2016, in ‘mature’ European markets, consumers were drinking ever less alcohol than their predecessors. Good for their health, less good for Heineken whose growth had stagnated.

To remain relevant and grow, Heineken created Heineken 0.0.

This was a sound idea, but unfortunately not a terribly original one. The non-alcoholic beer category was already booming, with an average of 60 brands already in market with more being launched.

We thought our product looked and tasted great. Unfortunately, consumers were less excited by it- before launch demonstrating lower purchase intent for us than for the competitive set. And that was before we’d told them the ambitious price premium we’d be charging.

Undaunted, Heineken’s ambition was announced: to become the world’s leading non-alcoholic beer brand, starting by launching in 7 European markets, in Q2 2017.

To achieve this goal, an equivalently bold brand strategy was required…

On the surface the challenge looked clear enough.

This was a growing but still highly fragmented category.

Heineken 0.0 was late to the game, so from a standing start would have to find an impactful way to gain market share.

However, behind the scenes, the reality was less simple.

While the category was growing, consumers were hesitant.

Non-alcoholic beer had a generations-old image problem.

Beer drinkers thought of it as an inferior substitute, a compromise and a ‘loser’s drink’.

It wasn’t cool, no one was sure when to drink it and it wasn’t perceived to taste as good as actual beer.

Unsurprisingly, these were the barriers the category was battling hard to overcome.

In an attempt to reduce this image gap, our competitors were relentlessly making the case for non-alcoholic beer, compared to the real thing. However, no one brand was making an impact.

The first clue was how consumers decoded our competitors’ advertising.

They just didn’t buy it.

Drawing comparison with alcoholic-beer only highlighted the product’s perceived shortcomings, ironically reinforcing negative perceptions.

We needed a more lateral approach; an ethnographic study to understand consumer’s relationship with beer at large.

The insight (as most good ones are) is rather obvious in retrospect:

Beer drinkers love beer - more than they feel able to drink it.

They’d like to drink beer more than they do.

However, it’s only responsible or socially accepted to consume it in certain limited occasions.

Interesting….

Instead of being another beer minus, what if 0.0 was beer plus?

Not just another beer, but a beer that can be drunk anytime.

A positive choice but not a worthy one; it’s permission to drink beer whenever you fancy one.

This fresh, positive approach was our opportunity to usurp this otherwise rather umderwhelming category…

The Heineken brand stands for a fresh perspective in life. In its DNA is a maverick spirit that finds optimism and opportunity where others don’t, so this strategy was a natural brand fit.

Framing 0.0 as ‘Anytime Beer’ led us directly to the idea of ‘Now you can’- perfectly capturing the confident permissibility that Heineken was now bringing to beer drinkers.

Instead of occasions of forced compromise, we chose to focus on moments of active choice; positioning it as a beer you drink because you actually want one.

‘Now you can’ drink beer in the gym, in a board meeting or behind the wheel.

These unlikely settings for beer were a natural source of attention and humour for the brand- while telegraphically communicating the brand’s bigger idea.

This idea was translated across every touchpoint from sponsorships and advertising to sampling and trade promotions- always using Heineken’s signature wit and irreverence.

•Across our European launch markets the brand has consistently grown in awareness, consideration, trial, penetration and loyalty.

•The rate of growth has far exceeded the category every year and in every market since launch.

• The brand has overcome the stigma the rest of the category faces, with a radically more positive set of associations. This has been driven by brand communications.

• Heineken 0.0 sells at a significant price premium versus the category.

• Communications up to Q1 2020 have already generated a profit ROI of over 3.7:1.

• Within three years of launch Heineken 0.0 was the #1 non-alcoholic beer in the world.

• Markets that have launched 0.0 have seen a significant halo effect: significant inmprovements in Heineken brand attributes and sales.

• ‘Now You Can’ continues to drive Heineken 0.0 in all the 58 markets in which it has launched, with further expansion plans to come