- Heineken continues its efforts to make the real world happen with its latest “Social Off Socials” effort, this time working to bring group chats to life in person.
- To that end, the brand built a “Group Chat Bar” that is designed to remind Americans that their text groups are more fulfilling when they happen in real life. The one-night-only experience was modeled after pro basketballer Josh Hart’s “Cold Water” group chat and brought his friends together to reconnect in person before the basketball season started.
- To continue the promotion, Heineken is running a sweepstakes that will enable the participants of one U.S.-based group chat to have a similar experience. Consumers can enter by commenting on Heineken’s group chat social posts or visiting the brand’s website.
Heineken’s latest “Social Off Socials” effort is based on the brand’s research that uncovered that while more than 90% of Americans are part of group chats with their friends and families, fewer than 30% meet up with the members of those chats in-person once a month. Further, 80% of those group chat participants would love to meet up in person more often and a slightly higher percentage (83%) say they leave such meetups more energized and recharged.
“For us, beer has always been about bringing people together,” said Alison Payne, CMO of Heineken USA, in a statement. “While our digital lives are important, nothing beats the feeling of a genuine, in-person connection over a beer. The Heineken Group Chat Bar is the latest way we’re creating a space that encourages more real-life socialization, because we know those are the occasions that deliver the most rewarding social experiences.”
The Heineken Group Chat Bar is an extension of the brand’s overarching efforts to encourage people to come together to share a beer in person. The brand recently mocked the wearable Friend AI device with an out-of-home campaign in New York City that replaced the circular necklace with a bottle opener and encouraged people to “tag a (real) friend to have a beer with.” Heineken also released a campaign featuring Joe Jonas that posited a world without social media.
The brand has also created initiatives that will make any smartphone “dumb” to encourage people to have real-life conversations and a device that will flip over a phone automatically so users won’t see alerts.
