Heineken dials up digital engagement with @wherenext for the “Cities of the world” campaign

As part of its determination to give the Nigerian consumer an experience that will last for a long time, Heineken, the World’s leading international premium lager beer has unveiled @wherenext, a revolutionary new digital experience which is part of the fully-integrated global campaign, ‘Cities of the World’.

The Twitter-based @wherenext service aims to help consumers explore new experiences of their cities, using a brand new and innovative social tool. The digital experience of the ‘Cities of the World’ campaign marks a milestone in the evolution of Heineken’s digital marketing strategy.

Acting as a social compass, @wherenext reads the pulse of a city by using real-time location-based social activity to show where is hot and guide urbanites to new adventures off their beaten track. The real-time recommendations engine will help consumers answer that eternal night-out question, ‘Where next?’ The real-time activity will also be provided on a mobile responsive website www.heineken.com/openyourcity for access to all consumers around the world.

The new digital platform – developed in collaboration with R/GA London – is a solution to findings from recent Heineken research which revealed that consumers experience a ‘fear of missing out’  on the exciting experiences in their city.

The research also showed how consumers from different cities seek a different ‘social currency’ in each urban environment. People who live in them want to break from routine, experience new places and embark on urban adventures that will add to their social currency. For example, Lagosians believe in “jayein,” a local parlance for “enjoying life” as a lifestyle.New Yorkers see ‘making it’ as the ultimate social currency whereas people from Rio de Janeiro see happiness as the absolute mark of achievement. For Londoners, it’s all about personal development and defining success for themselves.
“Our world-class marketing campaigns are global, integrated and digitally-driven as everything we do is inspired by and oriented towards our fans. The success of the Heineken brand is rooted in a commitment to continual innovation,” said Mrs. Ngozi Nkwoji, Senior Brand Manager Heineken.

“We boldly break away from traditional beer marketing approaches to create stories that inspire people to be courageous and aspirational. @wherenext and Cities of the World is the latest iteration of Heineken strategy, using rich consumer insights to respond to their desires to explore the great adventures in their cities.”

On how it works, Mrs. Nkwoji pointed out that the social-media-based service uses a unique algorithm that listens to social media activity, such as tweets, check-ins and photos across popular platforms like Twitter, Instagram and Foursquare and analyses which locations are trending. The platform will help people navigate nightlife, overcome their fear of missing out and live their city to the fullest.

Throwing more light on the digital experience, JP Maheu, Managing Director, Global Brand & Agency Strategy at Twitter, said: “Heineken is a consistently innovative brand on Twitter, and we’re excited to see them continue this into the lifestyle and entertainment space with the @wherenext campaign for Cities of the world. The initiative is really creative use of Twitter. It’s well-suited to the real-time and mobile nature of the platform and will give fans a window into the most vibrant experiences in cities around the world, right in the palm of their hand.”