Mindshare expands its mandate within UB by bagging Heineken

The account will be handled by the Bengaluru branch of Mindshare. On the other hand, Heineken's global agency Wieden + Kennedy (W+K), is appointed as its creative agency for India, as well. W+K will also take care of the digital duties for the brand.

After announcing the launch of the locally-brewed and bottled Heineken beer, United Breweries (UB) has appointed GroupM's Mindshare as the media agency for the brand. Mindshare also takes care of the other brands of UB. The account will be managed by the Bengaluru branch of Mindshare.

Digital media is going to play a key role in promoting Heineken, in India.

Confirming the news, Samar Singh Sheikhawat, senior vice-president, United Breweries, tells afaqs!, "We are reaching out to a specific target group, and since, there are restrictions to mass media direct advertising of beer, the main focus of our sales and marketing efforts will be upon the points of sale and consumption. In addition, digital activation will play a key role, and as we move to the next phase, we will look at activating a brand property to engage with our consumers. Social media, in particular, will be used extensively to ignite conversations and connect with consumers. Our aim for the brand is to always be a part of the conversation."

Sheikhawat also adds that the marketing activation will be in line with the global brand positioning 'open your world'.

He states that the brand ambassador is our consumer who is called the 'Man of the World.'

On positioning Heineken in the Indian market, Sheikhawat comments, "Heineken will add strength to the UB portfolio and make it complete. With Heineken, UB has a complete portfolio catering to all segments of the market. Each brand in our portfolio has its own positioning, be it our flagship brands Kingfisher Premium and Kingfisher Strong, or Kingfisher Ultra, Blue or Red."

Heineken is a well-known brand, globally, and is available in 170 countries around the world. It has been available in India for a while as an import.

"Now that Heineken is brewed in India, it will be more widely available and accessible, allowing it to be enjoyed by more consumers throughout India. It is today the world's No. 1 international premium beer, and our focus will be towards delivering the 'Heineken experience' to our consumers in India. This will start with the perfect beer experience and envelope other experiential touch-points covering sports, music and film, which are the key activation pillars of Heineken worldwide," adds Sheikhawat.

Heineken has always been known for its interesting and catchy advertisements, across the media. Brand Heineken managed to win seven prestigious awards at the 2011 Cannes Lions International Festival with gold, silver and bronze lions for the first two films of its global 'Legends' brand campaign, the innovative Star-Player game, and the UV Black Light STR bottle, respectively.