You know it’s the party to be in when there’s a beer specially bottled just for it. Heineken has always belonged—in one’s hands, in the hippest bars, in the coolest concerts, and in the chillest chillers. Now finally, Heineken has made a home in Manila. And it’s celebrating it in a big way with parties and events that highlight the hidden gems of the metro.
Heineken’s Open Manila is a series of parties, concerts, art and culture events that puts Manila on the map—at par with its other events across the globe such Open London and Open Amsterdam—and celebrates with a bespoke bottle gorgeously designed with the map of Manila’s recognizable landmarks.
The party
“Open Manila is our big campaign this year for Heineken. Open Manila is actually part of Heineken’s Global Cities campaign. So every year, Heineken around the world runs a campaign about cities and it’s all about celebrating the cities of the world. Open Manila is a special campaign for us here in the Philippines because we’re new and we want to establish ourselves here in the Philippines, and Manila is really where everything happens. The Open Manila campaign is about really celebrating what Manila is and what it offers, and acknowledging Manila as a city of the world. When we look at different cities around the world, it’s easy to say that Hong Kong is a city of the world, or Barcelona, or Tokyo, and Manila doesn’t often hit the list. But what we want to do with Heineken is acknowledge that, while Manila as a whole has its problems—everybody knows that, let’s not be shy about it—it has lots of fantastic destinations here and there, which puts it on par with all the great cities of the world. So this is what Open Manila campaign is all about,” enthuses Chris Aguilar, Group Marketing Manager for AB Heineken Philippines.
Aguilar brims with pride over Heineken Philippines’ special new bottle: “First and foremost, the big, important thing is that we have our special Manila bottle. This is a big change for us and is one of the ways we can put a beer in the hand of the consumers that not only says Heineken, but also celebrates the city that we’re in, Manila. Secondly, with the campaign, it’s all about celebrating these different places around Manila. Kind of deeper than that, is that we know that Manila, being as it is, people don’t often go out of their usual areas. There’s so much more great things in Manila, so part of that is to celebrate those great places and encourage people to go out of their comfort zone.”
Ultimately, it’s the beer, not the bottle, however gorgeously designed as it is, that makes Heineken the beloved brew that it is. In the same manner, it’s what happening, where it’s happening, and who’s making it happen that makes Open Manila special. Aguilar is still ecstatic about Heineken Open Manila’s maiden event in Escolta. “We kicked off our campaign with an event in Escolta. What people can expect is that we’re doing various events. We did one in Escolta, we’ll do one in the south, in BF Alabang area first week of next month, and we’ll do one in the center of the city probably towards July. These events are all about celebrating different parts of Manila with music, featuring different artists from that city or that district or area. Heineken as a beer is all about celebrating and having a good time, so I guess that’s what people can experience. And together with Open Manila campaign, we have, of course, our bottles in the different bars and clubs around the city.” he explains.
The business
Heineken is “the world’s largest independent brewer that is still majority shareholder owned by the family, the Heineken family,” notes Aguilar. The brand is present in 192 countries the world over. First brewed in Amsterdam in 1864, the Heineken brand, was born in 1873. The brand’s current global slogan is “Open to the World.”
Aguilar describes Heineken’s target market: “We call our target market the ‘Man of the World.’ He’s young, he’s affluent, he’s experienced and traveled, and he wants to experience the world and all it has to offer him. So it’s all about crossing over borders, he doesn’t like to be stuck into one specific mold or routine, and he really believes that all the best things that life has to offer are just beyond your borders. He has an openness in how he sees the world, open to new experiences, open to new places, open to meeting new friends. He’s very inventive, always looking to take advantage of any opportunity where he can learn and grow and experience new things. And he is very challenged by everything, and has a ‘never say die’ attitude.”
He explains the nature of Heineken’s presence in the Philippines: “As everybody knows, the growth of your first world markets has kind of plateaued. And everybody knows that growth is going come from Asia. And Asia is where everything’s happening. A lot of innovation is coming from here, a lot of start-ups, a lot of technology, a lot of fashion design is coming from Asia. If you look at Asia, Heineken was here but not really present. There was no company representing Heineken, and because the Philippines is a fast-growing market, it’s the perfect place to establish a brand like Heineken. We organized a joint venture with Asian Brewery, so right now the company is called AB Heineken Philippines Inc, it’s traded 50/50. We are benefiting a lot from Asian Brewery and their experience in being able to be present in the market and have strong distribution channels, and then Heineken brings expertise in marketing and, of course, its products.”
Chris Aguilar reveals Heineken Philippine’s goals for this year: “Growth and establishment, of course. We have launched Heineken brand, we have also launched Tiger, and the idea is to take ABI’s old brands, so Colt45, Asahi, Brew Kettle, Tanduay ice, and to develop them and allow them to find their full potential. In the future, who knows, maybe we’ll bring in other brands, or develop some of our own. The future is very bright because the Philippines is an advanced consumer market when it comes to all things beer, or all things in the alcohol segment, so it’s a very positive looking prospect over the next few years.”
