Heineken’s mission to get people to socialise in real life continues. This time, its campaign by LePub New York is built around the not real life connection, the group chat.
Heineken USA built a Group Chat Bar to bring the energy of group chats into real life settings to remind Americans that group chats are better IRL, and even in an increasingly digital world, there’s no substitute for being together in person.
To launch the Group Chat Bar, Heineken partnered with pro-basketball star, Josh Hart, to bring his group chat, Cold Water, to life for him and his group chat to reconnect together in-person ahead of the pro-basketball season. Josh and his friends are now dispersed across New York, Los Angeles, and Miami, and given their busy schedules and demanding careers, they primarily rely on their group chat to stay in touch. So Heineken transformed Cold Water into a one-night-only bar in New York City themed after the memes and inside jokes that have proliferated the group chat for years.
Now the brand has launched a nationwide contest for one lucky US-based group chat to win their very own Heineken Group Chat Experience, designed to turn digital banter into unforgettable, in-person memories. People can enter the contest by commenting on Heineken Group Chat Bar posts on social or heading directly to Heineken.com/us/en/promos/GroupChatContest.
The campaign is built from the results of Heineken’s latest Social Off Socials study. While 94% of Americans are currently part of group chats with their friends and family, 29% say they only meet up with their group chat in-person at most once a month. While group chats are easy, 80% of Americans who regularly use them say they’d love to meet up in-person more often. 83% say they leave these meetups feeling more energised and recharged, 75% say they feel even closer to their group after meeting in-person, and 87% agree that nothing can replace real-life get-togethers.
The new campaign is part of Heineken’s #SocialOffSocials initiative, that launched earlier this year and celebrates the power of real-life moments over virtual ones.
Jim Curtis, LePub New York chief creative officer, commented, “Group chats are increasingly where friendships live today. We’re now relying on them so much, they’re replacing time spent IRL. A meme here and gif there gives us the illusion of staying in touch, but it will never replace what we all get from hanging out for real. Which is exactly why Heineken made this group chat real. We hope the Group Chat Bar inspires more people to make their group chats IRL more often.”
Credits:
Client: Heineken USA
Chief Marketing Officer: Alison Payne
Vice President: Guilherme De Marchi Retz
Brand Director: Joe Conti
Brand Managers: Emily Bruno & Ayana Sarro
Marketing Director: Pattie Falch
Creative Agency: LePub New York
President: Lea Mastroberti
Chief Creative Officer: Jim Curtis
Executive Creative Director: Nuno Teixeira
Associate Creative Directors: Helen Rieger & Mackenzie Hart
Creative Team: Nicolo Pavin & Matt Pavin
Executive Producer: Emma Fasson
Producer: Nic Vetter
President: Lea Mastroberti
Chief Strategy Officer: Katy Alonzo
Group Account Director: Tori Pierce
Account Supervisor: Brynn Haworth
Account Manager: Emely Escobar
Business Affairs Director: Jana Nauman
Production Company: Biscuit Filmworks & Glue Society
Director: Pete Baker
Partner: Shawn Lacy
Executive Producer: Michael Merryman
Head of Production: Sean Moody
Producer: Chris Lettley
Production Supervisor: Jenny Cadenillas
Director of Photography: Luke Mccoubrey
Photographers: Brad Ogbonna & Craig Barritt
