Korean football fans face a challenge caused by geography. European matches air at around 4am or 5am local time, a time when most bars have closed for the night because of high labour costs at those hours. That means dedicated UEFA Champions League fans in Korea have limited options for enjoying football in a social setting.
But Heineken and LePub Singapore have stepped in to help. Trust Bars offer a game-changing solution. An honour system.
In lieu of bar staff Heineken, the main sponsor of the UEFA Champions League, is trusting fans to gather and have a good time, no matter the hour, at selected bars in Seoul, that have agreed to open their doors 24/7 to provide a unique way of experiencing UEFA Champions League matches together. Stocked with a night’s supply of self-service Heineken and self-service snacks, bar owners are handing their keys to fans across the city.
“Korean football fans show incredible dedication, waking up at all hours of the night to support their favourite European teams,” stated Stephan Schwarz, executive creative director at LePub APAC. “Trust Bars entrust our Heineken taps to passionate fans without the constraints of traditional bar hours – giving them a full match-day experience with friends. At the same time, we also relieve bar owners of late-night staffing woes. Two birds. One tap.”
This could only be possible in a city like Seoul where technology and mutual trust, jeong, are hard-wired into the social DNA. Koreans are accustomed to a self-service culture in their everyday lives, frequently using smartphones to reserve restaurant tables, or shopping from self-service kiosks. Korea is also one of the most trusting and safe countries in the world. Leaving belongings unattended in cafés is an everyday occurrence.
“Korea’s strong foundation of social trust makes it the perfect market in which to pioneer this concept,” noted Giwoun Park, marketing director at The Heineken Company, Korea. “Trust Bars are a natural extension of the communal respect already prevalent in Korean society. As a long-standing sponsor of the UEFA Champions League, we loved the idea of uniting Korea’s trusting culture with its innovative e-Commerce technology. By creating the world’s first fully automated bars, we are alleviating late-night operational costs for bar owners, while giving football fans a place to cheer on their teams together.”
At each Trust Bar, fans are entrusted to order, pay for and pull fresh pints via Heineken’s first self-payment terminals, with easy order-and-pay functionality. The terminals were created in collaboration with LeGarage, LePub’s global innovation arm, and can be installed with just a few clicks, making it easy to expand the concept to other trusting nations like Japan and Singapore in future.
Security and verification technologies further ensure compliance with local drinking age regulations and the responsible service of alcohol, ensuring no under-age patrons are admitted or served.
The first 24/7 Trust Bars opened in April in Seoul’s trendy Hongdae district during Champions League matches, positioning Heineken as the beer of choice throughout the football season, with semi-finals taking place this week, concluding with the final on May 31.
Credits:
Client: Heineken Global
Head of Global Heineken & Premium Brands: Nabil Nasser
Heineken Global Strategy & Communication Director: Daniela Iebba
Heineken Global Communication Manager: Nalini Bhagwandin
Heineken Singapore Brand & Business Development Director: Agnieszka Gorecki
Heineken Global Digital Development Manager: Pearly Lim
Client: Heineken Korea
Marketing Director: Giwoun Park
Marketing Manager: Lynda Kim
Brand Managers: Gajin Kim & Chloe Choi
Brand Executive: Ella Yeo
Lead Agency: LePub
Global CEO LePub, CCO LePub Worldwide: Bruno Bertelli
Global Chief Creative Officers: Cristiana Boccassini & Mihnea Gheorghiu
LePub Singapore, Executive Creative Director: Stephan Schwarz
LePub Singapore, Creative Director Le Garage: Sergey Mast
LePub Singapore, Creative Director: Bruno Andrade
LePub Singapore, Senior Copywriter : Jaime Ludena Diaz
LePub Singapore, Senior Art Directors: Savio Fonseca & Sunny Chuang
LePub Singapore, Senior Copywriter: Denise Cheong
LePub Singapore, Managing Director: Penny Sadlier
LePub Singapore, Client Services Director: Francesca Babet
LePub Singapore, Group Account Director: Alicia Tiong
LePub Singapore, Senior Project Manager: Farhan Wahab
LePub Singapore, Senior Integrated Producer: Anita Toh
LePub Singapore, Creative Services Manager: Nigel Tan
LePub Milan, Associate Creative Director: Roberto Ardigó
LePub Milan, Creative Director: Stefano Zanoni
LePub Milan, Designer & Art Director: Niccoló Orso Campanini
LePub Milan, Business Director: Francesca Baldrighi
LePub Milan, Account Director: Amira Ramadan
Prodigious Milan, TV Producer: Martina Mozzillo
Prodigious Milan, Editor: Andrea Besana
Prodigious Milan, Colour Grading: Luca Parma
LePub Singapore, Account Servicing Intern: Neha Maria Mathew
Sound Design: Disctodisc Productions & Audio Post Production Italy
Post-Production: Prodigious Singapore
Senior Editor: Germain Wu
Flame Artist: Ryon Chan
Senior Post-Producer: Charmaine Wong
Production: Core.A Creative
Producers: Sarah Kim & Ashley Sunyoung
Assistant Producer: Blake Jung
DOP: Eun Sung Maeng
1st AC: Do Hyun Lee
Digital Agency: DFY
CEO: Byung Sam Hwang
COO: Erin Bai
Project Management: Na Hyeon Park & Misoo Seok
UI Design: Hee Yoon Jung
Frontend Developer: Ji Sun Lee
Backend Developer: Seung Hyun Kim
Editing: Work Post
Editor: Fong
Production: Cream
Director: Maxime Govare
Executive Production: Michel Teicher
Line Producer: Tim Salze & Clotilde Lecuillier
DOP: Laurent Tangy
Production Support in Bangkok: Living Films Thailand
