Dive Brief:
- Heineken, the world’s third-largest brewer, announced Publicis Worldwide as its new global advertising agency.
- Heineken had already been using the Publicis Groupe network for specific campaigns.
- The move comes only two weeks after the beer brand’s split from Wieden + Kennedy.
Dive Insight:
Only two weeks after Heineken, the third largest brewer in the world, dropped its lead creative agency, Wieden + Kennedy, the brand announced its new global ad agency: Publicis Worldwide. Heineken had a previous relationship with the shop, utilizing the Publicis Group network as a roster shop producing specific ad campaigns. The move came after no review and goes into effect today.
About the move, Jan Derck van Karnebeek, Heineken’s Chief Commercial Officer, said, "The [Publicis] team has consistently demonstrated a strong understanding of the strategic direction of the brand, and we have been enormously impressed by their strong creative ideas and innovative approach."
Although Heineken is battling a U.S. market full of competition from a wide range of craft beer and microbrew brands, it is growing worldwide among premium beers by more than 6%. Leaving Wieden + Kennedy ended a five-year relationship, including a campaign that earned Heineken 2015 Creative Marketer of the Year at Cannes.
