Heineken's "When you drive, never drink" campaign inspires consumers

Heineken is looking to bring about great behavioural changes with its campaign

Building on the great momentum of Heineken’s When You Drive, Never Drink campaign which was launched in 2017 and continued through Heineken’s F1 campaign earlier this year, Heineken has continued its long-standing strategic partnership with the National Traffic Safety Committee (NTSC) to spread awareness of the dangers of drink driving in Vietnam.

The campaign, which commenced last year, allowed Heineken to reach over 8.3 million consumers, conveying responsible consumption messages to all consumers, regardless of their brand choice. By understanding the local context and consumers’ behaviour, Heineken will bring this campaign to the next level in 2018 by presenting comprehensive solutions that ensure both the safety and enjoyment of their consumers from start to finish.

Khuat Viet Hung, vice chairman of NTSC, said: “We are very pleased to pursue our partnership with members of the business sector, such as Heineken, to drive behavioural change when it comes to drink driving. Last year’s campaign saw improvements in this issue. I strongly believe that together we will be able to drive more robust change this year.”

This year, Heineken has partnered up with Grab to provide consumers, regardless of which brand they drink, with roundtrip Grab codes in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Heineken’s global behavioural research has proved that consumers do not set out to drink and drive, however, once they start to drink with their friends and family, cultural and social norms can override their good intentions.

That is why Heineken, in partnership with Grab, will send reminders to consumers to use complimentary Grab codes to go to their favourite outlets or when they leave. This will also greatly assist consumers to proactively plan their outings, especially if alcohol is involved.

Jerry Lim, country head of Grab Vietnam, said: “As a technology company with an open platform, the safety of our customers while using Grab and being on the road is always one of our top priority. Grab is thrilled to be part of this meaningful journey with Heineken to communicate the ‘When You Drive, Never Drink’ message, and further improve our customer experience.”

Apart from providing a practical transport solution to consumers, Heineken aims to go above and beyond by encouraging responsible drinking. For the first time in Vietnam, Heineken will join force with its outlet network and launch a series of flagship outlets in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

What makes these outlets special are the friendly reminders and most significantly, the empowerment they provide consumers who choose not to drink and drive. The brand will continue to apply its signature wit to make responsible consumption cool, as part of its Global Enjoy Heineken Responsibly platform. Heineken will employ its expertise in consumer insight to redesign the drinking environment at outlets, reminding consumers of the key message: “When You Drive, Never Drink.”

When implemented in the UK, this creative initiative showed a 50 per cent reduction in the number of drink drivers at some outlets with the best results. Heineken hopes to recreate the same idea and results in Vietnam. Flagship outlets will be launched in the coming festive season in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. During this time, Heineken’s promotion teams will be present to offer support to consumers when making responsible drinking decisions at key moments.

Behavioural change is an ambitious goal which requires long-term commitment and early intervention. Heineken understands that and has partnered up with NTSC to organise effective workshops for road safety trainers, who are at the forefront of promoting the “When You Drive, Never Drink” message. Based on expert consumer insight, the brand will provide trainers with interactive and engaging tools and in-depth information on drink driving behaviour.

Heineken will also empower Vietnamese university students to be future leaders of responsible consumption via a series of training sessions. Known for its innovative marketing, the brand will speak to young generations in a creative way that will inspire them to enjoy alcohol responsibly and influence others to do the same.

Alexander Koch, commercial director of Heineken Vietnam, said: “As the world’s No.1 international premium beer brand, Heineken understands our responsibility to drive behavioural change related to drink driving. This requires long-term commitment and a roadmap with dedicated partners from the government and the private sector.”

“Heineken is proud to pursue our strategic partnership with NTSC under our When You Drive, Never Drink campaign. This year, by applying our global and local expertise in consumer insights, we can provide well-rounded and innovative solutions that allow us to influence impactful change and inspire consumers to make better decisions.”

In April, Heineken brought the Perfect F1 experience for the first time to Vietnam and also used this major event as a platform to communicate the When You Drive, Never Drink message to Vietnamese consumers. The event reached 50,000 people in person and millions more online, providing a huge platform to promote the message, When You Drive, Never Drink.