Heineken

What are Heineken’s strengths and weaknesses? Strengths: Tight control of international marketing efforts: Licensing agreements with its brewing partners allowed Heineken to retain control over its brand by mandating how the Heineken brand was marketed across each country. In addition, in order to ensure tighter control over production and marketing, Heineken positioned itself in a way that allowed it to have a strong voice in its brewing partner’s decision making Marketing efforts tailored to various consumer preferences among key markets: Heineken quickly recognized that emerging markets were the key in continuing to capture share and began to grow its presence in Asia, Australia and Africa. They also recognized that different countries were at different stages of market development and needed customized marketing efforts to reach varying consumer preferences and behaviors Strong brand identity: Heineken was the most heavily advertised premium brand worldwide and its sales where only second to Anheuser Busch. Acrossall markets, Heineken was seen as a lighter beer of superior quality presented in a quality package. Weaknesses: Competition with national brands: Although its licensing agreements with local breweries allowed Heineken to control its own marketing efforts, it did not allow Heineken to influence how a licensee marketed its own brands. Heineken could not control any price premiums over national brands nor its partner’s ambitions for their own branding efforts. Inconsistent brand image: In some markets, Heineken was too narrowly marketed and was seen as appropriate to drink only on special occasions and not suitable for daily consumption. In other markets, it was seen as just another European beer. Increased globalization made it difficult for Heineken to have one universal marketing objective Managers at Heineken were concerned that this was due to an inconsistent brand image projected through its branding communications. How can the Heineken...