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Heineken marketer: High price ‘not a big issue, but a limiting factor’ for the brand in Singapore

Cyril Charzat talking at the APPIES this morning

Charzat talking at the APPIES this morning

One of the top regional marketers for Heineken said today that the high price of the beer in Singapore was a “limiting factor” for the brand, but its premium positioning means that it would never command a high market share in the city-state.

Cyril Charzat, senior director of sales and marketing, Heineken APAC, made the opening keynote at the APPIES this morning during which he presented the brand’s global effort to appeal to young men through the ‘Men of the world’ campaign.

“Singapore is not the most expensive market [in Asia for Heinken],” Charzat told Mumbrella after his presentation. “Given the average wage in Singapore and the wealth in this part of the world, this is not a very expensive market [to buy Heineken],” he said.

Price is a much bigger issue in reality in developing markets, where high import duties mean that beer prices can be “stratospheric,” Charzat said.

“Look at what people are paying for food in a restaurant, or other drinks in nightclubs in Singapore,” he pointed out.

“We don’t see it [Heineken’s high price] as a big issue, but it is a limiting factor. We will never be a 30 per cent market share brand in Singapore,” he said.

During his presentation, Charzat explained how Heineken is trying to find a “global voice” through its ‘Men of the world’ campaign, in the same way that Nike uses the ‘Just Do It’ platform and Dove uses ‘Real beauty’.

The brand has rolled out a number of global TV ads to reach “Young men at a cross-roads in their life”, with digital elements that can be activated locally.

In Singapore, Heineken has used scent branding to reach young male drinkers and a one-off party known as the Heineken Green Room.

The campaign was presented at the APPIES this morning by the planning director of Iris, Adil Ismeer, and Tracy Ho, Heineken brand manager at Asia Pacific Breweries.

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