Lager label gets fresh image

Heineken is spending £2 million (€2.54 million) to introduce its new-look bottle into the Irish market. The newly designed bottle has no paper label. Instead, the label information is screen-printed directly on to the green glass.

The company is supporting the change with a £300,000 print campaign to run throughout the summer on 48 sheet posters, postcards and press. Screen-printed labels are not entirely new in the beer market. Imported beers such as Rolling Rock and Corona have screen-printed bottles but Heineken's new image is significant as the brand holds 40 per cent of the draught market and 33 per cent of the total lager market.

According to Ms Deirdre Watters, marketing manager for Heineken, the new bottle has been well received during research with consumers and the company is so positive about the impact of the paper-free look that it is rolling it out throughout the State, beginning with Dublin. The rollout should be completed by December.

The screen-printed look could set a trend for other beers. Significantly, when Guinness was launching its draught product last year, it also went down the paper-free route for a more youthful and trendy look.

But in that case the bottle was entirely shrink-wrapped with a plastic label. Ms Watters sees no comparison between the two design approaches. "The Guinness label is still something you can peel off," she says.

Heineken is highly visible in the market at the moment thanks to a £4 million outlay on its new television campaign and its successful and highly branded promotions, including its Green Energy festivals.

Earlier this year, the account followed several other beer accounts by moving from an Irish agency - in this case DDFH&B - to London. The campaign now seen on screen is part of Heineken's global campaign and it was produced in America by the company's US agency.

For a European brand it is surprising that it should chose such a bland, obviously American looking-approach but according to Ms Watters the new series of advertisements has gone down well in Irish research. An interesting promotional aspect of the launch of the new bottle is the live telephone number that will appear in the ads with an invitation to call.

Every tenth caller, having given their name, age, and address, will receive free beer, while the company will be able to compile a loyalty database, though it has yet to decide what to use this database for.