Gold
Non-Traditional
Sports
| Entrant: | Publicis London, London |
| Brand: | Heineken |
| Title: | "HeineCare" |
| Corporate Name of Client: | Heineken |
| Client Company: | Heineken, London |
| Agency: | Publicis London, London/LePub, Amsterdam |
| Agency Global CEO LePub, CCO Publicis Worldwide: | Bruno Bertelli |
| Agency Global Chief Creative Officer, LePub: | Mihnea Gheorghiu |
| Agency Chief Creative Officer: | Noel Bunting |
| Agency Executive Creative Director: | Dave Monk |
| Agency Creative Director: | Chris Bruney |
| Agency Creative Director, LePub: | Guy Lewis |
| Agency Associate Creative Director, LePub: | Livio Gerosa |
| Agency Senior Creatives: | Andy Thirsk/Conor Barry/Thiago Jacon |
| Agency Head of Design: | Ryan Connolly |
| Agency Project Manager: | Reshma Prygiel |
| Agency Chief Operating Officer: | Trent Patterson |
| Client Company Head of Global Heineken and Amstel Brands: | Nabil Nasser |
| Client Company Heineken Global Strategy and Communication Director: | Daniela Iebba |
| Client Company Heineken Global Communication Manager: | Alexander Drake |
| Client Company Heineken Brand Global PR Lead: | Jonathan O’Lone |
| Agency Head of Effectiveness: | Diego Chicharro |
| Agency Brand Strategist: | Joe Percy |
| Agency Groupe Strategy Director, LePub: | James Moore |
| Agency Business Director: | Josh Norris |
| Agency Global Business Director, LePub: | Francesca Baldrighi |
| Agency Global Account Director, LePub: | Alice Galline |
| Agency Account Director: | Philippa Rayner |
Cultural Context:
With the Euros approaching, this iconic (but messy) ritual became a multi-million pound opportunity for beer brands, without spending a single extra pound on marketing.
And with no official Euro sponsorship and dwindling status as the fan-favourite match beer, Heineken risked becoming invisible during the year’s biggest beer moment. In short: the spills and refills were benefiting the competition, not Heineken.
Instead of a forgettable tournament promo, we tapped into something real: the moment England score and the pints go flying. Any time a fan lost their beer in celebration, whether it was a Heineken or not, we replaced it. No questions asked.
HeineCare put beer directly into the hands of football lovers at exactly the right moment. And turned a messy cultural habit into a sharp, attention-grabbing brand moment.
Even better, it let us undercut competitors directly, because every refill became a Heineken - and a chance to turn one free pint into many more paid ones.
Compared to the last Euros when Heineken was an official sponsor, positive sentiment rose by 133%, and purchase intent jumped by 50%
UK pub sales soared to £36 million during the Euros
Volume sales rose 7% year-on-year
By turning wasted pints into fresh pints of Heineken, we drove both short-term trial and long-term preference. Converting people back to Heineken with a creative, culturally resonant idea that generated global PR far beyond the UK.
Not only did the campaign more than pay for itself, it delivered meaningful brand value and proved you don’t need a sponsorship badge to steal the show.