This image could soon be overexposed on Spanish-language television across the United States.What does it say when a brand of beer thought of as a foreign import decides it wants to expand its sales in the United States, specifically by seeking the fastest growing portion of the population – Latinos.
That is the case with Heineken, whose USA subsidiary is kicking off a new advertising campaign in Spanish that is meant to boost sales among the Latinos, who make up about one-sixth of the nation’s population.
THOSE ADS WILL include three television spots to begin airing next month that will feature Nestor Carbonell, an actor whose family came from Cuba, and will attempt to portray the image of Latinos “showing who they are and what they’re made of” by drinking the beer that originated in Amsterdam.
Now serious beer drinkers will claim that Heineken is to German beer something similar to what Taco Bell is to Mexican food – something that only amateurs would mistake for the real thing.
But it is a passable brand of cerveza, and it has had some exposure to what could be construed as the Latino market in this country.
Heineken beer products in the United States are distributed by the Heineken USA subsidiary, which also does business by importing Mexican beer brands such as Tecate, Carta Blanca, Dos Equis (XX) and Bohemia to this country.
SO PERHAPS IT is only logical that people involved in the sales of beer brands meant to appeal to Latinos and Latino-wannabes would try to peddle their home base product to those same Latinos.
“Our (Latino) consumer is driven to be a source of inspiration for those around him,” said Marime Riancho, a brand director for Heineken USA. “He has the desire and ability to be great, and he showcases that greatness by the brands he chooses and the choices he makes.”
I’m curious to see how successfully these ads play, particularly since the first round of ads intends to get a bit philosophical about the significance a bottle of Heineken-brand beer can play in the lives of Latinos.
I don’t know that I have ever thought of beer as a troubador, with its bottle as an instrument – which is the dialogue from one of the ads that Carbonell will do in upcoming television spots.
FUTURE ADS WILL try to be more lighthearted, but this is an advertising campaign that is trying to be more than the usual beer ad – a batch of portly guys who get to spend time with “hot chicks” because they drink a particular brand of beer.
But in taking such an approach, Heineken USA is showing that it has a clear grasp of the future market for their product in this country. They wouldn’t be bothering to spend money to produce and air Spanish-language advertisements if they didn’t think there would be a future payoff – increased sales of cerveza.
So I’m willing to praise the company for not being shortsighted, even though personally I don’t think the ads will significantly change my beer-buying practices.
Whenever I feel a need for a beer (which isn’t as often as it used to be back when I was college-aged), I usually try to grab a Tecate – although I’m not always inclined to go along with the lime-and-salt ritual that some people insist upon doing whenever they have something affiliated with Mexican beer.
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EDITOR’S NOTES: Heineken wants to sell more of its namesake product (http://www.hispanicprwire.com/news.php?l=in&id=13627&cha=7) to Latinos. But the company’s U.S. subsidiary is about (http://www.heinekenusa.com/pages/agecheck.aspx) more than the original product.
That is the case with Heineken, whose USA subsidiary is kicking off a new advertising campaign in Spanish that is meant to boost sales among the Latinos, who make up about one-sixth of the nation’s population.
THOSE ADS WILL include three television spots to begin airing next month that will feature Nestor Carbonell, an actor whose family came from Cuba, and will attempt to portray the image of Latinos “showing who they are and what they’re made of” by drinking the beer that originated in Amsterdam.
Now serious beer drinkers will claim that Heineken is to German beer something similar to what Taco Bell is to Mexican food – something that only amateurs would mistake for the real thing.
But it is a passable brand of cerveza, and it has had some exposure to what could be construed as the Latino market in this country.
Heineken beer products in the United States are distributed by the Heineken USA subsidiary, which also does business by importing Mexican beer brands such as Tecate, Carta Blanca, Dos Equis (XX) and Bohemia to this country.
SO PERHAPS IT is only logical that people involved in the sales of beer brands meant to appeal to Latinos and Latino-wannabes would try to peddle their home base product to those same Latinos.
“Our (Latino) consumer is driven to be a source of inspiration for those around him,” said Marime Riancho, a brand director for Heineken USA. “He has the desire and ability to be great, and he showcases that greatness by the brands he chooses and the choices he makes.”
I’m curious to see how successfully these ads play, particularly since the first round of ads intends to get a bit philosophical about the significance a bottle of Heineken-brand beer can play in the lives of Latinos.
I don’t know that I have ever thought of beer as a troubador, with its bottle as an instrument – which is the dialogue from one of the ads that Carbonell will do in upcoming television spots.
FUTURE ADS WILL try to be more lighthearted, but this is an advertising campaign that is trying to be more than the usual beer ad – a batch of portly guys who get to spend time with “hot chicks” because they drink a particular brand of beer.
But in taking such an approach, Heineken USA is showing that it has a clear grasp of the future market for their product in this country. They wouldn’t be bothering to spend money to produce and air Spanish-language advertisements if they didn’t think there would be a future payoff – increased sales of cerveza.
So I’m willing to praise the company for not being shortsighted, even though personally I don’t think the ads will significantly change my beer-buying practices.
Whenever I feel a need for a beer (which isn’t as often as it used to be back when I was college-aged), I usually try to grab a Tecate – although I’m not always inclined to go along with the lime-and-salt ritual that some people insist upon doing whenever they have something affiliated with Mexican beer.
-30-
EDITOR’S NOTES: Heineken wants to sell more of its namesake product (http://www.hispanicprwire.com/news.php?l=in&id=13627&cha=7) to Latinos. But the company’s U.S. subsidiary is about (http://www.heinekenusa.com/pages/agecheck.aspx) more than the original product.
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