Synonymous with European football

Heineken has become synonymous with celebrating the UEFA Champions League having sponsored the tournament for over 25 years. The brand’s place at the pinnacle of European football is confirmed by their frequent position as the top recalled sponsor associated with the tournament as a whole. Heineken’s commitment is as strong today as ever – including the new, additional Heineken® 0.0 partnership with the UEFA Europa League.

No usual year

Heineken has the right to host the official after-party of the UEFA Champions League final and on any usual year they would have done just that, celebrating the climax of another year’s tournament in spectacular style. 2020 was however no usual year and the idea of hosting a physical after-party, with guests from across the world in Istanbul quickly became impossible after the tournament was postponed in March due to Covid-19.

Flipping our rights

In June UEFA announced they would finish the 2019/20 UEFA Champions League season in a unique knockout style tournament in Lisbon (whilst the UEFA Europa League finished in similar fashion in Cologne) across two weeks in August. This once in a generation festival of European football didn’t need a closing party, it needed an Opening Party. From disappointment, Heineken saw the opportunity to innovate digitally and create a new type of activation.

Responsibility

During the crisis Heineken took a very responsible tone, encouraging consumers across the world to stay safe and #SocialiseResponsibly. Whatever we did needed to be respectful of the global health emergency and enable us to bring this message to life – to celebrate the return of elite European football; in a responsible way.

So, how do we create an opening party for fans around the world to enjoy whilst socialising responsibly from their own homes over an ice cold Heineken?

A global celebration of football and music

We partnered with Defected Records to create ‘The Kick Off’ an 8-hour, live streamed, global festival as diverse as Heineken’s drinkers and UEFAs fans around the world. A party to truly toast the long-awaited culmination of the UEFA Champions League and Europa League.

8 DJs, 8 locations, 4 footballing legends, 2 trophies, 1 night.

We created a truly unique global event that brought the worlds of football and music together like never before. 8 world-famous DJs played from iconic locations around the world including Amsterdam, Sao Paulo, London, Dresden and from the final stadium in Lisbon. The pinnacle of the event was Thierry Henry introducing Idris Elba headlining from the A’Dam Toren in Amsterdam on an epic set flanked by the UEFA Champions League & Europa League trophies.

A global distribution plan

The event was promoted across Heineken Global and Market channels, UEFA’s channels, Defected Channels as well as taking to TV in India and China. The livestream was seen for an average of 17 minutes by 3.5 million people across 96 countries, delivering fully on Heineken’s status as the world’s most international beer. The promotional campaign has reached over 30 million people and the global PR push reached a potential 271 million.

From no party to party like no other in under a month

This campaign went from an idea on a piece of paper to an unforgettable moment, broadcast globally to millions in under a month. A truly global, digital-first activation that utilised Heineken’s rights, talent and access to engage millions

Heineken UEFA - Champions League Opening Party Powered by Defected

CREDITS

Toan Ravenscroft

Jasper Hunter

Rowie Meijer

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