| Seasonality has long been important for beer marketers. Even without charts and graphs, though, it doesn't a genius to figure out that when temperatures go up, so does interest in outdoor activities. So, "Who's bringing the beer?" is a summertime mantra. | 
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As a result, brewers routinely mount special seasonal promotions designed to get more than their fair share of all that extra beer-purchasing. Some have gotten quite good at it, too. Take the current "Labatt LaBucket List" summer effort.
| Terrific prizes perfect for the target, simply presented (ya gotta love "Big... friggin'... boat!"), and nicely tied to the brand's spokesbear personality. And on the critical "Easy to enter" measure, as the materials say: "It's simple." Text in the code from the package, or enter it online. Just about as perfect a summer promo effort as can be conceived. | 
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By now you may be asking yourself, "Hey, how difficult is it to put together a good summer promotion, really?"
Good question. Perhaps someone should ask the Heineken promotion folks. Here's the "Open Your City" commercial running coincident with their "Open Your Summer" promotion, all of it lashed together as part of the "Open Your World" global brand zeitgeist.
Good question. Perhaps someone should ask the Heineken promotion folks. Here's the "Open Your City" commercial running coincident with their "Open Your Summer" promotion, all of it lashed together as part of the "Open Your World" global brand zeitgeist.
This one-ad-fits-all global creative platform continues to flog the idea that showing people at cool parties somehow sells any particular brand of beer. (Ask Bud Light how well that works.) Apparently there's no time to spend pushing a mundane summer-season promotion (despite no doubt promising the trade the promotion would have "television support").
And "mundane" may be too kind. Because if for some unexplainable reason you actually do go online, curious to find out if there even is a Heineken summer promotion, you discover the Open Your Summer array of "legendary rewards" that looks mostly like yard-sale leftovers.
And "mundane" may be too kind. Because if for some unexplainable reason you actually do go online, curious to find out if there even is a Heineken summer promotion, you discover the Open Your Summer array of "legendary rewards" that looks mostly like yard-sale leftovers.
"Click any prize for more info?"
"No thanks, I think I'll just pick up another twelve of Labatt and try for something really 'legendary.' Like that big... friggin'... boat."
Not long ago, Heineken named a new U.S. marketing honcho on the strength of his having singlehandedly grown their Brazilian business by an almost unbelievable 500%. Heineken's business here, however, is still hurting badly. Tanking, even.
Looks like this summer won't be the beginning of any 500% improvement in the U.S., unless it's for Labatt.
"No thanks, I think I'll just pick up another twelve of Labatt and try for something really 'legendary.' Like that big... friggin'... boat."
Not long ago, Heineken named a new U.S. marketing honcho on the strength of his having singlehandedly grown their Brazilian business by an almost unbelievable 500%. Heineken's business here, however, is still hurting badly. Tanking, even.
Looks like this summer won't be the beginning of any 500% improvement in the U.S., unless it's for Labatt.
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