Painting the town red, white – and green?

With the volume of marketing activity being focused on London this summer, it is not surprising that Heineken is using outdoor experiential marketing to cut through and reinforce brand linkage. They are painting 150 London pubs green and also kitting out staff and interiors with Heineken branded uniforms, glassware and other POS materials.

This kind of outdoor viral has been ‘totes’ popular of late, unsurprising given the need to cut through the ever increasing number of brand messages, combined with our growing desire to experience stuff and share it online.

We know from the biometrics work we have done, when someone recognises a well known logo it can increase their subconscious engagement.

And for Ipsos ASI this kind of activity is literally right up our street, as the Swiss team will base themselves next to our London Bridge offices, and create a vibrant “red zone” around Glazier’s Hall.

This kind of marketing  is a great way of boosting recognition and also reinforcing brand association in- the- moment.  Our analysis of our global tracking data shows that word of mouth’s average share of impact on purchase intent is 9%, and its 5% for News / PR.

So not only does this activity have the potential to generate great PR, it also becomes intertwined into the memories and photos we create and share along the way, and I guess that’s what we end up looking back on with a smile.

Louise Brice is a Research Director at Ipsos ASI – The Advertising Research Specialists