Heineken's 'Bottle With a Mission' Takes Passers-by on a Grand Adventure

The Heineken Experience, Amsterdam’s most popular brand experience, today launched a new and unexpected way to attract even more visitors through its doors. Bottles of Heineken secretly fitted with a GPS system have been randomly placed around the city. When they are picked up, they guide their unsuspecting holders through various city locations, finishing outside the iconic Heineken Experience.

The GPS bottles have a built-in compass mechanism. Once the visitor starts walking, the bottle vibrates, the cap lights up red and swivels to point out the route to follow, with all roads leading to the Heineken Experience.

Dirk Lubbers, Manager, Heineken Experience said: “Handing out flyers is not very Heineken, so we wanted to play on the brand’s famous inventiveness, wit and pioneering spirit and create something that stands out for potential visitors. Last year the Heineken Experience attracted over 730,000 people, a record. With our new GPS enabled bottles we are confident that we will be able to attract even more this year.” 

He continued; “Our key differentiator is that we invite each visitor on a cultural and historical journey, enabling them to interact with the brand. This initiative is a great representation of our approach: innovative, dynamic, surprising and always leaving you with unforgettable memories.”

The campaign was created in partnership with JWT Amsterdam. Bas Korsten, Executive Creative Director, JWT Amsterdam said: “Our creative challenge was to elevate everything that the Heineken Experience stands for: allowing beer lovers to experience the brand’s heritage in a fun and unexpected way. It was extremely important to us to make sure that the look and feel of the bottle stays true to the original, while implementing innovative technology and ensuring it a fun user experience. With experiments like this, you only get one chance to get things right.”