Heineken's 'The Guest of Honor' Production is Designed to Go Viral
Rahul Kalvapalle — May 14, 2014 — Marketing
References: heinekenusa & ft
'The Guest of Honor' is a digital video produced by Heineken as part of an innovative, immersive social marketing scheme. The Dutch beer brand hosted a single-night production at a Manhattan hotel where unsuspecting guests were invited to a play thinking they would be mere attendees, but were unexpectedly made the stars of the show.
Guests were immersed in a variety of strange situations, including having to tell jokes in a comedy club, giving a tattoo to an intimidating hulking brute and auditioning for a Bollywood shoot. The variety of weird and daring scenes were captured on camera and incorporated into the 'The Guest of Honor' video, which has 7.5 million views and counting.
The innovative immersive social marketing campaign is part of Heineken's 'Legends' campaign, which revolves around the theme that every Heineken drinker has a legendary side which emerges when they're placed in unusual situations.
Guests were immersed in a variety of strange situations, including having to tell jokes in a comedy club, giving a tattoo to an intimidating hulking brute and auditioning for a Bollywood shoot. The variety of weird and daring scenes were captured on camera and incorporated into the 'The Guest of Honor' video, which has 7.5 million views and counting.
The innovative immersive social marketing campaign is part of Heineken's 'Legends' campaign, which revolves around the theme that every Heineken drinker has a legendary side which emerges when they're placed in unusual situations.
Trend Themes
1. Immersive Social Marketing - Opportunity for businesses to create interactive and engaging campaigns that fully immerse consumers in the brand experience, like Heineken's 'The Guest of Honor' production.
2. Unexpected Brand Experiences - Chance for brands to surprise and delight consumers by placing them in unusual and daring situations, leading to memorable and shareable content, as demonstrated in Heineken's campaign.
3. Viral Video Marketing - Potential for brands to create captivating videos that are highly shareable and capable of reaching a large audience, such as Heineken's 'The Guest of Honor' video with millions of views.
Industry Implications
1. Beverage - Beverage industry can leverage immersive social marketing campaigns to engage consumers and promote their products in unique and memorable ways.
2. Hospitality - Hospitality sector can enhance customer experiences by offering unexpected and immersive activities, fostering brand loyalty and generating positive word-of-mouth.
3. Entertainment - Entertainment industry can adopt viral video marketing strategies to create buzz around their productions and attract a wider audience.
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