Heineken’s The Sub is the world’s first capsule draft beer machine – a modern technological marvel that allows consumers to enjoy draft beers in the comfort of their homes for the first time.

China was chosen as the first country in Asia to launch The Sub for two reasons: 1) beer consumption is on the rise – China now accounts for half the world’s consumption of beer. 2) Mintel reports have found that Chinese consumers have a special affinity to high-tech household appliances – they not only pay more attention to their home environment, they are also willing to spend extra funds on innovative household goods.

But as the concept of a personal draft beer machine was completely new, we couldn’t rest on our laurels. We needed to make a big impact and teach consumers why this was the next best thing for their homes.

The Sub Crew had three branches of execution:

1) The Sub Crew: A squad of brand educators dropped by the offices of leading fashion and lifestyle magazines, as well as the homes of key opinion leaders. They taught China’s most stylish men how to pour quality drafts, which helped lead to millions of social media impressions.

2) The Sub Feast: We emphasized the uncompromising gourmet attitude that would demand high quality draft beer even at home by establishing partnerships with Youfan Club, a popular foodie social app, and through a private party in Shanghai with two top lifestyle consultants.

3) We created an H5 page housed in the Heineken fan channel on China’s most popular mobile social network, WeChat, which used a fun, interactive digital experience to teach how to use The Sub. Users were scored and could share the interaction to win a Sub of their own.