In Puerto Rico, the main media outlets are still rooted in traditional advertising methods. Brand messages are mostly limited to commercial breaks between programming segments and formatted around standardized time slots.

Local programming executives are used to this system and have not yet developed a model flexible enough to accommodate engaging original content that integrates naturally into their programs, especially when the content deviates from the traditional 30-second spot.

To make matters more complicated, US Hispanic networks own the largest local stations, so programming is often retransmitted from other markets. This makes locally produced network content increasingly scarce.

Therefore, brand ideas that require unconventional but seamless integration into existing formats often suffer or get killed due to local media outlet’s old habits and restrictions.

And even those brands that bypass integrations and decide to create original content from scratch still face restrictions if they wish to air it through mass media. It is often very expensive, requiring the purchase of entire commercial breaks.

Heineken had to come up with an especially clever way to create content in the Puerto Rican media landscape.

The team contacted José Feliciano, the famous singer-songwriter of “Feliz Navidad” (Merry Christmas), to serve as a spokesperson throughout the entire campaign.

A TV spot featured the singer asking people to add a new verse to his song.

Through Facebook and an IVR phone service, people could write and record their own verses.

Each week, the best ones were made into radio spots to motivate people to keep adding verses. José Feliciano himself sang all of his favorite submitted verses on YouTube.

To hear how the extended song was coming along, people could play it online or visit Heineken’s Musical Christmas Tree at Plaza Las Américas, the biggest mall in the Caribbean.

At the end, José Feliciano rerecorded “Feliz Navidad” with the winning verses for Heineken. It was launched through national radio.

So many verses were submitted that the 3-minute song ended up lasting 15 hours and 14 minutes. The classic song became forever associated with Heineken.

During Christmas season, Heineken had the highest advertising campaign recall and achieved the highest top of mind awareness compared to its 2 closest competitors combined (whose media investment was 5 times higher).

The campaign not only increased Heineken’s Brand Likeability Index to a record high of 75%, it also became the brand most associated with Puerto Rican Christmas.

In 6 weeks the campaign received over $230,000 in free publicity.