In Finland, journalists have managed to keep their integrity and the line between advertising and marketing is pretty clear.

How to position Heineken as a premium beer among hipsters around Finland? The solution was a diner where people could buy a combination of designer items and Heineken: a Marc Jacobs shirt and a beer, for example. A multi-disciplinary team was put together: a high-end fashion store, the leading hipster radio station, a renowned architect, the runner of the hottest clubs in Helsinki, a media agency and an event-marketing agency. The idea was to find premium partners, and we made it. Brands like Comme des Garcons, and club nights, came for the first time to most of the cities where the diner toured. We also set up a pirate radio station with Basso radio in each city and we made a bespoke magazine about the diner that was delivered as a Monocle-style supplement of Basso magazine.

We built a diner in 5 cities where people could buy designer items and Heineken. The selection of the items was made by the most chic shop in Helsinki, My O My.In each city, there was a pirate radio station that was produced in co-operation with the main radio station of our target audience, Basso radio. The same media company also has a magazine. We made a bespoke magazine that was distributed as a Monocle-style supplement of Basso magazine.The DJs and club nights were organised together by the hippest clubs of Finland (guys behind Siltanen, Kuudes Linja).

We sold 20,000 bottles of beer at a premium price. We also gave out a significant amount of free beers to invited guests. So, there was direct sales results and most importantly, we reached a big proportion of urban influencers in one of the smallest populations in Europe. In their minds, Heineken is now classed in the same group of brands with Marc Jacobs and Comme des Garcons. The main newspaper of each city wrote about the concept and the PR effect in the local media was way beyond the media budget of Heineken Finland.