This has been an exceptional year in the Tanzania market
for Dutch beer company, HEINEKEN.
Although HEINEKEN has been present in the Tanzanian market for decades,
it was this year that HEINEKEN fully committed to the market and setup offices
in Dar es Salaam.
HEINEKEN made major waves in the market when they launched
the Heineken Champions Planet in Masaki.
The HCP was an exclusive location where football fans could watch all of
the UEFA Champions Cup action on big screen TV’s while enjoying the Heineken brand with friends. HEINEKEN is a global sponsor of the UEFA Cup
and was able to give HCP guests unparalleled access to most
of the Champions Cup action.
HEINEKEN also used their global sponsorship of the James
Bond Movie brand to create an exclusive black carpet premier event at Century
Cinemas that rewarded 300 loyal consumers and their
partners as well as A list celebrities with a private premier of the
latest James Bond movie Skyfall in Dar es Salaam one day before the movie
premiered in London or Hollywood.
Something that is virtually unheard of in Tanzania.
On the ground, HEINEKEN has partnered with key outlets in
Dar es Salaam and have gone well beyond the usual activity of most beer brands
which are notorious for limiting their support to placing signboards and
posters, at Didi’s Pub in Dar, HEINEKEN invested in complete renovation of the
Oyster Bay landmark. Some of the upgrades that HEINEKEN provided include new
lighting, new seating, tiled flooring, and windows.
Heineken also formalized their local operations and opened
the HEINEKEN Tanzania Limited offices in Oyster Bay. With these offices now open, HEINEKEN is relying
upon their local team of majority Tanzanian’s to manage the everyday marketing of
the brand. HEINEKEN also confirmed a new
distribution partner, Maxam, who is slated with the task of ensuring that the Heineken
brand is available everywhere in Tanzania thus tying up loopholes that
previously existed within the distribution chain.
HEINEKEN Country Manager, Mr. Uche Unigwe said that this year’s
activities are just a beginning for the Heineken brand in Tanzania and East
Africa as a whole. “We are here for the long haul and have some amazing things
on the horizon for 2013” said Unigwe who is a 25 year veteran with the HEINEKEN
Company.
“HEINEKEN has always been known for being a market leader
in creativity and innovative ways to reach our target consumers, our events
this year in Tanzania have proven that fact and in 2013 we intend to take the
Heineken brand to the next level” added Unigwe.