Brand perception is a result of years of experiences that the customer goes through with a particular company. It’s not easy to change it, but employing the right solutions can bring you closer to the goal.

ABC Extra Stout, one of the Heineken-owned beer brands, has always been seen as a drink for older generations, at least in Myanmar. Working with the Coca Media (Digital Media Agency), ABC went through a rebranding and was determined to become an attractive choice for younger people as well.

"ABC’s objective with the new brand thematic campaign was to target a new generation of customers and place ads where its potential customers are," said Nawshad Ali Tanim, Director of Digital Media at Coca Media. "Games are very popular in Myanmar. Many young adults play them on their phones regularly."

This is what made in-game advertising a perfect choice.

"We wanted to be innovative and do such a campaign for the first time in the local (Myanmar) market. Our expectations were definitely met, and so were our KPIs – all of us were happy with the results."

About Heineken and ABC Extra Stout

Heineken is one of the world's best-known beer brands, dating back 150 years. During its lifetime, the brewery has built more than 300 brands worldwide, currently selling in 190+ countries, and employing over 82,000 people. 

Myanmar is one of the countries this global brewer successfully operates in, uniting two big players in the industry – Heineken International and its local partner, Alliance Brewery Company. As of 2022, Heineken Myanmar employs 350 people.

Besides the world-famous Heineken beer, Heineken Myanmar also brews Tiger, BAWDAR, Regal Seven, and more, including the star of this case study – ABC Extra Stout.

ABC was established in 1931 with its signature stout beer, ABC Extra Stout. The brand is managed by a team of multinational experts and is an important member of the international Heineken group.

ABC is one of the most popular beer brands in Myanmar regarding sales volume and share of voice. It’s also the leading stout brand in Asia that has won multiple international awards due to its high-quality ingredients and international brewing standards.

For more than two years, ABC has been working with Coca Media, a digital agency for Heineken in Myanmar. Coca Media has worked with Eskimi in the past and chose the platform again to run the newest ad campaign for Heineken’s ABC Extra Stout.

Reaching customers where they are with in-game ads

Stout beers are mostly associated with older generations since they are stronger, dark, and heavy-bodied. ABC Extra Stout was not an exception.

The brand, which wanted to change this perception, has gone through a rebranding, positioning ABC Extra Stout as a drink for a new generation of buyers and focusing its advertising efforts on 18+-year-olds.

"ABC’s communication was aimed at young adults and we wanted to send an energetic, enticing message. To deliver it, we needed to go where the younger generation is, and in terms of platforms and touchpoint, it led us to in-game," said Ngwar Thar, Digital Marketing Manager at Coca Media.

The campaign report shows that ABC ads reached more than 63% of players between the age of 18 and 34, fulfilling the company’s goal.

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“ABC’s new brand positioning is all about targeting the young generation, and most of our target audience plays games on their phones,” added Nawshad Ali Tanim. “We have previously tried in-game banners, but we wanted to explore more, like those in-game billboards. In-game let us put our ads in the right place.”

In-game pioneers in the local market

In cooperation with Coca Media, Eskimi ran an in-game awareness campaign for Heineken’s ABC Extra Stout – the first campaign of such kind in the local market. 

“This campaign was the start of different advertising experiences. In-game has just been introduced in Myanmar, and because of that, all these players saw ABC beer in such placements for the first time,” said Nawshad Ali Tanim.

The banner ad, which was created by the client, naturally blended into the gaming environment and was designed to increase brand awareness.

"It’s a different placement – it’s prominent and very visible, so when Eskimi informed us that these options were available, we took the proposal immediately. It fulfilled the brand objective, was in line with our target audience and was also a new kind of ad that we haven’t tried earlier."

Results

After two weeks while the campaign was live, ABC Extra Stout’s hit 86% viewability and had a frequency of 7. 10% of ads were clickable, which is an innovation and a growing trend of in-game, and the campaign saw a 0.27% CTR.

When asked about the overall experience and future plans with in-game, Nawshad Ali Tanim replied: “We want to explore it more and we want to explore it again, only with a higher budget. Curious to see what other possibilities it can bring.