Not sure what took so long, but after success in Europe and Asia, Heineken just opened its first branded “lounge” in a U.S. airport. God knows Newark’s Terminal C could use a distraction or two to keep passengers from realizing how small they are. The Heineken Lounge will feature free Wifi and, reportedly, “private cabanas.” Say what?
Continuing our earlier theme of experiential marketing, this is a smart marketing move by Heineken.
The Target
Yes, the brewer caught the travel industry at a bad time, but it is well documented that everyone who travels drinks. Even pilots have been known to imbibe just prior to boarding.
The Place
The only setting less uplifting than an airport terminal is a dentist’s waiting room. Heineken could have simply placed two fake palm trees around two kegs in a broom closet and improved on the sterile environment that is today’s “modern” airline terminal. Kudos to Delaware North, the company that helped Heineken pull this off.
The Customer Life Stage
OK, so this isn’t like going from marriage to retirement, but sometimes you feel as if you have passed through a life stage or two waiting and waiting and waiting for your plane. The airport experience stinks on ice, and there’s nothing better than a cold brew to mark the occasion(s). The lounge opens at 9 AM daily. QED.
The Verdict
If just 1% of the passengers who visit the lounge catch themselves the next time they’re about to order at the hometown bar and say, “wait, let me have a Heineken draft instead,” then Heineken should be doing cartwheels.
Guinness, Schmuinness
On the other hand, Guinness wins the “Tin Ear Asshat Award” for its current TV spot showing young revelers going back to work after a night at the pub and playing with the lights across the top-four floors of their office tower. Here we are in the middle of “Green” and an energy crisis, and Guinness thinks it cool to flick lights on and off.
Which goes to show ya…a funny drunk is always drunk, but not always funny.
