Heineken Hoaxes Consumers

Online, we needed to extend Heineken's fake headline campaign -- while making it as viral as possible among the company’s core target audience of urban males 21 to 28. The same target made such "hoax-based" TV shows like "Punk'd" and "Jamie Kennedy Experience" so popular.

Because interactive enables the consumers to indulge in the brand experience much more than print or even TV, we decided to take the fake headline approach one step further … specifically in the direction of immediate user relevance and deeper immersion in the brand.

So, instead of simply reading Heineken-created headlines, users would be empowered to affect a number of different headlines themselves by inputting friends’ names in the headlines, sending those headlines to the friends, and then tricking those friends into believing the fake headlines were real and posted on well-known sites like Maxim or The Sporting News for the world to see. As we hoped, this generated a lot of industry buzz.

We created an easy-to-use site where "hoaxers" could come and quickly choose from a number of humorous headlines (accompanied by hilarious pictures), customize them with friends’ names, pick a media property for the headline to appear on and, if the hoaxer wanted, include three "witnesses" (mutual friends) to view the hoax page as well.

So, "viral generation" is inherent to the very nature of the promotion as, to make it work, at least two consumers need to be involved (the "hoaxer" and "hoaxee"). Through it all, we captured all email addresses -- the hoaxer, hoaxee and any witnesses. As of now, we have about 70,000 emails captured, but not all have opted in for Heineken special offers and promotions. We're still determining that number.

In terms of measurement, we implemented a tracking system that allowed us to identify components like number of site visits, number of hoaxes generated, number of witnesses contacted, time spent at the site, the most popular headlines chosen, and more.

Achieving all this meant negotiating with sites like Maxim and The Sporting News with the hope they'd allow us to use their homepage as the "home base" of the hoax headlines. Of course, it wasn't actually the real homepage of those sites. Instead, we used a mirror page, only accessible if you were directed there from a "hoaxer."

Admittedly, it was a challenge getting sites to even understand this unique concept, let alone gaining their permission to partner with. Not all sites we pitched went along with the idea, but because of the program’s success, its newsworthiness, and the awards it has already won, I think those sites that participated were glad they did. Lastly, we produced a number of rich and non-rich banners driving traffic to the site.

This is just the beginning of some big plans to drive a lot of "Internet firsts" around the Heineken brand, all of it designed to exemplify the Heineken brand attributes of being "one step ahead" or "in the know." And whenever we can, we make these programs highly viral and newsworthy through their uniqueness and entertainment value.
-- Mark Galley, Associate Creative Director, Modem Media

Everybody wants their 15 minutes of fame – the chance to rise above the crowd and get noticed. Except, that is, when there’s a headline about you getting “too touchy” at a touch-football game on Sporting News or Maxim no less. This is one email with the standardized “check this out” call-to-action that is going to get a sky-high click-through rate.

How did they find out? Who informed the press? You thought you saw the bushes move when you made that desperation lunge, and now look what’s happened! Relax. You’ve just got Punk’d or rather Hoaxed by an elaborate immersive experience created by Modem Media on behalf of Heineken. Test drive the hoax yourself by clicking on the “Take the Hoax” link on the left or visit www.heineken.com/usa/headlines.

The viral longevity extends beyond the hoaxer and hoaxee through the ability to involve witnesses and even gives the hoaxee the ability to turn the tables on the hoaxer by “getting even” with him or her.

This is one of those special examples where online is allowed to do what it does best – bring the brand promise of offline to life by amplifying and extending the creative idea through innovative execution.

This is also a prime example of creativity that extends beyond messaging into the world of media: in this case, the ability to integrate the hoax within the mirrored environment of familiar Websites. And just in case you think this is an example of blurring the line between editorial and advertising, then the joke’s on you!