Social media helps brands understand what their clients want, and few examples of that are better than Heineken’s limited edition bottle redesign.

Social media is an excellent avenue when it comes to engaging with your fans, and if you can find a way to get their input, all the better. Late in 2012, Heineken decided to redesign their trademark bottle for a limited edition set to celebrate their 140th anniversary. Now, if we have learned anything from the numerous redesigns of the Facebook page, it is that, for the most part, people do not like change, particularly when that change involves something as timeless as the Heineken bottle. So how do you ensure that the backlash will not be severe, particularly when it is in celebration of your brand’s 140th year in business? Turn to social media.

The Campaign

Mark van Iterson, Heineken’s Global Head of Design and his team decided that they would create a limited edition Heineken bottle that incorporated past designs and contemporary twists to mark the company’s 140th anniversary. However, instead of using a small team of in-house designers, van Iterson decided to reach out to Heineken’s massive social network (measured as the top beer on social media by L2 Think Tank) and offer fans a chance to redesign their favorite beer’s bottle.

Tens of thousands of submissions came pouring in from all over the world, and five finalists were chosen for a vote. However, to further promote the efforts of those who contributed, Heineken plans to showcase 30 designs at the Milan Design Week (April 2013) and produce, promote and sell the limited edition winning bottle at the end of this year.

The Lessons

Social media is such a powerful tool when it comes to crowdsourcing. Heineken recognized that and used social media, Facebook in particular, to put together this campaign. A lot of intuition went into effectively executing this campaign, and marketers should be aware of the goals and lessons this case study showcases.

Know Your Goals

Campaigns are fun, and some can be extremely successful. But in order to know whether or not your campaign was a success, you need to know what your goals are. For Heineken, the obvious goal was using their fan base to source a new design for a limited edition bottle. In an interview with ChiefMarketer.com, van Iterson states: “The goal is twofold. For us at Heineken it is fantastic to get ideas and designs that we didn’t think of ourselves. This unlocks huge creativity, and certainly will bring surprises, excitement and very fresh concepts. For a progressive brand like Heineken, always striving to innovate, improve and find fresh ideas, this is a great source.”

But what about the less apparent goals? Heineken gained a lot more than just a few bottle design suggestions. They gave their fans an opportunity to feel like they were important to the creative process. As we have noted in the past, engagement on social media builds your brand’s image. For Heineken, the goal here was to boost engagement with their fan base by offering them the opportunity to, in a way, join the Heineken team – and they succeeded.

Ask Your Audience

When it comes to social media, one of the reasons why people follow, like, or become fans of a brand is because they are already customers. In the beer world, there is plenty of competition, so when you have set of customers, your goal is to keep them coming back. How? Engage with them on social media.

Heineken had the opportunity to reach out to their audience for input when redesigning their bottle and the response was staggering. People are on social media to talk, so instead of sitting in silence, talk with them!

The New Survey, Poll and Focus Group

Why do programs succeed? Why do they fail? What would improve a program? Traditionally, these were questions answered by focus groups or surveys. But that’s marketing in the past. Social media is the new survey, poll and focus group, all in one place. Heineken capitalized on that fact and saved tremendously on both the cost of designing the bottle in-house and the potential cost of the bottle flopping in an unappreciative market.

Social media is a place where people lie to their friends and tell the truth to strangers. Do what Heineken did and take advantage of that.

Have you launched any campaigns asking your audience to participate? Tell us about it in the comments below or on Twitter!