HEINEKEN Named Cannes Lions 2015 Creative Marketer of the Year

21 Nov 2014 --- The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity has announced that the 2015 Creative Marketer of the Year will be awarded to HEINEKEN. The accolade recognises companies who have distinguished themselves by inspiring innovative, global marketing of their products and who embrace and encourage creativity in their brand communications.

"Creative Marketer of the Year at Cannes Lions is awarded to a company who is breaking the boundaries of creativity and who truly believes that creativity drives business and can improve the state of the world," comments Philip Thomas, CEO of Lions Festivals, "HEINEKEN lives and breathes creativity throughout its organisation, and has a superb framework that allows its marketing teams the freedom to experiment while retaining the core essence of their many brands. It is testament to the company that in the last three years, six of its brands have won 41 lions across seven countries including a coveted Grand Prix in Creative Effectiveness. It is also a sign of how important creativity is culturally that they are only the second client to have won the award twice since we introduced it in 1992, having previously taken it home in 1995."

In 2013 HEINEKEN took home the Cannes Lions Creative Effectiveness Grand Prix for 'Heineken's Legendary Journey: Justifying a Premium the World Over' - the campaign that aimed to grow and position Heineken beer as a global brand. The Creative Effectiveness category celebrates award winning creativity with a proven business impact and according to Philip Thomas, "represents what brands are really looking for - creativity that amplifies their message and increases the power of what they create."

Alexis Nasard, HEINEKEN President Western Europe & Global Chief Marketing Officer, says: "Creativity is a great competitive advantage to have because it is hard to replicate. It is at the heart of great design and marketing programmes, as well as innovation. These are the lifeblood of our business. This prestigious award is recognition of the great creative work our people and agencies are delivering. Award winning campaigns help build the business disproportionately. They also build confidence and help attract and keep the best people. The purpose of HEINEKEN is to continually wow the world with our brands, people and performance. This award shows that we are doing just that."

Over the last four years, HEINEKEN has focused the energies of its marketing and commercial communities on creativity to deliver improved business performance. It has launched the Global Commerce University, a mandatory learning programme, run by industry professionals and academics, which all HEINEKEN marketing executives, sales executives and general managers must attend and pass. This initiative has helped place the foundations on which sustainable creativity linked to innovation and in turn linked to business results has been built. On top of this, steps were taken to streamline the number of agencies the company partners with resulting in one global lead agency for the Heineken brand and ensured consistency across global campaigns. According to OneEquity, Heineken is the highest rated beer brand equity in the world, showing 5.3% YTD growth at Q3 2014, with strong a performance across all regions. Other recent Cannes award winning brands include Dos Equis, Newcastle Brown Ale and Tui Beer.

HEINEKEN will be honoured during the 62nd edition of Cannes Lions, taking place from 21-27 June 2015 in Cannes, France.