Heineken Silver Brewery in Decentraland | Metaverse Case Study

Bringing people together 

You can do a lot of things in the metaverse, but sharing a real drink with a friend is not one of them. Yet, Heineken decided to embrace the concept by building a virtual brewery, taking their community on a learning journey and winning Cannes Lions awards in the process. 

“Knowing that the beer was more to the pallet of Gen Z, our marketing strategy was leveraging the metaverse. Before the availability of the physical product, they were already able to experience Heineken Silver in a more immersive way than ever before” Rob van Griensven, Global Digital Director, Heineken

First: picking a location in the metaverse

Heineken worked with LandVault to execute this ambitious vision. The first item on the agenda was to select which metaverse to build into. Alcohol brands need to be careful to not engage with underage consumers, so a platform like Roblox was completely off limits. Heineken wanted to be on a visually mature platform to reflect what the audience would expect from a virtual bar.

The ultimate choice for Heineken was to host their Virtual Bar in Decentraland. They worked with LandVault Land Concierge to secure their land in the best location, without the use of crypto, and deliver the experience.

Virtual world for a real launch

Heineken started by building an environment where their audience could meet. Complete with a DJ, dancing, and of course the virtual beer, it embraced the metaverse and reflected Heineken’s long-established ethos of progressiveness and innovation.

Playing on the irony of a non-existent beer you can’t taste in an exclusive space in Decentraland, Heineken® highlighted the importance of real-world connections and refreshing beer moments before launching the real Heineken® Silver to consumers across Europe.

Silver Lions @ Cannes 2022

Because of its authentic, fresh and unique concept, the launch benefited from a substantial Media and PR impact, reaching close to 2 billion impressions through media relations, social media, and influencers. 

This success was further acknowledged in the Cannes Festival of Creativity, with the Awards of 4 Silver Lions for digital craft and brand experience and activation. A testament to the brand’s creativity, which placed 4th in the Festival’s Brand of the Year ranking.

“We’ve seen the benefit of not taking yourself too seriously. It’s a lesson for more senior stakeholders in large corporations like Heineken to loosen up a bit and to delegate the trust to people that are less experienced in the corporate branding world, but more experienced in the metaverse.” - Rob van Griensven, Global Digital Director at Heineken

"This was an amazing opportunity to showcase innovation in the metaverse. Thanks to our partners, Dentsu we delivered a best in class activation. It's great to see established agencies continue to drive brands into the future and we are excited to continue on this journey with Heineken." - Sam Huber, CEO LandVault