Heineken UK is introducing a suite of PoS materials that invite shoppers to ‘Meet the Chillers’, bringing the Halloween occasion to life in-store and digitally, and supporting its bestselling SKUs to maximise sales.
Halloween presents a significant opportunity for retailers to drive sales, and in previous years, sales of beer and cider reached £127m in the total off-trade during Halloween week, with a 4.6% increase in sales versus the previous week last year. Heineken expects this year to follow suit, with Halloween being cemented as the biggest trading week during the autumn season – creating a peak moment in-between the end of summer and the Christmas festivities.
The ‘Meet the Chillers’ POS materials include FSDUs, posters, wobblers and shelf barkers, as well as a range of digital assets for retailers’ social media platforms, with further activations planned in depots over throughout October. Retailers can also enter a competition via a microsite to be in with a chance of winning a Halloween-themed uniform for their staff.
Highlighting multiple best-selling options within the Heineken UK portfolio, from Strongbow Original to Strongbow Dark Fruit, Desperados, Heineken and Heineken 0.0, all SKUs tap into the Halloween opportunity. Flavoured Fruit Cider overtrades with younger consumers at Halloween, sales of Strongbow Original over index (40% more) at Halloween vs other weeks of the year in impulse, Desperados speaks to ‘up tempo occasions’ most common with Halloween missions, and whilst 55% of millennials celebrate Halloween a higher percentage of these consumers look to moderate, so leveraging well known low and no alcohol options like Heineken 0.0 is crucial.
Paul Gordon, Customer Director at Heineken UK, commented: “Halloween is a fantastic event for retailers and wholesalers to get involved and have fun with, as adults up and down the country will be looking to celebrate and socialise. Our new ‘Meet the Chillers’ campaign aims to help retailers maximise the opportunity by tapping into that excitement.
“We know that the brands people purchase during Halloween week are very similar to the rest of the year, so retailers and wholesalers don’t necessarily have to worry about stocking limited-edition lines and dead stock after the event has passed. What’s important is how the beer and cider brands are displayed in store, and our ‘Meet the Chillers’ materials aim to help retailers maximise visibility and, therefore, sales opportunities.”
