Press Release

#TBT to When HEINEKEN USA Captured Attention (and Votes!) for Our Sustainability Report

For the most part, company sustainability reports never get read. The fact is, companies keep packaging their diligent, necessary and informative sustainability reporting in dense corporate documents that nobody cares to read.

We’re proud of our progress and didn’t want our accomplishments to go unnoticed. That’s why HEINEKEN USA set out to create a new way for consumers to engage with and understand our 2016 Annual Report – a blend of our annual performance and sustainability reports. The objective was to communicate our sustainability performance in an extraordinary way – the HEINEKEN way - authentic, clear, enjoyable and noteworthy. Thus, “You’re not gonna read this…” was born.

Published 6 years ago | About a 2 minute read

Did we meet our objectives? Yes, and we were also honored this past April with an Audience Honor at the Shorty Awards, given to the finalist in each category that has earned the most votes by the general public.

About You’re Not Gonna Read This…

So, what made this report special? Our 2016 annual report involved a smart, funny social-savvy digital activation that engaged social media users, leveraging GIFs to educate and raise awareness about HEINEKEN’s sustainability and responsibility programs. Through a mix of intriguing/comical choices and fun creative, we encouraged users to click through to the “You’re not gonna read this…” site – which also served as the hub for the campaign.

Features on the campaign hub page allowed visitors to download the sustainability report and visit the campaign’s Instagram and Facebook sites. Visitors were also presented with ‘Would you rather’ scenarios in the form of GIFs. For example, one choice read: “Would you rather always have an orange spray tan…or…read the HEINEKEN 2016 Sustainability Report?”

By using an engaging platform that allowed users to generate their own unique experiences, and genuinely funny content, HEINEKEN USA sought to (and succeeded!) in relaying their sustainability report’s content to people who otherwise would not have seen it.

Audience Honor at the Shorty Awards

Last year, with the “You’re not gonna read this” campaign, the HEINEKEN USA report garnered significant attention with 13,600 site visits. We were so excited by user engagement that we submitted the report to the 10th Annual Shorty Awards, which honor the best of social media by recognizing the influencers, brands and organizations on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, and more.

Our submission received the most public votes and an Audience Honor. Setting out to revamp a traditionally boring report model was no easy task, but sharing messages on responsibility and sustainability was well worth the effort. And the Audience Honor didn’t hurt, either.

For all of those who voted for us, thank you! We’ll keep looking for authentic, clear, enjoyable and noteworthy ways to highlight how we’re Brewing a Better World.