HEINEKEN UK and ITV have renewed the ‘ground-breaking’ product placement deal that made Heineken 0.0 the first real world beer to appear in popular soap operas Coronation Street and Emmerdale.
The award-winning partnership has enjoyed a successful first year, lauded as a significant step forward in helping to normalise alcohol-free beer among alcohol consumers by making it ‘more visible and acceptable’.
The renewed deal means Heineken 0.0 Draught will remain in the taps of Emmerdale’s Woolpack and Coronation Street’s Rover’s Return, alongside the cast of fictional beers that occupy the rest of the bar.
With a combined weekly viewership of 11 million, and undeniably huge influence over popular culture, the hope remains that characters regularly ordering ‘a pint of zero’ will help diffuse the stigma that lingers over low-alcohol beer – and encourage more consumers to explore the category.
The latest survey data suggests that the strategy works – 75% of Coronation Street viewers and 77% of Emmerdale viewers agreed with the statement that ‘drinking low and no alcohol beer in pubs is becoming more and more normal’.
In addition, 62% of viewers aware of the product placement partnership across both shows said it ‘made them want to find out more about Heineken 0.0’.
Corporate affairs director for HEINEKEN UK, James Crampton, commented: “We’re absolutely thrilled with the success of the partnership, and to continue to make alcohol free beer more visible.
“We are totally committed to bringing no and low alcohol beer from the periphery into the mainstream – and the data shows that this partnership is having a real impact. That collective mind-shift is happening. Emmerdale and Coronation Street have huge cultural currency – people are seeing their favourite characters order pints of 0.0 in the Rover’s Return and Woolpack and it’s helping make it permissible for them in their real lives.”
ITV’s managing director of ‘Continuing Drama’, John Whiston, added: “We’re delighted Heineken has renewed their partnership with the shows. It’s a great fit having their 0% lager in The Rovers and The Woolpack. As a responsible broadcaster it’s important to reflect the nation’s increasingly diverse drinking habits on screen and research reveals that showing Heineken 0.0 as a drink of choice for our characters, is helping to normalise and drive the uptake of alcohol-free lager.
“We look forward to Heineken remaining part of the ITV family for the next 18 months, helping our shows continue to make change on screen and off.”
Heineken 0.0 is currently the market leader of no alcohol beer in the UK, with 30% market value share. Over the last year, over 99 million pints of alcohol-free beer have been ordered, an increase of +10.5% year on year.
