Opinion BY Armin

Heineken-ish

Heineken International is the corporate company that produces, obviously, Heineken beer but that is only one of 250 beer brands that it brews, sells, and/or distributes across 70 countries, among them popular beers like Amstel and Foster’s. In 2010 Heineken bought the brewery division of Mexico’s giant FEMSA, becoming the owner of Dos Equis, Bohemia (one of my faves), and Sol. Last week, Heineken International — NOT Heineken consumer beer — introduced a new logo and determined that its name shall be written in all caps, HEINEKEN, “to distinguish the corporate name from the company’s iconic beer brand,” and because “It is also the way the company name was originally written when HEINEKEN was founded in 1864”. The logo has been designed by Amsterdam-based VBAT.

At the heart of the new company identity is a re-designed HEINEKEN name, appearing in capital letters, complemented by a red spark to represent the spirit and energy of the company’s more than 70,000 employees worldwide. The logo will appear on all corporate publications, printed materials, the corporate website and will be used in some capacity by the majority of its operating companies worldwide.

Creating a wordmark that establishes some distance between the consumer brand and the corporate entity makes perfect sense, especially when more than 95% of the beers that come from Heineken International have their own look and feel and the corporate mark should not interfere or create confusion. It’s hard to get too excited about the logo, but that’s the main point, it should be somewhat neutral and it certainly achieves that with just enough personality to not be completely stale. The contrast in the thicks and thins keep it interesting and the minimal serifs at the beginning and end frame the name effectively if a little clumsily. The offset white star within the red star, though, I don’t get, but it isn’t too offensive.

Thanks to Dado Queiroz for first tip.

Many thanks to our ADV @ UnderConsideration Partners