Designing the club of tomorrow: Consumer understanding guiding creativity towards success (by InSites Consulting and Heineken International). Over the last years, Heineken has invested a lot in showing their passion for design to strengthen the link between the brand and design. The ultimate goal of this research project was to design and develop a concept club that would enhance the whole nightlife experience.

2. Heineken: A brand with a passion for design

3. Over the last years, Heineken has invested a lot in
showing their passion for design to strengthen the link
between the brand and design. In 2011, the „aluminum
bottle‟ – being served in exclusive bars and clubs around
the globe – won a design prize during the Cannes Lions.
In the same year, Heineken decided to go one step
further by kicking-off a global design project,
connecting club goers and designers in the
development of a visionary nightclub.
The ultimate goal of this project was to design and
develop a concept club that would enhance the whole
nightlife experience.

4. Key to the idea was that the pop-up club should not
be created by Heineken‟s in-house design team
alone, but in co-creation with emerging design
talent from the same age group as the current
generation of clubbers. Therefore, „Open Design
Explorations Edition 1: The Club‟ crowd-sourced
young designers from four global design
What to expect? capitals (New York, Tokyo, Milan and Sao Paulo)
by inviting them to submit their portfolio via
Heineken‟s Facebook page. Live portfolio
presentation events in these four design cities
resulted in the final selection and composition of the
design team: 19 emerging product, graphic, fashion,
interior and motion designers. Heineken‟s senior
design team and a crew of established designers
with fame functioned as coaches for the young
talents.

5. The Heineken concept club community

6. So far, Heineken brought the ingredients
together that would lead to a beautifully
designed night club. The real question was
if all created concepts would be as
relevant to the clubbers. The project team
at Heineken understood that in order to
develop a relevant and impactful take on
club design, understanding the needs
and wishes of clubbers today would
be crucial. That‟s the reason why, during
the selection process of the young
designers, Heineken and InSites
Consulting were conducting a
global
research project with club goers to
provide the design team with relevant and
true consumer understanding, acting as a
briefing, a source of inspiration and a
springboard for ideation

7. Engaging a group of young, trendy clubbers from all around the world to participate in research can be quite
a challenge and although the club of the future is an inspirational topic, the selection and execution of the
research methodology needs careful attention. We opted for an online research community (MROC) of three
weeks with 120 participants for various reasons:
1 A longitudinal piece of online qualitative research was the way forward as it makes it possible
to conduct a global project, in which clubbers need to be „followed‟ over a longer period of time, in a
rather cost and time efficient way.
2 The current generation of youngsters (Generation Y) are ‘digital natives’. The web is
their second home. Talking to and working together with other people in the online space feels very
natural to them. Next to that, the asynchronous connection in a community allows participants to join the
online discussion on the time and location of their choice, perfectly fitting the lifestyle of today‟s younger
generations.
3 Today’s youngsters are used to being empowered by their parents and they start to expect that
from brands as well. Our online research community connected the trendy clubbers with an aspirational
brand and facilitated the co-creation of a night club, a place that is part of their daily life. We worked
together with people who were interested to participate and who could inspire us with interesting stories:
design-savvy youngsters, living in one of the 12 trendiest cities on the planet (10 citizens of each city),
going to a club at least one time a week and being a non-rejecter of the beer category in general and
Heineken in specific. The participants were recruited through a snowballing process, which started on
Heineken‟s brand page on Facebook.

8. In order to keep the community participants engaged over the course of
three weeks we took them on a journey (Schillewaert, De Ruyck, Van
Kesteren, Ludwig, 2010).
In four different rooms on the community platform they
could share ‘their current clubbing experiences’ and ‘the
role of clubbing in their routine’, ‘their view on the ideal
nightlife journey’ and ‘give feedback on the first sketches’ of
the designers.
The tasks presented to them were a mix of questions, writing reviews,
keeping a (photo) diary and holding discussion battles. To develop a
holistic view on the needs of clubbers, a movie metaphor was guiding the
participants through the different weeks – from selecting the actors in the
ideal nightlife journey, to the scenery and the scenario for the perfect
night out.

9. Reporting research results for maximal impact

10. The three-week dialogue with clubbers resulted in
over 2,000 comments, providing a unique
view on the meaning of clubbing in their
lives. In order to report the outcome towards the
designers in the most impactful way - a report
that they would actually read and use during the
creative process - we went beyond the traditional
ways of reporting.The analysis of the discussions
resulted in the shaping of 28
key learnings,
each linking a challenge for the design
team to the needs of their audience.
„Service design thinking‟ inspired the integration The touch points where users interact with the service are
of these learnings – spread over six
touch often used in order to construct a journey – an engaging story
based upon their experience. This story details there service
points – in a ‘consumer journey map‟: “A
interactions and accompanying emotions in a highly accessible
„customer journey map‟ provides a vivid but
manner” (Stickdorn, Schneider 2011).
structured visualization of a service user‟s
experience.

11. This „Nightlife Journey‟ was reported as an interactive
infographic (available at http://nightlifejourney.com),
not only accessible on desktops, but developed in
HTML5 with specific attention to iPad usage. The app
guides the designers through the six phases of a
night out: from „pre-club drinks and meeting-up‟,
„entering the club‟, „going for a drink‟, „dancing‟, „chilling‟
to „going home‟ (figure 2), telling the designers about
what the role was of a specific scene in the overall night,
what the clubbers‟ expectations were in that specific
moment; and emphasizing the frictions clubbers
encounter during their journey. To make the learning
experience as engaging as possible for the designers,
the 28 key learnings were formulated as consumer
quotes. Next to this, for each learning a design action
was indicated under the actual insight.

12. From inspiration to co-creation

13. The „consumer journey map’ was shared with the In this phase, designers
designers during a club tour of nightlife hotspots received specialist coaching
from famous senior designers
in the design cities, taking their observations of the
within their discipline. After the
clubbing environment and social interaction beyond the
immersion in the clubbing scene
obvious. The immersion in the clubbing scene, combined
and the kick-off briefing,
with the knowledge of the consumer learnings, inspired the
team to come up with consumer centered ideas that truly designers and coaches
challenged the current nightlife experience. joined the clubbers and
the Heineken team on the
online community
platform, where they could
spark ideas and share first
sketches with each other (figure
3). In this way, the project took
full advantage of the
characteristics of the online
community platform; providing a
24/7 connection to stakeholders
from all over the world for a
longer period of time, supporting
true co-creation.

14. The end result: The concept club at the Milan
design week

15. The interactive consumer journey map did not only The fashion designers transformed the staff and
serve as a briefing and a source of inspiration, the
dressed them in other-worldly outfits matching the
research also proved to be crucial for the identity of the club and radiating positive energy. The hosts
senior designers in making the final selection provide guests with a warm welcome, the waiters wander around
of ideas to be part of the actual club. By instigating playful dares to get them out of their shells and when
taking the journey of clubbers as a starting point, it‟s time to move on, a friendly concierge guides clubbers
the Heineken Concept Club – showcased at the onwards, giving directions and arranging cabs home.
Milan Design Week 2012 – successfully took the
design critics by surprise. From the lay-out of the
club, based on the six phases of the consumer
journey map, to the shelves where clubbers can
leave their drink while dancing, the whole
experience is designed to provide relevant and
impactful answers to the needs of clubbers. While
most clubs currently focus on their entertainment
value, the clubbers in the community reminded the
design team that going out is also about
hospitality:
“To have a fun night out in the club, we really
need to feel welcome. To start the night with
a great vibe, I’m in need for a warm, fun and
exciting atmosphere. The staff has an
important role in making my night enjoyable!”

16. Tap a bottle-shaped icon on the
interactive bar surface and pulsing,
concentric circles attract the server’s
attention and tell him that you have priority over
the guy next to you. When your beer is served, the
bar man taps the icon to explode it, showing that
the order has been fulfilled.
By connecting with emerging designers, taking
inspiration from the nightlife journey of clubbers
and approaching club design as the service of the
ideal nightlife experience, Heinekenpushed
the boundaries and unveiled a visionary
pop-up club, housing nine consumer
Even the simple act of ordering a beer has been
creatively deconstructed and carefully considered, relevant design concepts and product
anticipating the need of clubbers to draw the attention innovations. The stimulating and progressive
of the bar man: environment was designed to trigger the senses of
the audience and facilitate social interaction; it
“I often feel like the bar man is proved to be an exceptionally welcoming,
ignoring me while I obviously try to memorable and conversational night out.
get his attention, I hate this!”

17. A 360° evaluation of the project

18. Evaluation of the pop-up club by Milan clubbers
The day after enjoying this new clubbing experience, visitors of the club during the Milan Design Week
were invited for an online interview. Recruitment for this interview happened via Twitter and the database
of people invited to the opening. We selected 24 club goers for the interviews: 16 males and eight
females. At the core of the interview were three basic exercises: write a review, give the club a score, and
select and rank your favourite design objects that were showcased in the club.
Overall, the club got a report figure of almost 9/10 and was seen as a surprising and innovative
action of Heineken. Moreover, the concept club was perceived as a different and more entertaining
experience than in a regular club. Almost all reviews mentioned the link between Heineken as a brand and
„design‟. The interactive bar and the friendliness of the club personnel were also mentioned a lot
spontaneously.
The Top 5 Design Concepts, according to the visitors, were: the interactive bar, the special editions of
the award-winning „aluminium bottle‟ in which the beer was served, the staff‟s clothing, the exit and the
taxi service delivered by the concierge, next to the entrance of the club – which was giving the clubbers
already a glimpse of the vibes inside. The ideas behind all of these concepts were inspired by and shaped
based upon the consumer learnings we showcased in the „interactive journey map‟.

19. Evaluation of the project by the community participants
In the post-community evaluation
survey, the members gave the
project a score of 8/10. For them, it
was a pleasant experience that
made them have impact on the
future of a part of their life: going out
and clubbing. They really appreciate
the fact that Heineken is a brand that
listens to consumers. Also based on
their qualitative feedback, we may
state that the project indirectly
created 120 trendy and influential
brand ambassadors for life.

20. Evaluation of the project by the designers
In-depth interviews with the 19 emerging designers Mark Van Itterson, Head of Global Design at
emphasized the connection between the interactive Heineken, formulated it this way:
infographic and the end result. At the beginning of
mainly excited
their creative process they were “The community was our online hub, a kind of
virtual creative lab. It was bridging all continents
about their collaboration with Heineken
and time zones, stimulating cross fertilization. It
and the goal of developing a visionary kept the creative juices flowing through new
nightclub. The design briefs – based on the progress, new insights, new briefs”.
phases and insights of the „customer journey map‟ –
proved to be a critical success factor in structuring Heineken‟s „Open Design Explorations‟ also
Most
the process and facilitating the collaboration. changed how the emerging designers perceived
the concepts of „co-creation‟ and „consumer
designers perceived the community phase
research‟. They are now convinced that
as the most valuable part, as the answers they
consumer understanding is essential in
generated to consumer needs in this initial phase
were key to the end result. The origami concept that their design process and is a major
arose here served as a red thread in the design source of inspiration.
vision and was applied to all elements in the club.

21. The after party: going beyond the boundaries of
research

22. For every great party, there is building up the tension towards the night out, the party itself and a great after-party.
The same structure was used in the three staged PR approach Heineken used to spread the word about this
project:
1 the announcement of the project on the Facebook page and communication about
the progress of the project via press releases. All were well picked-up by a wide range of
influential design blog and the traditional press.
2 as a warm-up for the opening of the club in Milan, Heineken also communicated about the
learnings of the research community with clubbers. The „interactive journey map‟,
together with sketches from the designers based on the consumer input, was shared with the
press and the whole world (via social media).
3 during and after the opening of „The Club‟, Twitter and (design) blogs played an important role
in spreading the word about Heineken’s concept club.

23. Business impact of the project

24. 1. The afterlife of the club
The pop-up club will now travel around the world. Clubbers from
trendy cities will be able to enjoy this new nightlife experience. Next to that, some
of the most well perceived design object will be produced and serve as „branded
utility‟ provided to owners of trendy clubs and bars by Heineken.
2. Impact on the brand
The online interviews among visitors of the concept club indicate that the whole
of the project makes that the brand is being seen as more ‘original’ and
‘unique’, ‘cosmopolitan’, ‘innovative’, ‘self-confident’ and ‘a brand to be
seen with’ than before – a rather unique brand image for a beer, among these
young, trendy and influential people. They were surprised by the fact that
Heineken did this project, but it was perceived as a great idea, a cool project and a
very relevant end result. To conclude, four out of five visitors stated that they have
a better perception of the Heineken brand now.

25. 3. Online conversations and PR
By analyzing the online conversations on the project in the period February 11th
2012 to May 11th 2012, we learn that Heineken’s presence at the Milan
Design Week strengthened its ties with the design world from within the
creative scene. Heineken „Open Design Explorations‟ was featured in 127
articles, mainly posted on specialty blogs focusing on one of the project‟s design
disciplines. In the defined period, the project generated 1,595 conversations on
Twitter, with a boost of 214 tweets on the third party night (April 19th 2012). These
conversations show a highly positive sentiment and are connecting values like
„uniqueness‟, „fun‟ and „surprise‟ to the Heineken brand. The highly targeted and
content-led design campaign proved to drive market and media engagement,
resulting in rich global coverage, sparking positive conversations and elevating
Heineken‟s reputation in open design innovation.

26. 4. Implications for the market
research profession
how important it is that also creative
This case study demonstrates
professions lean on consumer insights in order to become more
successful in what they do. It also shows that we as market researchers
need to become more creative in the way we bring research results
and insights towards our clients and their stakeholders, in order to
become more impactful with what we do and to make sure that research results
are really used. We can learn from „management consultants‟ here in terms of
connecting the dots and reporting in a clear and very actionable
way. „Advertising creatives‟, on the other hand, can inspire us to package our
message in a more engaging and fun to use way. The „interactive journey map‟
app showcased both aspects to a large extent.
And finally, why would we be silent about co-creation and collaboration with
consumers? Why not communicate about the fact that we do it, the learnings we
gather from it and the final results; if it can have a positive effect on the (perceived)
consumer relevance of your products and services and the image of your brand?

27. Want to know more about Online
Research Communities?
Tom De Ruyck
Head of Research Communities
+32 9 269 14 07
tom@insites-consulting.com