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Attraction Profile
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technologies, yet employed them in such a way that the finished result is
elegant and easy to understand. At various points in the tour, guests see,
smell, touch and taste everything involved in the brewing process,
including of course an ice-cold beer.
But before they get their first taste, guests must first be “brewed”
themselves inside Brew U, a stand-up simulator ride (by Bosch Rexroth)
that explains a trip through the bottling process. The first beer is served
inside the futuristic Star Bar, where Heineken’s red star motif and
corporate colours are exploited to their full potential. Here, as in earlier
section of the tour, a member of staff explains exactly why the beer tastes
the way it does, and the perfect way to drink it.
THE DUTCH
“It’s actually a very simple way of explaining things,” says Dohmen,
“but it works because guests interact with a human being and remember
the facts better than if they just read it on the wall or screen. It probably
makes them appreciate the beer better too!”
EXPERIENCE
A popular feature is the Heineken Gallery, where visitors can relive
over 140 years of advertising, and look for the subtle details that make
these messages so memorable. There’s also a nod to various Heineken
sponsorships, such as films and football.
At the end of the tour, there’s an opportunity to enjoy one final beer
From dark rides and simulation technology to less explicit in the World Bar, surrounded by 360-degree moving images of
methods, a number of theme park practices are employed aspirational cities such as Hong Kong, Paris and Rio de Janeiro. A
at two new visitor attractions in the Netherlands large selection of Heineken merchandise is available in the shop, and
HEINEKEN EXPERIENCE
one item in particular is already proving a great seller. Earlier on,
guests can order a 330ml bottle of Heineken with their own name on
BRC Imagination Arts’ overhaul of the Heineken Experience in
as part of Bottle Your Own Heineken. It’s the only “secondary spend”
Amsterdam, which reopened at the tail end of last year, celebrates the
opportunity inside the main part of the attraction, but a well thought
beer’s Dutch heritage and global reach using a variety of storytelling
addition that is driving strong sales.
techniques. The result is a visitor attraction that leaves guests feeling
While the Heineken Experience was not set up primarily as a revenue
good and thirsty for more.
stream, the Dutch brewer has succeeded in encouraging the public to
“Consumers are bombarded with thousands of fragmented media
pay up to Euro.18615.00 a time to engage with its brand. Cheers!
messages each day,” notes BRC Europe managing director, Bart
Dohmen. “The ability to cut through this and create an attraction that
truly immerses guests in a brand is invaluable.”
Before the revamp, the Heineken Experience pulled in around 350,000
guests a year, now it can cater for up to 450,000. Like the hugely popular
Guinness Storehouse in Dublin, it has become one of the city’s most
popular tourist attractions, but unlike the Guinness exhibit, it has a lot
more competition, and a less central position. “For this reason, we had to
try and make it even better than the Storehouse,” explains Dohmen.
Originally opened in 2001, the Heineken Experience replaced a
brewery tour that, while popular with drinkers (almost too popular with
drinkers), failed to convey much about the brand other than its
intoxicating qualities.
Bottle Your Own Heineken:
Now visitors learn three things about Heineken thanks to the following
A secondary spend success
characteristics identified by BRC: “Born in Amsterdam, Raised by the
world …Cheers!” While this is never explained to guests in so many
words, the theme is apparent throughout the attraction.
ROTTERDAM PORT EXPERIENCE
Separated by a canal from Heineken’s global headquarters, on A new attraction has opened celebrating Europe’s largest seaport. The
Amsterdam’s Stadhouderskade, the new-look Experience is no longer Rotterdam Port Experience, underneath Erasmus Bridge, allows guests to
part of a fully-functioning brewery, but several features have been learn more about one of the world’s largest ports and its contribution to
incorporated to give guests a direct the Dutch city.
link to the brewing process, and the The Euro.18610 million attraction was commissioned by the Port of Rotterdam
place where it all began. In the Authority from Kranendonk Experience Network, which created the original
lobby, for instance, white tiled walls Heineken Experience in Amsterdam. The brief was to “bring the port back
give the impression that this is still a into the heart of the city” (Erasmus Bridge links the two) and create an
working plant, and above their heads entertaining attraction in the process. Project director Reinder Holtkamp
the floorboards have been stripped says he was asked to break down some of the myths that surround the port,
back to the reveal the gleaming and perhaps inspire a few more people to take up a career there, but that
copper bottoms of the remaining he was given a “total free hand” in how to do it.
brewing equipment upstairs, which is With an annual throughput of more than 400 million tonnes,
used for a number of demonstrations. Rotterdam is by far the largest freight/passenger seaport in Europe, and
To create the new-look Experience, the gateway to more than 500 million consumers. Situated on the North
Visitors learn about the brewing process
BRC used various state of the art Sea, it streches over 40km in length – making it larger than Rotterdam
24 MARCH 2009
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