Heineken Brews Up Unexpected Collab With Global Tech Brand

Heineken and WhatsApp have teamed up to create new technology that will bring people together—over a beer, of course.

The unlikely partnership was inspired by poll data suggesting people are more absorbed in their phones and using technology, specifically with voice notes, to spur meaningful connections. Heineken said after reviewing global data it commissioned, it was inspired to encourage in-person mingling and what better way for a beer brand to do that than by teaming up with a major tech company to offer fans free beer, so long as they’re willing to exchange it for a voice note.

“Just like we all know meetings that ‘could have been an email,’ we’re now seeing voice notes that ‘Could have been a Heineken,'” Nabil Nasser, global head of Heineken, teased. “Voice notes can feel more personal than reading a message, but what our research shows is that we need to make sure they don’t turn into mini-podcasts, and that we’re having two-way conversations rather than an extended monologue.”

Heineken Teams Up With WhatsApp to Launch Bot That Trades Voice Notes for Real Beer

Part of what Heineken wants fans to trade in their voice notes for a real-life beer (on the brand) and an in-person convo is not only to get consumers to drink more of its beer, but to bring back the art of conversation and ditch “barely engaging” messages.

“Our data suggests that voice notes are not just growing in frequency but also length,” Stacy Jo Dixon, social media and society expert at Statista, explained. “With nearly 9.5 billion voice notes sent daily on WhatsApp alone (compared to 7 billion in 2022), it’s evident that voice messaging is reshaping the way we communicate across the globe and taking on a more prominent role alongside traditional in-person interactions.”

Related: Bud Light’s New Beer Is Brewed With Real Snow

That research also found that a whopping 88 percent of participants reported “forgetting what was said” in the message and over half (55 percent) admitted they never listened to the voice note in the first place.

“At Heineken, we want to make it easier for people to share moments of socialisation in real life,” Nasser added. “That’s why we have launched the ‘Could have been a Heineken’ WhatsApp bot, incentivising people to swap long voice notes for a refreshing in-person catch up over a beer of course.”

The cult-favorite Euro-style light lager’s new technology is still in its early stages, so the pilot has only launched in one country so far, and sorry, U.S.-based fans, it’s not here. Instead, Heineken opted to test it in the country where the most voice notes are sent and received, Brazil.

Here’s how it works:

Those looking to cash in on the freebie must be 18 years of age or older (the legal drinking age in Brazil) and registered WhatsApp users. After logging in, users must forward a voice note at least three minutes long to the private, encrypted bot. They will then receive a message saying, “Could have been a Heineken,” along with a voucher for a free beer and recommendations for local bars to go and meet up with the friend in real life.

Heineken didn’t offer any insight into future plans to expand access to the bot (and, in turn, the free beer) or what happens to the voice notes participants submit (if anything). Should more information become available, we’ll be sure to update this post.

What do you think? Would you trade a voice note for a beer? Let us know in the comments!

Next: Samuel Adams Launches New Stout Inspired by ‘80s Cocktail