Heineken names agencies for global brands

Publicis, WPP and Stagwell for creation, dentsu for media

Heineken has completed a global review of its marketing agency ecosystem, appointing a streamlined roster of creative, production and media partners to support the next stage of growth for its global and power brands portfolio.

The brewer has reappointed dentsu for global media and Publicis for global secondary production following a competitive pitch process. Heineken also consolidated its global creative roster to three holding companies: Publicis, WPP and Stagwell. Creative responsibilities for the Heineken brand were not included in the review and remain with Publicis.

Focus on streamlined collaboration

The updated structure will support Heineken’s global brands Amstel, Birra Moretti, Desperados and Tiger, alongside selected local power brands. The company said the move is intended to strengthen collaboration, improve consistency across markets and support scalable brand building.

Bram Westenbrink, Chief Commercial Officer, Heineken : “This marks a significant step in Heineken’s EverGreen 2030 Growth Strategy and the ambition to build a more streamlined, effective, and future-fit agency model, designed to deliver greater creative impact, operational efficiency, and consistency at scale. Moving to fewer, better and bigger agency partners is part of our broader Freddyai Commercial transformation.”

The company said the revised agency model is designed to create deeper strategic partnerships while improving operational speed and efficiency across both global and local brand activities.

Creative roster reduced to three holding groups

Under the revised structure, dentsu will continue overseeing global media responsibilities, while Publicis Groupe retains global secondary production duties and creative responsibilities for the Heineken brand.

The creative roster for other global and power brands will now be handled by Publicis Groupe, WPP and Stagwell.

Jorn Socquet: “Our new agency ecosystem is a key enabler of our ambition to build stronger, more distinctive brands at scale. By partnering with a smaller number of world-class agencies, we are creating the conditions for deeper collaboration, sharper strategic focus and more impactful creativity.

“At the same time, this model allows us to operate with greater speed and efficiency, ensuring we can deliver high-quality work consistently across our global and local brand portfolio.

“We are grateful to all participating agencies for their commitment throughout this extensive process. The quality of thinking, creativity and talent on display was exceptional.”

Rollout aligned with planning cycles

Heineken said implementation of the updated agency structure will begin immediately through a phased rollout aligned with brand planning cycles to maintain continuity across markets.

The company added that the changes support its wider focus on long-term brand investment, marketing innovation and the development of a more connected global marketing ecosystem.

www.theheinekencompany.com

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