Corporate Reputation of Global Brands of the Beer Industry: Heineken

Abstract

In the beer industry, the trend of consumers in each country is to trust mainly locally produced brands where they live. In this way, local brands gain a more favorable reputation than other international firms. Taking this into account, the aim of this research is to establish the corporate reputation of international beer brands versus local brands, specifically the case of the Heineken brand in local markets is analyzed. The empirical research compares the perception of Heineken in its city of origin, Groningen, with a non-original city of another country. In order to know about the reputation of this brand in both cities, firstly, the main indexes and variables that measure the corporate reputation have been studied through secondary sources. Secondly, we carried out a survey adapted to the cultural and socio-economic context of the two samples: local university students of the city of origin and of a non-original city where this brand is present. As a result of this research, it has been shown that the global corporate brand, Heineken, is a brand leader not only in its hometown, but also in other local markets. It has been detected that its good corporate reputation in the different cities is determined by its association with its product brand «Heineken» and not with other local brands acquired by this firm as a strategy to reach its international positioning. This research shows that a brand of beer can achieve international leadership not only through local brand acquisition strategies, as has traditionally been the case in this industry, but also through a global brand communication strategy that contributes to promote its corporate reputation in the markets where this brand wants to operate.