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July 2005 - Strategy Magazine
Who to watch

Go ahead, be a snob
It works for Heineken's Rob Morrell

by Terry Poulton
page 14

Because of Rob Morrell's resemblance to Tom Cruise, hotel staff during a recent Cuban vacation took to calling him by the movie star's name. As flattering as that might be, what they're saying about the Molson Canada brand manager in Toronto is even better.

Flying fastest are kudos for Morrell's leadership on the latest marketing program for Heineken Canada, whose beer is the top-selling European import here.

Dubbed "Meet You There," the campaign encompasses a number of imaginative components designed to woo young urbanites, primarily males. It began rolling out in June at Toronto's Banzai Sushi restaurant with a launch party for H2 - Heineken's sleek new aluminum bottle.

Morrell says H2's key differentiator is unabashed exclusivity. It will be available in Canada for only a limited time beginning in August. And sales will be strictly on-premise at what he terms "up-style clubs, lounges, bars and restaurants."

Heineken's deliberately snooty strategy, which originated in Amsterdam, is already a big hit internationally.

Duplicating its success in Canada would be a challenge for any marketer. But for someone with as brief a resumé as Morrell's it's that much more impressive.

At the tender age of 28, with only 18 months at Molson Canada, Morrell is already the brand manager for not only Heineken but also Amstel Light, Murphy's Irish Stout and Murphy's Irish Amber. The New Brunswick native previously spent four years climbing the marketing ladder at Moosehead Breweries' HQ in Saint John, N.B.

Despite having so little professional experience, Morrell is handling his brand responsibilities exceptionally well, says his boss, David Baskin, Molson's director of partner brands. "Everything that flows into that brand comes through Rob as the brand champion. He brings a high and infectious level of passion that gets the whole team excited. He has an easygoing manner that draws people toward him, but he also commands respect."

In part that respect stems from understanding his target so well. "Knowing where the cool and interesting spots are helps me connect to young, urban, male opinion leaders, who are really key for us right now," explains Morrell, adding that the "Meet You There" campaign is "aimed as much at a mind-set as an actual demographic. So we're targeting people who share Heineken's belief that life rewards you when you go beyond your everyday life to experience new things. And we're communicating that in a variety of non-traditional ways."

For example, instead of the typical postcard party invitations for the June 16 launch, key media, customers, and representatives from the fashion and music industries received a CD containing samples of the creative plus the campaign song "Cobrastyle" from Swedish group The Teddybears featuring Mad Cobra.

And for several days preceding the launch, H2, with help from Toronto-based youth marketing firm Youthography, invaded the stomping grounds of its target market with storefront displays at Queen Street West hot spots Boomer, C-Squared, Black Market Records, Del-Phic and Heel Boy. This, like the CD, was Morrell's idea.

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