How Heineken used Andalusians’ extravagance to reframe Cruzcampo

Genevieve Silk

Spanish beer brand Cruzcampo turned brand hate into brand love by exploring its Andalusian roots and embracing the extravagance of its southern Spanish heritage.

It’s summer in Seville, the sun is beating down and the thermometer creeps over 30°C … what could be more refreshing than an ice-cold beer like Cruzcampo? Or so Heineken Spain believed. Why then, was the brand plagued by 40% negative sentiment on social media?

“It was a beloved brand, but it had a lot of haters,” confessed Heineken Spain’s Director of Marketing, Marta García Alonso, speaking at the Nudgestock behavioural science festival (London, July 2023). 

After some brand soul-searching, Alonso discovered that the hate did not come from one source alone. The first problem was the sheer size of...

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