Experiential
Educating Gen Z about malt, by letting them make music with it.
For Heineken, educating Gen Z on its signature Star Brewing process was critical to maintaining its premium status. But try asking a Gen Z to sit down and listen to a lecture on beer brewing. For a generation that learns through creation rather than study, we knew we couldn’t just rely on speaking at them.
So we met them where they live, and brought beer brewing education into Gen Z creator culture. The Star Brewing Sound System is a powerful blend of tech and culture that allowed Gen Z to create their own music through the malt itself.
This custom-built, immersive installation translated each step of Heineken’s brewing craft into musical elements that could be mixed together to create unique music tracks. To create the sound system, we partnered with experts in plant-based sound technology - dance/electronic duo Bottlesmoker from Bandung, Indonesia. Alongside Singaporean DJ/Producer Bongomann and Creative Producer Jaymi McManus, they designed an electronic synthesiser that could translate the electrical signals of Heineken’s pure malt barley into real synthesised beats.
During a 2-week Heineken Pure Malt pop-up experience at a popular nightclub, Gen Z participants were invited to create and mix their own tracks using the sound system. Real malt became synthesised beats, brewing steps were translated into audio layers, and Heineken’s Star Brewing process became unique tracks that could be uploaded to social media.
In a groundbreaking extension of the campaign, select user-generated tracks were chosen to become the official soundtracks for Heineken’s digital ads, creating a genuine connection between consumer creativity and brand communication.
