Connecting new generations with a legacy brand

Abstract

Heineken wants to become more popular under generations Y and Z. Therefore, the Heineken Design and Sustainability team want to create the Heineken Innovation Lab. The HLab aims to be a playground for co-creation, a mix between a bar and design space.
However, co-creating means sharing unfinished ideas, innovations, and opinions with people outside the company. Heineken is a legacy brand and has a strict brand policy to ensure the brand's premium quality is maintained. Poorly executed creations or prototypes might water down the Heineken brand.
It is difficult for Heineken to relinquish their strict brand principles because they fear damaging or hurting the brand. However, these strict principles can overshadow creative space when working on the disruptive innovation the HLab wants.
This thesis aims to solve the following Research Question: How to set up a design and innovation process that balances creative freedom with a legacy brand and aims to create novel prototypes in the Innovation Lab of a multinational organisation?
The double diamond method is used in this thesis as a base for the process, which cuts the project into four distinguished phases: Discover, Define, Develop, and Deliver. This method provides the necessary structure for organising diverging and converging phases.
This research uses literature and interviews to gain insights into how to co-create without damaging a brand and what elements of Innovation methods the HLab should use. Furthermore, this thesis collaborates with the HLab team and external agencies during two workshops and several meetings. The workshops are used to realign the parties involved in the HLab and create a common ground and theme on which GenYZ can connect with Heineken.
The research found that there is no readymade method that the HLab can use to innovate with GenYZ. Rather, this thesis shows that combining elements of popular methods already proven to work within other Innovation Labs is a better option. This thesis finally proposes a specially crafted Innovation Flowchart for the HLab.
This Flowchart satisfies most requirements that were determined in the Discover and Develop phases. The Flowchart is based on Design Thinking, Lean and Open-Innovation methodologies.
Moreover, this thesis also found that Heineken and GenYZ have enough common ground to connect. The design of the Theme and Exploration Roadmap shows just one of the many possibilities to engage GenYZ with the Heineken brand effectively.
The thesis concludes by advising Heineken on how to start the process. The HLab should start by giving more authority to GenYZ and choosing believable external creatives who can be affiliated with Heineken. To protect the Heineken brand, the HLab should carefully pick communities or groups of like-minded GenYZ collaborators for co-creation and could use a sub-brand for outward communication.