SEATTLE, Sept. 2, 2015 - Today, experiential marketing platform Gratafy announces a partnership with Heineken USA giving thousands of legal-age consumers across the country a glass or bottle of Heineken, Heineken Light or Dos Equis on the brand. The program connects age 21+ consumers via Facebook or Twitter directly to the brands' Gratafy powered experiences to redeem their beer at a bar or restaurant of their choice from local Gratafy partners, all from their smartphone.
"Gratafy has always been about connecting people to memorable experiences, which often take place around food and drink," says cofounder Ryan Halper. "We are excited to power this innovative Heineken sampling campaign and let thousands of people try Heineken's products at the places they're best experienced, inside great bars and restaurants."
Gratafy's platform will provide custom mobile experiences across Heineken's portfolio of brands, driving consumer awareness, product sampling and ultimately new loyal customers. Consumers who receive a complimentary beer from Heineken will be able to redeem the sample at a bar or restaurant of their choice from a list of Gratafy partners. After a recipient selects the bar or restaurant where they wish to redeem the sample, (and completes a brief survey for their time in Los Angeles and San Francisco), Gratafy will instantly generate a unique, one-time use code on the recipient's smartphone. When they're ready to settle their bill, consumers will present their code to their server or bartender and Heineken will cover the cost of their glass or bottle.
The campaign will be immediately available in several national markets including Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, and Houston.
The sampling programs across Heineken's portfolio begin with Heineken, available immediately, followed by Heineken Light, launching September 8. A program with Dos Equis will launch in October, with lucky consumers receiving a complimentary beer from The Most Interesting Man in the World himself sent through social media.
Gratafy offers brands a unique digital distribution channel and creates a localized and personal redemption experience for consumers. For the restaurant and bar partners in the Gratafy network, brand partnerships like Heineken's bring in new customers and additional revenue.
"For brands like Heineken, Gratafy's end-to-end platform combining social media, mobile, and point-of-sale integration technology, unlocks a new way of connecting on-premise product directly to consumers at scale," says Halper.
Gratafy is leading the way into the future of digital gifting and most recently, on-premise product sampling. By pairing some of the largest brands in the world with the technology to create truly original campaigns, Gratafy provides a new level of transparency into the customer path to awareness, sampling and purchase. Gratafy can help brands better understand the relative success of each campaign based on advanced analytics and promote responsible and legal consumption. Gratafy recently received a 2015 Facebook Award in the category of Social Technology for a previous campaign and is excited to continue building innovative programs that allow brands to connect with consumers and measure results in new ways.
Consumers and press can preview the experience here.
Restaurant and bars interested in becoming a Gratafy partner can visit our website for more information.