HEINEKEN® 0.0: TURNING SPONSORSHIP INTO BRAND FAME

As part of its summer campaign, Heineken® 0.0 partnered with RTÉ, Ireland's national broadcaster, to sponsor its coverage of the FIFA World Cup 2026™ - the biggest edition of the tournament ever, with 104 matches broadcast live across RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player.

It was a major media opportunity.

Our challenge was to make it a major brand opportunity. As one of Heineken® Ireland's partner agencies, THINKHOUSE was commissioned to develop the creative campaign around the sponsorship: from the TV stings appearing across RTÉ's live broadcasts and RTÉ Player to a wider fame-driving idea designed to build an association between Heineken® 0.0 and matchday sociability.

The result: Heineken® 0.0 was the most recalled brand of the FIFA World Cup 2026™ in Ireland. (Source: Sport for Business, July 2026.)

FROM MEDIA PRESENCE TO CULTURAL PARTICIPATION

Rather than simply badge the broadcast, we wanted Heineken® 0.0 to add something to the experience of watching it. We started with a simple cultural insight: just one in three people in Ireland knows their neighbours. The World Cup offered an interesting counterpoint. For a few weeks, people everywhere would be watching the same games, experiencing the same drama and finding themselves with something to talk about.

So we asked: what if the World Cup helped us get to know the people next door? The idea connected directly to Heineken's long-standing belief in sociability — “social networking since 1873” — and its global sponsorship platform, ‘Fans Have More Friends’.

Our creative team developed a series of entertaining, rotating stories about neighbours connecting through football, designed specifically to complement rather than interrupt the matchday viewing experience.

The stings ran at the opening of live World Cup broadcasts on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player and at the beginning and end of commercial breaks — creating repeated, distinctive Heineken® 0.0 moments throughout the tournament.

But we didn't want the idea to live only on screen.

TURNING AN AUDIENCE INTO PARTICIPANTS

To take the campaign from broadcast sponsorship into culture, THINKHOUSE created the idea of The Heineken® 0.0 Star Bar - The dream home bar. Fronted by Irish football icon John O'Shea, we launched a nationwide competition inviting viewers across Ireland to turn their home into the country's ultimate 'neighbourhood football local' for an unforgettable match night.

And this wasn't just a big television and some bunting. The winning home received the full superstar treatment, inside and out: personalised pub frontage, match-night lighting, football memorabilia, ice-cold Heineken® 0.0 and a dedicated team on site for the night.

For one evening, an ordinary home became a neighbourhood football hotspot; bringing the campaign's idea of connection off the screen and into the real world.

ONE IDEA. MULTIPLE DISCIPLINES.

THINKHOUSE's Creative and In-House Production teams developed the concept and delivered the production and shoot across broadcast and social.

Our PR & Advocacy team then built the fame programme around it, using talent, earned media and participation to extend the campaign beyond the sponsorship inventory and strengthen the association between Heineken® 0.0 and matchday.

The result was an integrated campaign spanning broadcast, social, PR, advocacy, talent and production with the experiential delivered by Heineken Ireland's experiential agency partner AGM - all built around one culturally relevant brand idea.

And, across the biggest sporting event on the planet, it helped make Heineken® 0.0 the most recalled brand of the tournament in Ireland.