Signals

US – The beer company’s latest multi-brand seasonal campaign, Holiday Hacks, offers drinkers a way to turn their bottles, cans and other packaging into festive ornaments.

Working with media company Tastemade and digital platform Pinterest, the series of 'hack' videos instruct users how to create decorations such as 3D star ornaments using aluminium cans or turn beer bottles into vases for flowers. This marketing activation is the first time Heineken has incorporated its brands Heineken, Dos Equis and Tecate in one campaign.

Repurposing packaging in this way is part of the umbrella company’s larger sustainable mission and aims to appeal to the DIY mindsets that have emerged during 2020. ‘With the pandemic causing more people to spend time in their homes, the holidays at home have taken on a new meaning this year and consumers are looking for new ways to decorate and safely to celebrate,' says a Pinterest spokesperson.

In a similar vein, we previously showcased Samsung’s Out of the Box design competition, which this year sought to tackle cardboard waste by re-imagining its packaging as children’s toys.

American sales of prestige beauty products have fallen during the pandemic but skincare sales are up, according to NPD Group’s 2020 Industry Pulse report.

The research finds that during the third quarter of 2020 sales of luxury beauty items fell by 17% compared to the same period in 2019, with US consumers scaling back on using make-up by 70%. By contrast, skincare sales have risen 17% year on year.

‘Although it remains a powerful force in the industry, the needle has yet to move in a positive direction for make-up,’ explains Larissa Jensen, vice-president and beauty industry adviser at NPD. She suggests that the pandemic is ‘shifting consumer priorities towards self-care’, expanding the skincare market and stifling make-up sales.

Covid-19 is increasing consumer concerns about wellness and driving new directions in beauty and skincare, reflecting society’s focus on Recuperative Living.