Korean football fans face a unique challenge: European matches air at around 4am or 5am local time, a time when most bars have closed for the night because of high labor costs at those hours. That means dedicated UEFA Champions League fans in Korea have limited options for enjoying football in a social setting, so Trust Bars is offering them a game-changing solution.
In lieu of bar staff, Heineken is trusting fans to gather and have a good time – no matter the hour – at selected bars in Seoul, which have agreed to open their doors 24/7 to provide a unique way of experiencing UEFA Champions League matches together. Stocked with a night’s supply of self-service Heineken and self-service snacks, bar owners are handing their keys to fans across the city.
“Korean football fans show incredible dedication, waking up at all hours of the night to support their favourite European teams,” said Stephan Schwarz, executive creative director at LePub APAC. “Trust Bars entrust our Heineken taps to passionate fans without the constraints of traditional bar hours – giving them a full match-day experience with friends. At the same time, we also relieve bar owners of late-night staffing woes. Two birds. One tap.”
This could only be possible in a city like Seoul where technology and mutual trust are hard-wired into the social DNA. Koreans are accustomed to a self-service culture in their everyday lives, frequently using smartphones to reserve restaurant tables, or shopping from self-service kiosks. Korea is also one of the most trusting and safe countries in the world: leaving belongings unattended in cafés is an everyday occurrence.
“Korea’s strong foundation of social trust makes it the perfect market in which to pioneer this concept,” said Giwoun Park, marketing director at The Heineken Company, Korea. “Trust Bars are a natural extension of the communal respect already prevalent in Korean society. As a long-standing sponsor of the UEFA Champions League, we loved the idea of uniting Korea’s trusting culture with its innovative e-Commerce technology. By creating the world’s first fully automated bars, we are alleviating late-night operational costs for bar owners, while giving football fans a place to cheer on their teams together.”
At each Trust Bar, fans are entrusted to order, pay for and pull fresh pints via Heineken’s first self-payment Terminals, with seamless order-and-pay functionality. The terminals were created in collaboration with LeGarage, LePub’s global innovation arm, and can be installed with just a few clicks, making it easy to expand the concept to other trusting nations like Japan and Singapore in future.
Security and verification technologies further ensure compliance with local drinking age regulations and the responsible service of alcohol, ensuring no under-age patrons are admitted or served.
The first 24/7 Trust Bars opened in April in Seoul’s trendy Hongdae district during Champions League matches, positioning Heineken as the beer of choice throughout the football season, with semi-finals taking place this week, concluding with the final on 31 May.
CREDITS – Trust Bars
HEINEKEN GLOBAL
Head of Global Heineken and Premium Brands: Nabil Nasser
Heineken Global Strategy and Communication Director: Daniela Iebba
Heineken Global Communication Manager: Nalini Bhagwandin
Heineken Singapore Brand and Business Development Director: Agnieszka Gorecki
Heineken Global Digital Development Manager: Pearly Lim
HEINEKEN KOREA
Heineken Marketing Director: Giwoun Park
Heineken Marketing Manager: Lynda Kim
Heineken Brand Manager: Gajin Kim
Heineken Brand Manager: Chloe Choi
Heineken Brand Executive: Ella Yeo
LePub
Global CEO LePub, CCO LePub Worldwide: Bruno Bertelli
Global Chief Creative Officer: Cristiana Boccassini
Global Chief Creative Officer: Mihnea Gheorghiu
LePub Singapore, Executive Creative Director: Stephan Schwarz
LePub Singapore, Creative Director Le Garage: Sergey Mast
LePub Singapore, Creative Director: Bruno Andrade
LePub Singapore, Senior Copywriter : Jaime Ludena Diaz
LePub Singapore, Senior Art Director: Savio Fonseca
LePub Singapore, Senior Art Director: Sunny Chuang
LePub Singapore, Senior Copywriter: Denise Cheong
LePub Singapore, Managing Director: Penny Sadlier
LePub Singapore, Client Services Director: Francesca Babet
LePub Singapore, Group Account Director: Alicia Tiong
LePub Singapore, Senior Project Manager: Farhan Wahab
LePub Singapore, Senior Integrated Producer: Anita Toh
LePub Singapore, Creative Services Manager: Nigel Tan
LePub Milan, Associate Creative Director: Roberto Ardigó
LePub Milan, Creative Director: Stefano Zanoni
LePub Milan, Designer & Art Director: Niccoló Orso Campanini
LePub Milan, Business Director: Francesca Baldrighi
LePub Milan, Account Director: Amira Ramadan
Prodigious Milan, TV Producer: Martina Mozzillo
Prodigious Milan, Editor: Andrea Besana
Prodigious Milan, Color Grading: Luca Parma
LePub Singapore, Account Servicing Intern: Neha Maria Mathew
Sound design: Disctodisc Productions – Audio Post Production Italy
Prodigious Singapore
Senior Editor: Germain Wu
Flame Artist: Ryon Chan
Senior Post-Producer: Charmaine Wong
Core.A Creative
Producer: Sarah Kim
Producer: Ashley Sunyoung
Assistant Producer: Blake Jung
DOP: Eun Sung Maeng
1st AC: Do Hyun Lee
2nd AC: Tae Hoon Kim
3rd AC: Young Jun Kim
Data Manager: Min Jae Kim
Gaffer: Seunggeun Lee
Bestboy: Suyeol Lim
Lighting Crew: Seokhwan Jeong
Boom Operator: Hyunbae Jeon
Production Design: Alex Ryu
Production Design Team: Yonghun Ryu
DFYⓇ
CEO: Byung Sam Hwang
COO: Erin Bai
Project Management: Na Hyeon Park
Project Management: Misoo Seok
UI Design: Hee Yoon Jung
Frontend Developer: Ji Sun Lee
Backend Developer: Seung Hyun Kim
Work Post
Editor: Fong
Cream
Director – Maxime Govare
EP – Michel Teicher
Line producer – Tim Salze, Clotilde Lecuillier
DOP – Laurent Tangy
Production Support in Bangkok – Living Films Thailand
