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This week, we caught up with Marcel Swain, Head of Premium Beer Marketing at Heineken Beverages, to find out why corporate sustainability is important to him and what brands can do to ensure consumers behave more environmentally friendly.
Pictured: Marcel Swain, head of marketing: Premium beers at Heineken Beverages. Image courtesy of Heineken.
Known for his strong commitment to sustainability, Swain played a key role in the Heineken Waste to Clothing project, which repurposes brewery waste into wearable products, supporting circular economy principles. He also leads Heineken Green Zones in South Africa, community spaces focused on environmental education and conservation. His efforts aim to promote sustainability while making eco-friendly practices engaging and accessible.
Describe yourself in three words:
- Optimistic
- Extraordinary charm
- Unique
Describe your career to date
My career has been an extraordinary journey of both opportunities to learn and grow as a business marketer and to gain experiences that have impacted my life from a personal perspective. I started my career in a non-profit organization where I learned what zero-based budgeting (no budget) really meant and gained a deep understanding of human behavior. I then made the jump into the corporate world and have been working in the FMCG industry for over 18 years. I have been fortunate enough to work for some of the world’s most renowned brands such as Dunhill, Gordons Gin, Savanna, Strongbow and most recently Heineken.
I have worked in various African markets including Ghana, Nigeria and Rwanda, and even lived in Amsterdam with my family for four years while working for Heineken International’s global offices. Currently, I am responsible for Heineken Beverages’ premium beer brands.
What three things would you do to ensure your marketing campaign is successful?
- Always thoroughly uncover the real consumer insights/barriers that the campaign or communication can overcome.
- Driving radical collaboration with partner agencies to achieve breakthrough ideas.
- And be brave to take risks and be brave to fail!
Why is sustainability important to you?
Sustainability ensures we have a future. It is much broader than we give it credit for. Sustainability touches on production, packaging, how we consume and enjoy products/media, etc. We need to look around and see what we can do better or differently to make a lasting positive impact.
What can brands do to get consumers to adopt more sustainable behaviors?
While sustainability is not high on Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs, nor is it seen as a priority for South Africans, it is becoming a growing need. Looking at macro trends, consumer behaviour and habits are changing rapidly, so it is incumbent on brands to focus on sustainability in order to influence (or change) consumers. This is not just another marketing slogan. Sustainability is a real need.
What deserted island would you choose? (Book/show/gadget)
Not sure if it’s the book or the podcast, Steven Bartlett’s CEO DiaryThe show should be “Love is Blind”… um… are you kidding? But I mean dead Pool As my movie of choice. And the device for music is my JBL Bluetooth speaker, but then again, I need another device, my phone, to play my music!
Favorite song right now?
It’s hard to decide because I’m in a nostalgia phase. Alicia Myers’ “I Want to Thank You.” But lately, I’ve been more into Ne-Yo and Fabolous’ “Link Up.”
What do you hope to have achieved by the end of your career?
A sense of satisfaction – knowing that I have impacted other people’s lives and shaped careers.
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